Lewis Hamilton's bid to win the world title on Sunday had the perfect start as the McLaren driver dominated the first two practice sessions for the Chinese Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old posted the quickest time in the morning and afternoon sessions, finishing ahead of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso respectively. It is the first time Hamilton has been fastest in both practice runs since the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in July, where he secured his most recent victory.

The Englishman clocked one minute 35.630sec in the first session to beat Massa, his main title rival, by 0.390sec before finishing 0.274sec ahead of Alonso in the afternoon ahead of the penultimate race of the season,.

Hamilton is five points ahead of Massa in the drivers' standings, with BMW's Robert Kubica a further seven points adrift. Hamilton will become the youngest world champion in the sport's history if he wins and Massa finishes outside the top four. Hamilton will also win the title if he finishes second and Massa finishes outside the top six.

Morning practice times from Chinese Grand Prix:

1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes one minute 35.630sec

2. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:36.020

3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:36.052

4. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.103

5. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:36.507

6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:36.661

7. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:37.040

8. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:37.070

9. Nelson Piquet (Brz) Renault 1:37.180

10. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:37.278

Afternoon practice times:

1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes one minute 35.750sec

2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:36.024

3. Nelson Piquet Jnr (Brz) Renault 1:36.094

4. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:36.159

5. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:36.375

6. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:36.480

7. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:36.529

8. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:36.542

9. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW-Sauber 1:36.553

10. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:36.556