The iconic venue of Shanghai is back after COVID restrictions were lifted in the country for the Chinese Grand Prix
Shanghai used to be one of the most memorable tracks of the calendar. Still holding the record for the most overtakes on a dry race in Formula 1 history in 2016. However, many F1 fans might have never seen racing happen in this venue. The Chinese Grand Prix is back.
The Shanghai International circuit is known for its insanely long right hand-turn, really different sectors with low, medium and high-speed corners and one of the longest straight lines of the calendar. In addition, is the first time cars with the ground effect era regulations run on this track, which could add even more difficulty when finding the right setup. Together with this, the weekend is a sprint weekend and teams will only have one free practice session to prepare for the Grand Prix.
Before the Chinese Grand Prix we will see the first sprint of the season
First Sprint weekend with the new format for this year. Yet, another change of format in F1 Sprint. The new format has only one Free Practice session on Friday. After that, Sprint Shootout (qualifying for the sprint). On Saturday Sprint race goes first and Qualifying for the Feature Race. Finally, Feature Race on Sunday.
European fans will have to wake up early for the Qualifying and the race. Even more if they want to watch the Sprint, taking place at 5 pm CET. The Sprint Qualifying, Feature Qualifying and Race will however be held from 9 pm.
Rain before the weekend and a recently asphalted track could make it hard to find grip
Fans who have watched racing for a couple of years might remember the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix. The Grand Prix combined always changing climate and new asphalt with a title decider and gave us an iconic race. Lewis Hamilton won his 8th world title and Lance Stroll surprised everyone with his maiden Pole position.
The situation this week has been one of extreme rain in Shanghai. The track is now dry. However, there is still a chance of rain especially on Sunday. Teams might have to be ready for a change of plans.
The track also brought some modifications this year. The gravel trap before entering the pits has made its return to F1. This gravel trap is well known for being the one that took away Lewis Hamilton‘s world championship in his rookie F1 season.
Simulations are very unclear and nobody knows what to expect
Being a track where F1 has not raced in the ground effect era Shanghai is a mystery for most teams. A lot of them, like McLaren have declared they don’t think they will be very strong. However, we can still predict Red Bull being the favorites and Ferrari in second place.
Williams looked like they wouldn’t be able to make it to china
Alex Albon has praised the effort Williams has done ensuring that both their cars are ready for the Chinese Grand Prix. The Thai-British driver crashed heavily in Japan in what was the team’s third big incident in just two weeks.
“Accidents happen, I didn’t put too much effort or thought into the crash itself,” said Albon. “Moving on into this weekend, obviously the main thing is just the work that’s been done back at the factory to get the cars ready. “I’m focused on the present. I don’t think it should affect us too much,” he commented. “I feel like we know what we’ve got, we’ve understood our car quite well. It’s still a bit of a learning curve, what we’ve got with the car, but we’re into race five now, we have a good feeling with it.
The Williams driver declared: “There’s a couple of things kind of more knock-on effects, delays on certain upgrades and whatnot which are a bit of a shame. But I would say, only bar Melbourne, I think we’ve had a car that can fight for points, so hopefully we can have a good one this weekend.” “I’m hoping some of the top teams [are] a little bit less in favour and feel they need a bit more preparation, and that’s where the smaller teams can capitalise on that. We spent a lot of work in the simulator trying to make sure we’re as ready as possible. There’s only so much you can do around here, but yeah, let’s see what happens.” So Williams looks to be back and start their campaign for points in this Grand Prix.
Silly season might start closing contracts after this weekend
Last week we learned that Fernando Alonso renewed his contract with Aston Martin. He signed for a multi-year contract and confirmed he will soon be the oldest F1 driver since Graham Hill when he turns 45. With this in mind, his rumors of going to Red Bull were turned off. However, this seat is still unconfirmed among many others.
Formula 1 posted an image of all the available seats for next season. Obviously, this is with sights set on the 2026 change of regulations. The only confirmed Lineups are Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in Ferrari and Oscar Piastri with Lando Norris in McLaren. Besides those, only Fernando Alonso with Aston Martin, Max Verstappen with Red Bull and George Russell with Mercedes are confirmed to stay in for the following season.
Guillermo Lorenzo Manzano
