Formula 1 has returned to the Shanghai International Circuit for the first time in five years; to mark the occasion, here are five of the best moments from the Chinese Grand Prix.
Presented in chronological order, our top five moments begin with the end of an era.
1. 2006: Schumacher’s last win
The 2006 Chinese GP will go down in history as the 91st and final victory in Michael Schumacher’s glittering F1 career. After losing his grip on the title in 2005 where the single race tyre rule prevented Schumacher and Ferrari from competing, 2006 saw Schumi and co. go head-to-head with Fernando Alonso and Renault for Championship glory. Alonso took pole in a wet qualifying session, locking out the front row with team-mate Giancarlo Fisischella. Schumacher qualified sixth, behind the two Hondas and Kimi Raikkonen’s McLaren. The task at hand on a wet race day for Schumacher was simple, he had to ensure the title fight carried into the final two rounds in Japan and Brazil.
Schumacher was able to pick up places in the opening stint before a short fuel stop, with Alonso changing tyres. Schumacher found himself on the tail of the two Renaults in the second stint who squabbled for position, allowing the German to pick off his title rival who then got a sticking right rear wheel in his second stop as the conditions dried up.
Alonso pitted early for dry tyres on lap 34, and the disaster meant he had a mountain to climb if he were to take victory. Schumacher pitted a lap earlier than Fisichella on Lap 39, meaning he cooly passed by the Italian when the Renault emerged after its Lap 40 stop. Schumacher was left unopposed from there on to take a classic Schumi win, mastering changeable conditions and pit-stop strategy to emerge victorious for the final time in his career. The 91st GP win for the German meant he was tied on points with Alonso, setting up the dramatic two-race title showdown in 2006.
2. 2007: Hamilton’s pit-lane prang
A year on from Schumacher’s final victory fate fell harshly on the man who would later surpass the German’s win tally, Lewis Hamilton. Racing for McLaren in a stellar rookie season, Hamilton entered the penultimate round of the 2007 season in Shanghai with the ability to clinch the F1 Drivers’ title. Alas, a rookie title did not come Hamilton’s way, instead, a gut-wrenching retirement.
As had been the case in 2006, the 2007 Chinese Grand Prix was a race run in changeable conditions. Hamilton entered the weekend after an incredible wet weather victory at Fuji, which gave him a 107 points haul and a 12-point lead over McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso, who had 95 points at this stage, with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen on 90 points. Hamilton’s task to clinch a rookie title was made easier when he took pole in Shanghai, ahead of Raikkonen in second, with Alonso qualifying fourth.
A rain shower met the field at lights out and Hamilton got the holeshot with Raikkonen close behind and Alonso maintaining fourth. Hamilton streaked away unopposed in the opening stint with Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Alonso falling back. A finish like that would have handed the crown to Hamilton, but despite conditions drying, the Brit kept his worn wet tyres during his first stop, as did Raikkonen.
The Ferrari man was then able to put the pressure on Hamilton as a shower of rain made track conditions tricky. As the rain subsided again the worn wet tyres of Raikkonen and Hamilton were losing grip, especially for the latter. The moment Hamilton ran wide, Raikkonen pounced to take the lead as the McLaren driver struggled to keep his car pointed in the right direction. He had to pit given the canvas of his tyres were showing. Pit he did, but it was all too late with his tyres disintegrating and offering no grip on a damp pit entry, Hamilton agonisingly slipped into the gravel trap and out of the race.
It was Hamilton’s first retirement of the year and his two title rivals finished first and second. Raikkonen’s win and Alonso’s second-place finish meant the title went down to a three-way fight in the season-finale at Sao Paulo and the rest, as they say, is history…
3. 2009: Red Bull’s first win
Despite making its F1 debut approximately three decades later, Red Bull now has two more GP victories than Williams, 116 to 114. The first of Red Bull’s still-growing win tally came in Shanghai, Round 3 of the 2009 season. After making its debut in 2005, Red Bull had to sit back and watch junior outfit Toro Rosso bit it to a maiden win thanks to Sebastian Vettel’s wet-weather mastery at Monza in 2008. In 2009, Red Bull had Vettel at its disposal, pitted against the mighty double-diffuser shod Brawn GP cars of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello.
Despite Brawn’s superior pace in the early stages of the ’09 season, Vettel was able to claim Red Bull’s maiden pole position that weekend in China, sharing the front row with Alonso (who was now in his second stint at Renault). Mark Webber qualified third in the second Red Bull, ahead of Barrichello in fourth and Button in fifth.
As had become common in China, Sunday was wet at the Shanghai circuit. Standing water and heavy spray meant a Safety Car led proceedings before eventually making way for racing conditions around the treacherous lake-like circuit.
Countless rivals floundered in the wet conditions, but not Red Bull. Vettel and Webber nailed the race to finish half a minute ahead of the competition, picking up the team’s first win with a stylish one-two finish. 115 race wins later, Red Bull shows no signs of slowing down.
4. 2010: A wet/dry McLaren masterclass
Changeable conditions in the early rounds of the 2010 season often meant one thing, Jenson Button’s McLaren would cross the Chequered Flag in first place and so it came to pass in Shanghai that year. The 2009 Drivers’ Champion lined up fifth on the grid behind an all-Red Bull front row of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg. Alonso jumped the start to take the lead with concerns being cast at the skies above. The race was started on dry tyres but rain was already falling.
This prompted Alonso to it for intermediate tyres under the Safety Car triggered by a multi-car incident at Turn 6 on Lap 1, with the two Red Bulls double-stacking. Lewis Hamilton also made a late call over the gravel to pit for the inters. This left Rosberg leading from Button at the Safety Car restart and the McLaren driver made the right call to stay out as the track dried, effectively gaining a stop on his rivals who had to switch back from inters to slicks.
Not to be outdone, Hamilton set about fighting his way back through the order to recover for the misjudged pit for inters, carving his way through with the Red Bulls following not too far behind. But then the weather started to change again and Rosberg made an error while navigating the dampening Shanghai circuit on slicks, allowing Button to pounce and take the lead on Lap 19. The rain at this point was worthy of pitting and Button duly made the switch to intermediate tyres.
However, a second Safety Car period undid all of Button’s hard work and he had to focus on rebuilding his advantage, whilst Hamilton had to fight his way back through the pack once again. As the rain subsided and the inters wore out, one final stop was needed to switch back to slicks, but Button rode every challenge well to take an accomplished victory and Hamilton completed his fight back to secure a McLaren one-two finish.
5. 2016: Vintage Ricciardo in the Charging Bull
In the present moment, Daniel Ricciardo is fighting to turn his form around after years in the Grand Prix wilderness but the 2018 Chinese Grand Prix was evidence of his dogged determination and supreme wheel-to-wheel skill. The Australian arrived in Shanghai on a rotten run of luck with four retirements in the previous six races and lined up sixth on the grid come race day. The prospect for a win then looked slim with a Ferrari and Mercedes lockout on rows one and two respectively. However, Ricciardo’s wins always come in extraordinary circumstances.
Sebastian Vettel grabbed the holeshot, with Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen stealing a march on Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari and fifth-placed Lewis Hamilton. For the first half of the race, the battle for victory was between Bottas and Vettel until the two Toro Rossos of Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly came together at the hairpin on Lap 30. The resulting debris prompted a Safety Car and Ricciardo and Red Bull’s race started to turn around.
The Australian driver was the second Red Bull to pit for soft tyres behind Verstappen in a double stack under the Safety Car, with Bottas, Vettel and Hamilton staying out on mediums. The stage was set for a 20-lap sprint starting from Lap 36’s restart and Verstappen in fourth and Ricciardo in sixth were poised with a tyre advantage. It took Ricciardo a lap to move up the order into fifth at the expense of Raikkonen.
On Lap 39, Verstappen, not quite the finished article at this point ran wide in his risky attempt to pass Hamilton, allowing Ricciardo into fourth place. A lap later, Ricciardo lunged from deep to pass Hamilton into the Turn 14 hairpin and he picked off Vettel for second on Lap 42 down the back straight. Verstappen wasn’t so lucky in his pursuit, tagging Vettel into Turn 14 on Lap 43 causing both to spin and resulting in a 10-second penalty.
Ricciardo meanwhile continued his charge and there was nobody who could stand in his way. Bottas fought valiantly into Turn 6 on Lap 45, squeezing the inside line, but Ricciardo found the room, diving through to take a lead he would never relinquish. It was the smiling assassin’s sixth GP win and perhaps his very best.
