The Canadian intervened in the end-of-session series of soft tyre laps to leapfrog Oscar Piastri's effort moments before the chequered flag, which nobody else had enough time to beat.
His surprise appearance at the top of the timesheets rather defined the atypical order locked in at the close of the session, as many teams opted for varying run plans to prepare for the sprint weekend in China.
A series of tentative laps opened the session as the field got its first experience of the Shanghai circuit for the first time in five years; home hero Zhou Guanyu reported that grip levels were low as the new bitumen layer had yet to be fully rubbered in.
The first laps shook out in the 1m40s, although Max Verstappen was tasked with the early stewardship at the top of the order after he took the times below the 100-second barrier and continued to find time on the medium tyre.
The session was then red-flagged after approximately 15 minutes, when a patch of grass at the side of the track in Turn 7 appeared to spontaneously self-immolate - leaving a trail of scorched earth in the immediate vicinity. A spark produced by a car bottoming out was believed to be the culprit.
Running resumed two minutes later when the tiny fire was exhausted, but in a poetic twist it appeared that the majority of drivers' streak of hot laps had also been largely doused by the intermission.
Verstappen's headline effort on the medium tyre was, however, eclipsed by the two soft-shod Ferraris; both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz moved to the top of the order after the pause, shuffling the Red Bulls down a couple of positions.
Sainz had initially got to the headline time through posting a 1m38.382s, before Leclerc put his team-mate in the shade. The Monegasque reeled off a 1m38.130s, and followed it up with a 1m38.090s to press his advantage further.
After a series of continued race runs across the field on the medium and hard tyres, a handful of drivers started to move across the aisle to pick up softs for a series of faster times in the final 15 minutes of the session.
Logan Sargeant began the festivities but subsequently branded his 1m38.317s "terrible", while Williams team-mate Alex Albon then bolted on softs to secure a 1m37.229s.
Sergio Perez went just under a tenth quicker than the Anglo-Thai driver, but this was little more than preamble to Verstappen's return to the top of the order; the Dutch driver bagged a 1m36.660s.
This remained the headliner for about five minutes, but Piastri entered the frame with a strong effort that culminated in him buzzing the timing line with a 1m36.629s.
McLaren team-mate Lando Norris was set to raise the bar higher with a pair of session-best sectors to open the lap, but aborted his effort following hinderance from traffic.
Stroll then snatched top spot from Piastri at the close of the session, logging his 1m36.302s, which pushed the Red Bull pair down to third and fourth positions as the clock finally stopped.
Haas duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen were fifth and sixth fastest, ahead of Alpine's Esteban Ocon - who has the French team's sole new floor package for this weekend.
Albon's effort was good enough for eighth, as Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas completed the top 10.
F1 Chinese GP - Practice results:
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| Cla | Driver | # | Chassis | Engine | Laps | Time | Interval | km/h | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 |  L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing |
18 |  |
Aston Martin | Mercedes | 21 |
1'36.302 |
203.771 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 |  O. Piastri McLaren |
81 |  |
McLaren | Mercedes | 24 |
+0.327 1'36.629 |
0.327 | 203.081 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 |  M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing |
1 |  |
Red Bull | Red Bull | 25 |
+0.358 1'36.660 |
0.031 | 203.016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 |  S. Perez Red Bull Racing |
11 |  |
Red Bull | Red Bull | 24 |
+0.388 1'36.690 |
0.030 | 202.953 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 |  N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team |
27 |  |
Haas | Ferrari | 23 |
+0.799 1'37.101 |
0.411 | 202.094 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 |  K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team |
20 |  |
Haas | Ferrari | 23 |
+0.816 1'37.118 |
0.017 | 202.059 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 |  E. Ocon Alpine |
31 |  |
Alpine | Renault | 23 |
+0.911 1'37.213 |
0.095 | 201.861 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 |  A. Albon Williams |
23 |  |
Williams | Mercedes | 19 |
+0.927 1'37.229 |
0.016 | 201.828 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | D. Ricciardo RB |
3 |  |
RB | Red Bull | 25 |
+0.936 1'37.238 |
0.009 | 201.809 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 |  V. Bottas Sauber |
77 |  |
Sauber | Ferrari | 24 |
+1.228 1'37.530 |
0.292 | 201.205 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 |  Z. Guanyu Sauber |
24 | |
Sauber | Ferrari | 24 |
+1.324 1'37.626 |
0.096 | 201.007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 |  Y. Tsunoda RB |
22 |  |
RB | Red Bull | 27 |
+1.704 1'38.006 |
0.380 | 200.228 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 |  C. Leclerc Ferrari |
16 |  |
Ferrari | Ferrari | 20 |
+1.788 1'38.090 |
0.084 | 200.057 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 |  C. Sainz Ferrari |
55 |  |
Ferrari | Ferrari | 19 |
+1.982 1'38.284 |
0.194 | 199.662 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 |  L. Sargeant Williams |
2 |  |
Williams | Mercedes | 23 |
+1.984 1'38.286 |
0.002 | 199.658 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 |  L. Norris McLaren |
4 |  |
McLaren | Mercedes | 21 |
+2.328 1'38.630 |
0.344 | 198.961 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | G. Russell Mercedes |
63 |  |
Mercedes | Mercedes | 21 |
+2.504 1'38.806 |
0.176 | 198.607 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | L. Hamilton Mercedes |
44 |  |
Mercedes | Mercedes | 24 |
+2.537 1'38.839 |
0.033 | 198.541 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing |
14 |  |
Aston Martin | Mercedes | 22 |
+2.634 1'38.936 |
0.097 | 198.346 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 | P. Gasly Alpine |
10 |  |
Alpine | Renault | 21 |
+3.568 1'39.870 |
0.934 | 196.491 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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