SHANGHAI, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel set the pace in the first practice session for this weekend's Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix with a time of 1:33.911 set on hard compound tyres on Friday.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton finished second 0.2s behind Vettel, though he and teammate Valtteri Bottas, who ended the session fifth fastest, set their times on the faster soft compound tyres, indicating that Ferrari may have the advantage this weekend.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished in fourth place, sandwiched by Charles Leclerc in third and Bottas, and complained of a mistake with his car's setup. Teammate Pierre Gasly, who finished seventh, drove the early part of the session with data-collecting aero rigs attached to his car, suggesting that Red Bull are yet to find an ideal balance with their car.

The only driver not to set a representative time on Friday morning was Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi, who spent much of the session confined to the garage with engine issues on his car.