(REUTERS) – FORMULA One world champion Lewis Hamilton edged out Kimi Raikkonen at the top of the timesheets, as Ferrari ended the opening day of practice for Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix hot on pacesetter Mercedes’ heels.

The Briton lapped the 5.4 km Shanghai International Circuit in one minute, 33.482 seconds in the afternoon session, beating Raikkonen to the top spot by a mere 0.007 seconds.
Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was third and 0.033 seconds off the pace, with Ferrari’s championship leader Sebastian Vettel fourth, 0.108 seconds short of his rival’s best.

The top three finished the afternoon in the same order as they had ended the opening 90 minutes of practice.
“We got through all the laps that we needed and got some good feedback about the car,” said Hamilton after a cold afternoon.

“The balance of the car is good but we have some fine-tuning to do on it tonight. Ferrari was quick and Red Bull looked really fast on the long run.

“It’s good to see all the times so close, but it means that we really need to bring our A game. We need everyone in the team to be on it throughout the weekend because it is a joint effort,” added the Briton.

The best Vettel had managed in the morning had been sixth, 0.862 seconds off Hamilton’s pace.
Hamilton has an impressive record in China and is determined to claw back at least some of his 17-point deficit to Vettel in the overall standings after the German powered to victory in the opening two races in Australia and Bahrain.