Chinese Grand Prix LIVE
Shanghai International Circuit
Lewis Hamilton was beaten to pole position for Formula One's 1,000th race by Valtteri Bottas.
In a nail-biting session, Bottas saw off the five-time world champion by just 0.023 seconds at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The form guide indicated that Ferrari might be the team to beat here, but after they were off the pace at the last round in Bahrain, Mercedes returned to their all-conquering best.
Sebastian Vettel was a third of a second down on Bottas' Silver Arrows, with team-mate Charles Leclerc fourth. Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished fifth.
The Dutchman was furious after he failed to cross the line in time to post a final lap.
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Date and UK start time
Those hoping to catch the first session of the Chinese Grand Prix race weekend will need to set an early alarm. It begins on Friday, April 12 with the first free practice session starting at 10am on track (3am GMT).
The second practice session will take place at 2pm (7am GMT) on the same day, before the third and final practice session, which is scheduled for 11am (4am GMT) on Saturday, March 30.
TV channel and live stream
UK viewers will no longer have the luxury of being able to choose between the two rights holders for the race in China.
Sky Sports subscribers will be able to tune in for every live race in the 2019 season, but the same does not apply to terrestrial viewers.
Channel 4 recently downgraded their rights package which means they can only show highlights of qualifying sessions and races, with only the British Grand Prix scheduled for live coverage in the 2019 season.
Sky Sports subscribers can watch the entire race weekend live on the Sky Sports F1 channel (channel 408). If you don’t have Sky Sports, you can watch with a NOW TV Sky Sports Pass, which gives you exactly the same coverage without having to sign up to a contract.
Prediction
Race winner: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
It's impressive how the youngster has settled so quickly into life at Ferrari considering his tender age and the fact it's only his second season in the sport. But the manner in which he dominated the whole race weekend in Bahrain would have certainly wowed the bosses at Maranello while his team-mate Sebastian Vettel continues to struggle for consistent pace.
For now, the Scuderia may be best placed in backing the 21-year-old while he's quickest and with the fastest car in a straight line, they have to get their strategy bang on in Shanghai. After the car let Leclerc down just 10 laps from victory in Sakhir, there's no reason why Ferrari should deny their prodigy a maiden win at the third attempt.
