Formula 1 has headed straight to Shanghai for the third round of the season, the Chinese Grand Prix. Motorsport Week provides the key information.
History
China joined the Formula 1 calendar in 2004 at a purpose-built circuit on the outskirts of one of the largest cities in the world, Shanghai.
Installed as a late-season event – holding the finale in 2005 – the Grand Prix switched to an April date in 2009 and has remained as one of the early rounds since.
The event is scheduled to remain on the Formula 1 calendar through 2020, with the country having been earmarked as a primary market for the sport going forward.
Circuit
The 16-turn 5.451 km circuit, built on swampland, has remained relatively unchanged since its debut in 2004, the track layout bearing inspiration from the Chinese symbol ‘shang’, in deference to the nearby city.
The track features a mixture of corners, with the most iconic surely the snail-like Turn 1, a gradually tightening right-hander that bends 270 degrees before opening out to send drivers propelling towards the Turn 6 hairpin.
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A fast sequence of sweeping turns follows, before a couple of medium-speed left handers, culminating in a tight left-hander, which leads onto the all-important kilometre-long back straight, the best overtaking opportunity on the track.
Picking a braking point for the Turn 14 hairpin is vital, while the final corner – a fourth-gear left-hand flick – can be deceptively tricky, with plenty of drivers misjudging the bend and compromising their downhill run to the pit straight, itself ensconced beneath overarching paddock buildings, creating a stadium-like feel for drivers.
“The first few corners are notorious for tyre degradation and later on in the lap, Turn 13 is another long right-hander that takes even more life out of them,” says Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg of the front-limited circuit.
“After that unique first sector, the rest of the lap has a bit of everything from low-speed to high-speed, which makes it challenging to find a balanced set-up.
“There’s a big long straight where you have enough time for a game of chess as you’re going in a straight line with your foot hard down for so long, then you wake up and you’re hard on the brakes.
“It’s really important to get your braking right there as it’s a pretty important corner.”
What happened in 2017?
Rain before the race prompted most drivers to start on Intermediate tyres and pole sitter Lewis Hamilton led away – though rival Sebastian Vettel blinked first, switching to slicks.
However, Vettel’s prospects were hampered when the Safety Car was deployed after Antonio Giovinazzi crashed heavily on the pit straight, giving his opponents a free pit stop for dry rubber, and he dropped to fifth.
From there, Hamilton was relatively untroubled en route to the chequered flag, while Vettel put in a starring recovery to reclaim second, rubbing wheels with Daniel Ricciardo before profiting from a Max Verstappen error.
In turn, Verstappen’s outstanding first lap from a compromised grid position contributed towards his third-placed finish, as he fended off late pressure from Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
Hamilton’s victory was his fifth at the Chinese Grand Prix, extending his record as by far the most successful driver at the venue.
Hamilton triumphed for McLaren in 2008 and 2011, and also took back-to-back victories in 2014 and 2015 in Mercedes colours.
Fernando Alonso (2005, 2013) and the now-retired Nico Rosberg (2012, 2016) are the only other multiple winners at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Of the current crop of drivers, Kimi Raikkonen (2007) and Sebastian Vettel (2009) are the other victors – the latter marking Red Bull’s first win in Formula 1.
Hamilton is also the one-lap expert at Shanghai, having led qualifying on six occasions (2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017), while Vettel (2009, 2010, 2011) and Alonso (2005, 2006) are the other Chinese Grand Prix polesitters on the current grid.
Other details
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Tyre supplier Pirelli has nominated the Ultrasoft (purple), Soft (yellow) and Medium (white) tyres for this weekend’s event, marking the first time in recent years that the company has opted to skip a compound.
Either the Soft or Medium tyres must be run for one stint of the 56-lap Grand Prix, should dry conditions prevail.
There will be two DRS zones – one along the back straight between Turns 13 and 14, and another along the pit straight, unchanged from 12 months ago.
Danny Sullivan will act as the driver steward.
Weather forecast:
Friday: Storms, 21°c
Saturday: Partly cloudy, 17°c
Sunday: Sunny spells, 18°c
Timetable: (GMT+8)
Friday 13 April
FP1: 10:00 – 11:30
FP2: 14:00 – 15:30
Saturday 14 April
FP3: 11:00 – 12:00
Qualifying: 14:00 – 15:00
Sunday 15 April
Race: 14:10 (56 laps or two hours)
Any milestones?
Valtteri Bottas is set to make his 100th Formula 1 race start since he joined the grid with Williams in 2013. Bottas, a three-time race winner, has already entered 100 Grands Prix, but was absent from the 2015 Australian Grand Prix after withdrawing post-qualifying due to a back injury.
What next?
Azerbaijan’s Baku City Circuit will host the fourth round of the season from April 27 to 29
