The first practice session in Shanghai was a stop-start affair, with two red flags during the ninety minutes of running. The first came after Felipe Massa’s rear left tyre punctured, and tipped his Williams into a spin through the gravel. After recovering to the pit lane, Massa headed out again and the exact same issue happened a second time – the team realising they’d made an error somewhere and patching him up for some flawless running in the afternoon.