First practice for the 2017 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, Round 2 of the season, took place at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Max Verstappen led the session with a 1:50.491. Felipe Massa was second, 1.595 seconds behind, and Lance Stroll finished third. The gaps from the leader to second and third were 1.595 and 2.016 seconds respectively.
The top five were Max Verstappen in first, Felipe Massa in second, Lance Stroll in third, Carlos Sainz in fourth and Romain Grosjean in fifth. Practice sessions award no points, and teams may follow different run programmes, so the timesheet represents only the official result of this session.
Red Bull’s two cars occupied first and eighth, Williams held second and third, and Toro Rosso was fourth and sixth.
Kevin Magnussen completed the most laps with eight, while Kimi Räikkönen recorded the fewest with one.
Jolyon Palmer, Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, Esteban Ocon, Sergio Pérez and Lewis Hamilton did not set valid lap times.
| Position | Driver | Team | Lap Time/Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:50.491 | 4 |
| 2 | Felipe Massa | Williams | +1.595s | 7 |
| 3 | Lance Stroll | Williams | +2.016s | 7 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | +2.349s | 5 |
| 5 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | +2.548s | 6 |
| 6 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | +2.823s | 4 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | +3.029s | 5 |
| 8 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | +3.547s | 7 |
| 9 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | +4.173s | 4 |
| 10 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +4.613s | 8 |
| 11 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | +5.117s | 6 |
| 12 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | +6.954s | 4 |
| 13 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | +24.647s | 4 |
| 14 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Sauber | +24.790s | 4 |
| 15 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | No time | 3 |
| 16 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | No time | 2 |
| 17 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | No time | 1 |
| 18 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | No time | 2 |
| 19 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | No time | 3 |
| 20 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | No time | 2 |
