Sebastian Vettel was quickest in the opening free practice session of the day ahead of Chinese Grand Prix, with Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc trailing behind.
The German driver was quickest in morning session, setting the pace with 1:33.911s, running on harder tyre than Lewis Hamilton, who was slower than Vettel but ahead of Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull showed pace after a disappointing race in Bahrain, with Max Verstappen almost half a second down on benchmark time by Sebastian Vettel in 4th place.
Valtteri Bottas was next in the queue for Mercedes, beating Daniel Ricciardo by more than six-tenths on soft tyres.
The sister Red Bull of Pierre Gasly was 7th quickest on medium tyres, ahead of Daniil Kvyat while Lance Stroll slotted into 9th after spinning early in the session. He wasn't the only one to spin, as both Mercedes also spun due to colder tyres and low grip.
Romain Grosjean rounded up Top 10, beating his teammate Kevin Magnussen.
The regular mid-field runners had a slow start to the weekend, with Kimi Raikkonen in 15th place while Antonio Giovinazzi ended up down in last with no respective time.
The McLarens of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris also had a low-key start to the weekend, with 13th and 16th quickest time by the duo in opening free practice.
Ferrari also tested the engine that dropped a cylinder at Bahrain in Leclerc's car at China, while several cars made various aero upgrades. Honda also made engine change for the first time in 2019, replacing the power unit in Daniil Kvyat's car ahead of FP2.
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