Presentation – GP de Chine: Second round of the season on skis

If the article’s title seemed suspicious to you, we simply invite you to follow the white rabbit and pay attention to the design formed by the Chinese layout

« The circuit is famous for its endless combination of corners 1 and 2. It’s a difficult corner because it’s easy to come in too strong, especially in qualifying, and degrade the front left tire. This combination completely sucks you in because the corner is very long after a fast entry, you lose speed as it gets tighter and tighter, the corner seems to last an eternity before sending you into the narrow descent of corner 3. »

Familiarly called the turnstile or the snail, the first corner of the Shanghai circuit makes its specificity and Nico Hülkenberg shares the driver’s sensation in it. With four very long corners, including three to the right, the left tires, particularly the front left, as mentioned by the Renault driver, are punished on the Chinese track. The sequence of turns 1-2 is a deceleration phase, turn 8 is a constant speed phase, while the sequence formed by turns 12-13 is a reverse snail of the first curve, in an acceleration phase.

Season 2004: First year and track record

A true modern layout, its main grandstand, with walkways at each end allowing to cross the track, contributes to its identity. Designed by Hermann Tilke, the layout is inspired by the first sinogram of the city “shang”. Introduced in F1 following the construction of the circuit, the Chinese Grand Prix was the third-to-last race of the 2004 season. That same year, Michael Schumacher, driving the Ferrari, set the absolute lap record of the track at 1’32″238, but only finished 12th in the race, one lap behind his teammate Rubens Barrichello, after a difficult round marked by a collision, a spin, and a puncture.

Another achievement is listed on the honor roll of the Chinese Grand Prix for the Red Baron. In 2006, while he was battling for the title with Alonso and had announced his retirement at the end of the season during the previous race in Monza, Michael Schumacher claimed victory in China starting from 6th position on the grid, making him the winner who started the furthest back at this circuit. This victory marked his 91st and final success in the premier discipline.

A Hamilton-Vettel duel about to take shape?

After their surprise victory in Melbourne at the opening of the championship, Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari will now be closely watched in China. Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were right to be wary of the Scuderia, and a significant effort awaits the men in gray to beat the red armada this weekend. However, on a slightly more traditional circuit than the non-permanent Australian track, the Silver Arrows should be more comfortable. Nonetheless, the two Finns, Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Räikkönen, will need to up their game to challenge the two favorites of this season.

Unfortunately, the Red Bulls will not be able to contend for the victory. With a Renault engine that still lacks a bit of power and a car that is temperamental in the turbulence of other vehicles, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo will have to be patient. However, the latter will still have to put his Australian disappointment behind him with a trouble-free Chinese weekend.

On the side of our French representatives, the objectives will be quite different. However, it’s not out of the question to see Esteban Ocon and Romain Grosjean fighting together to score points. The Force India driver will want to fulfill his season-start roadmap by scoring points in every race. Meanwhile, the Haas driver will strive to erase his Australian frustration, where he retired from the race after achieving his team’s best qualification on Saturday, aiming to score valuable points for the championship and the mid-field battle.

Finally, the amusing statistic of the weekend concerns Fernando Alonso, who is to date the only active driver to have finished all the Chinese Grand Prix he has participated in. Maintaining this record will not be an easy task at the wheel of an erratic McLaren-Honda which forced him to withdraw from the inaugural race two weeks ago. Ironically, a suspension problem occurred, while the engine was the only source of concern regarding reliability.

To (really) know everything…

As with Melbourne, the teams will have the same number of tire sets for each type of compound. Pirelli has chosen to bring their mid-range compounds (understand in terms of grip). The medium, soft, and super-soft tires in the amounts of two, four, and seven sets will be available to each driver.

Ready for round 2? Get ready for a 🇨🇳 #ChineseGP #Fit4F1 🏁 https://t.co/zBMvI0iptR pic.twitter.com/A39F2Y7rrV

— Pirelli Motorsport (@Pirellisport) 3 avril /f1/actualite/21804-australie-course-sebastian-vettel-lemporte-devant-les-deux-mercedes.html

Concerning the DRS, two activation zones are present on the Chinese track. First, the second part of the back straight, between turns 13 and 14, with a detection zone placed at the beginning of turn 12, and then the start/finish straight with a detection zone just before the 16th and final turn.

Weather-wise, expect mixed conditions. There are risks of showers expected in the morning, with the first session taking place under overcast skies and rain anticipated for the afternoon. Saturday will be more favorable, and the practice and qualifying sessions will take place under the sun. For the race, conditions will be very uncertain, and a full wet start is highly anticipated due to rather heavy rain all morning, then light drizzle in the early afternoon. Certainly, the sun is to be ruled out, and the ambient temperature is not expected to exceed 16°C. Classic racing conditions across the Channel but always tricky for F1…

Don’t forget the TV schedule!