The Zuhai circuit in Shanghai is the venue for the penultimate round of the 2007 Formula One season, with Lewis Hamilton looking to seal a remarkable, unprecedented World Driver's Championship in his rookie year. It seemed for a while that his chance to clinch the title would be delayed until Brazil as the FIA stewards spent Thursday investigating his driving behind the safety car in Fuji last weekend. It was a great day for the media hacks who went into overdrive, coming out with such wild speculation that Hamilton would give up on his F1 career if punished. An 'interesting' way to fill the column inches on the back pages, but seriously wide of the mark. Hamilton received neither a 10 place grid penalty or points deduction, and the only real consequence of the investigation was that Sebastien Vettel had his grid penalty rescinded.

In the practice sessions there were few surprises as the McLarens and Ferraris led the way. Assuming there are no major cock-ups with tyre selection like last week, there should be a straight battle between the sport's two superpowers for the podium places.

Practice One

01 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:37.024 23 laps
02 F. Alonso McLaren 1:37.108 18 laps
03 F. Massa Ferrari 1:37.128 21 laps
04 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:37.210 20 laps
05 N. Rosberg Williams 1:37.707 23 laps
06 R. Kubica BMW 1:38.055 23 laps
07 J. Trulli Toyota 1:38.208 30 laps
08 G. Fisichella Renault 1:38.217 16 laps
09 K. Nakajima Williams 1:38.270 30 laps
10 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:38.445 13 laps
11 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:38.551 17 laps
12 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:38.661 23 laps
13 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:38.700 25 laps
14 J. Button Honda 1:38.942 18 laps
15 R. Barrichello Honda 1:38.945 22 laps
16 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:39.238 23 laps
17 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.497 22 laps
18 M. Webber Red Bull 1:39.535 23 laps
19 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:39.539 20 laps
20 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.898 24 laps
21 S. Yamamoto Spyker F1 1:40.126 27 laps
22 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:40.149 26 laps

Practice Two

01 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:36.607 31 laps
02 F. Alonso McLaren 1:36.613 28 laps
03 F. Massa Ferrari 1:36.630 29 laps
04 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:36.876 33 laps
05 J. Trulli Toyota 1:37.151 36 laps
06 M. Webber Red Bull 1:37.450 34 laps
07 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:37.524 32 laps
08 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:37.617 27 laps
09 N. Rosberg Williams 1:37.646 36 laps
10 G. Fisichella Renault 1:37.970 32 laps
11 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:38.062 21 laps
12 J. Button Honda 1:38.205 41 laps
13 R. Barrichello Honda 1:38.304 40 laps
14 R. Kubica BMW 1:38.379 39 laps
15 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:38.388 16 laps
16 A. Wurz Williams 1:38.531 32 laps
17 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:38.975 38 laps
18 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.062 36 laps
19 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:39.224 37 laps
20 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:39.360 37 laps
21 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.404 34 laps
22 S. Yamamoto Spyker F1 1:40.051 38 laps

Practice Three

01 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:36.100 15 laps
02 F. Alonso McLaren 1:36.126 13 laps
03 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:36.227 14 laps
04 F. Massa Ferrari 1:36.405 14 laps
05 R. Schumacher Toyota 36.959 18 laps
06 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:36.964 13 laps
07 R. Kubica BMW 1:37.024 23 laps
08 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:37.106 14 laps
09 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:37.176 18 laps
10 M. Webber Red Bull 1:37.315 13 laps
11 N. Rosberg Williams 1:37.323 16 laps
12 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.463 18 laps
13 J. Button Honda 1:37.564 19 laps
14 J. Trulli Toyota 1:37.679 20 laps
15 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:37.732 15 laps
16 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.759 19 laps
17 G. Fisichella Renault 1:37.791 17 laps
18 R. Barrichello Honda 1:37.920 20 laps
19 A. Wurz Williams 1:37.926 16 laps
20 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:38.577 16 laps
21 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:38.868 20 laps
22 S. Yamamoto Spyker F1 1:39.517 21 laps