Kimi Raikkonen spearheaded a Ferrari one-two in second practice for Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix.
The Finn clocked a 1m36.896s on the super-soft tyres to finish one tenth of a second clear of team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
Nico Rosberg, who set the pace in first practice, was third quickest, 0.237s adrift, with Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton two tenths further back in fourth.
After a morning session made disjointed by two red flags, second practice at Shanghai proved to be a smoother affair.
Rosberg, who suffered an ignition problem right at the end of practice one, was the first of the frontrunners to bolt on the super-softs and set the early pace but he was subsequently deposed by Vettel before Raikkonen went quickest.
Attention then turned to long runs in preparation for Sunday’s race, with Mercedes splitting its strategy by putting Rosberg on the softs and Hamilton on the mediums.
In contrast, Ferrari pair Raikkonen and Vettel ran long stints on the super-softs.
Daniel Ricciardo, whose Red Bull sported a heavy coating of flow-vis paint midway through the session, was best of the rest in fifth ahead of Max Verstappen and Nico Hulkenberg.
Carlos Sainz Jr, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas completed the top 10.
Fernando Alonso, who was cleared to compete in the remainder of the grand prix weekend in between sessions, was 11th quickest, one tenth quicker than McLaren team-mate Jenson Button.
Felipe Massa made up for lost running in practice one, following two tyre failures, with 34 laps, and the 14th fastest time.
Pascal Wehrlein continued to impress, ending the session 17th ahead of both Saubers and his Manor team-mate Rio Haryanto.
It was another frustrating session for Esteban Gutierrez, who suffered electrical problems in first practice and then was confined to the garage for most of second practice after his rear brakes caught fire.
Kevin Magnussen did not take part in the session as Renault continued its investigation into the issues he suffered in the opening session that resulted in a dramatic failure on the left rear of his car.
PRACTICE TWO TIMES
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m36.896s | – | 35 |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m37.005s | 0.109s | 33 |
| 3 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1m37.133s | 0.237s | 33 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m37.329s | 0.433s | 33 |
| 5 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/TAG Heuer | 1m38.143s | 1.247s | 31 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1m38.268s | 1.372s | 28 |
| 7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India/Mercedes | 1m38.527s | 1.631s | 31 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1m38.542s | 1.646s | 32 |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1m38.569s | 1.673s | 31 |
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams/Mercedes | 1m38.723s | 1.827s | 34 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Honda | 1m38.728s | 1.832s | 31 |
| 12 | Jenson Button | McLaren/Honda | 1m38.828s | 1.932s | 28 |
| 13 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull/TAG Heuer | 1m39.178s | 2.282s | 31 |
| 14 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 1m39.214s | 2.318s | 34 |
| 15 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1m39.774s | 2.878s | 32 |
| 16 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 1m39.890s | 2.994s | 22 |
| 17 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor/Mercedes | 1m39.941s | 3.045s | 36 |
| 18 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m39.979s | 3.083s | 35 |
| 19 | Rio Haryanto | Manor/Mercedes | 1m40.550s | 3.654s | 33 |
| 20 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m41.066s | 4.170s | 32 |
| 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas/Ferrari | 1m42.954s | 6.058s | 4 |
