Tím McLaren sa vďaka Lewisovi Hamiltonovi po prvýkrát v sezóne ocitol na prvej priečke výsledkovej listiny, keď majster sveta viedol pred ďalšími tromi monopostami s motorom Mercedes v prvom voľnom tréningu pred VC Číny.
Výsledky 1. voľného tréningu:
| Por. | # | Pilot | Team | Čas | Strata | Kolá |
| 1. | 1 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:37.334 | 22 | |
| 2. | 22 | Jenson Button | Brawn-Mercedes | 1:37.450 | 0.116 | 18 |
| 3. | 23 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn-Mercedes | 1:37.566 | 0.232 | 19 |
| 4. | 2 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:37.672 | 0.338 | 23 |
| 5. | 14 | Mark Webber | RBR-Renault | 1:37.752 | 0.418 | 20 |
| 6. | 9 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1:37.764 | 0.430 | 19 |
| 7. | 16 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 1:37.860 | 0.526 | 24 |
| 8. | 10 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 1:37.894 | 0.560 | 21 |
| 9. | 7 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:38.089 | 0.755 | 19 |
| 10. | 11 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 1:38.195 | 0.861 | 24 |
| 11. | 4 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:38.223 | 0.889 | 23 |
| 12. | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | RBR-Renault | 1:38.274 | 0.940 | 20 |
| 13. | 12 | Sebastien Buemi | STR-Ferrari | 1:38.307 | 0.973 | 26 |
| 14. | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1:38.319 | 0.985 | 18 |
| 15. | 3 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:38.418 | 1.084 | 20 |
| 16. | 6 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 1:38.456 | 1.122 | 21 |
| 17. | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Mercedes | 1:38.460 | 1.126 | 19 |
| 18. | 5 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 1:38.463 | 1.129 | 18 |
| 19. | 17 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 1:38.730 | 1.396 | 25 |
| 20. | 8 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 1:38.825 | 1.491 | 20 |
