2013 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX Free Practice 2

Kimi Raikkonen set the pace for the Friday practice in Bahrain.

1. Kimi Raikkonen Finand Lotus-Renault 1m 34.154s
2. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 34.184s
3. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 34.282s
4. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 34.310s
5. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes 1m 34.543s
6. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 34.552s
7. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 1m 34.631s
8. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 34.666s
9. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 34.932s
10. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 34.976s
11. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 35.356s
12. Jean-Eric Vergne France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 35.506s
13. Sergio Perez Mexico McLaren-Mercedes 1m 35.589s
14. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 35.761s
15. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Sauber-Ferrari 1m 36.133s
16. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Renault 1m 36.279s
17. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Renault 1m 36.579s
18. Esteban Gutierrez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1m 36.616s
19. Charles Pic France Caterham-Renault 1m 37.061s
20. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Cosworth 1m 37.313s
21. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Cosworth 1m 37.363s
22. Giedo van der Garde Holland Caterham-Renault 1m 37.970s

Image: BBC

2013 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX Free Practice 1

 Massa gone fastest in FP1 ahead of his teammate Alonso in Bahrain.

Timing: Formula1.com
Photo: Getty Images

Breaking News: Heikki Kovalainen rejoins Caterham as reserve driver

Today Caterham announced they have re-signed Heikki Kovalainen as the team Reserve Drivers, alongside current Reserve Driver Alexander Rossi while the first ever Chinese Formula One driver Ma Qing Hua is stepping down which "remains a core member of Caterham F1 Team's driver roster and an announcement about his revised race plans in 2013 will be made in due course."

Heikki's will take part in FP1 in Bahrain and Spain. He will take part in the sessions as part of a formal technical development role he is taking up, helping support the introduction of the first performance updates to the 2013 car.

"Heikki returns to track work with us and we are delighted to welcome him back into the team." said Cyril Abiteboul, the team principal of Caterham F1 Team.

"He has six years of F1 experience behind him so he is perfectly placed to provide us objective feedback on the various types of configurations we will run and to give us an objective view of the 2013 tyres against his experience with the 2012 compounds. Having invested in Heikki for our first three years of competition it would be a waste not to leverage the valuable expertise he brings."

Heikki Kovalainen: "Tony, Cyril and I have been talking about me taking up this role for quite a while, so it's good to finally be able to announce how I'll be helping the team in 2013. I'm physically ready to get back into the car and I know my experience can help give the team new ideas and options for directions to take on setup and strategy. I'm looking forward to getting back to work!"

"It's obviously great news that I'll be on track in Bahrain and Spain and I'm really looking forward to getting back to work and helping the team as much as I can. I'll be taking part in the two FP1 sessions in Bahrain and Barcelona to give the team my input on the new parts we're bringing to those races, and I'll be working closely with the race drivers and the engineers on track and back at Leafield to help everyone get the most out of the new package."

2013 FORMULA 1 UBS CHINESE GRAND PRIX RACE

1. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 56 laps 1hr 34m 24.945s
2. Kimi Raikkonen Finand Lotus-Renault +00m 10.1s
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 12.3s
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 12.5s
5. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 35.2s
6. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 40.8s
7. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Toro Rosso-Ferrari +00m 42.6s
8. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes +00m 51.0s
9. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault +00m 53.4s
10. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Sauber-Ferrari +00m 56.5s
11. Sergio Perez Mexico McLaren-Mercedes +01m 03.8s
12. Jean-Eric Vergne France Toro Rosso-Ferrari +01m 12.6s
13. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Renault +01m 33.8s
14. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Renault +01m 35.4s
15. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Cosworth +1 lap
16. Charles Pic France Caterham-Renault +1 lap
17. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Cosworth +1 lap
18. Giedo van der Garde Holland Caterham-Renault +1 lap

Retired
Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 21 laps Suspension
Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 15 laps Wheel
Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 5 laps Accident
Esteban Gutierrez Spain Sauber-Ferrari 4 laps Accident

2013 FORMULA 1 UBS CHINESE GRAND PRIX Qualifying

Hamilton took his first pole for Mercedes in Shanghai.

1. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 34.484s
2. Kimi Raikkonen Finand Lotus-Renault 1m 34.761s
3. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 34.788s
4. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 34.861s
5. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 34.933s
6. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 1m 35.364s
7. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 35.998s
8. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 2m 05.673s
9. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault no time Q3
10. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Sauber-Ferrari no time Q3

11. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes 1m 36.287s
12. Sergio Perez Mexico McLaren-Mercedes 1m 36.314s
13. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 36.405s
14. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 36.679s
15. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Renault 1m 37.139s
16. Jean-Eric Vergne France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 37.199s

17. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Renault 1m 37.769s
18. Esteban Gutierrez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1m 37.990s
19. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Cosworth 1m 38.780s
20. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Cosworth 1m 39.537s
21. Charles Pic France Caterham-Renault 1m 39.614s
22. Giedo van der Garde Holland Caterham-Renault 1m 39.660s

2013 FORMULA 1 UBS CHINESE GRAND PRIX Free Practice 2

Today's FP2 focus is on the debut of Pirelli's 2013 soft compound tyres indicated by yellow stripes on the sidewall.  Teams posted faster time which is good for qualifying but they don't seems to last long in race simulation which teams usually do in FP2 this afternoon in Shanghai.  More to follow...

2013 FORMULA 1 UBS CHINESE GRAND PRIX Free Practice 1

Mercedes leads the pack with "China Master" Rosberg posted the fastest time on Medium compound and Hamilton followed in the sister car.  The Red Bull duo follow Mercedes with Webber three-tenth faster than his teammate Vettel who disobeyed the team order to win last race (and he claimed he will probably do the same again in the future). Alonso and Massa of Ferrari are sandwiched by Button which shows improvement from the new parts brought by his team McLaren this weekend.  Force India also showing good pace with Sutil and Di Resta posting 8th and 10th fastest time.  Lotus seems to be struggling with the Pirelli tyres this week again with Kimi spun at turn 10.  There are a few lock up in the back straight which the uneven surface of that part of the circuit is to blame.  Free Practice 2 starts at 2PM local time.

Timing: Formula1.com