Rosberg leads disrupted session in China

The Mercedes got their Chinese weekend off to a perfect start. On the Shanghai route, the two W07 Hybrids of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton dominated the first runs this morning, the German setting the best time in 1'38 "037. The three-time British world champion failed 0″146 behind his teammate, and spun twice during the session. Note that Rosberg returned to the pits at the very end of the session, with an ignition problem on his car to the star.

The session was not the clearest in the peloton, however, since Felipe Massa (Williams), twice and Kevin Magnussen (Renault) were victims of problems with the left rear tire on their single-seaters, leading to two red flags, to clean and inspect the track.

Pirelli is currently carrying out a thorough investigation, and indicated on Twitter that no signs of a puncture had appeared for the Williams, favoring the track of a technical problem. Investigations continue into the case of Magnussen's R.S.16.

Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) climbs into third position in the session, more than six tenths behind Rosberg and ahead of the first Red Bull RB12 Daniel Ricciardo. Kimi Räikkönen follows in fifth position in his Ferrari SF16-H. Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull), Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso), Jenson Button (McLaren), Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) and Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) complete the top 10.

Authorized to take part in the first test session in China, following his accident in Melbourne, Fernando Alonso (McLaren) finished in 12th place, and will have to undergo further examinations in the coming minutes to determine the rest of his participation in the weekend.

Romain Grosjean (Haas) ranked 14th while his teammate Esteban Gutiérrez encountered an electrical problem on his car, and did not set a time, just like Magnussen and Massa.