by Alex Johnston
After a long hiatus, Formula 1 returns to the Shanghai International Circuit for the Chinese Grand Prix - the first since 2019. A lot has changed in F1 - and the world - since then.
In this article, I’ll take you through all the reason that I believe the Chinese Grand Prix could be the best race weekend of the 2024 season, despite it still being so early.
Last time: The 1000th(we’re now at 1105) ever F1 Grand Prix was the third round of the 2019 season.
📸 The 1000th F1 Grand Prix in China.
2019 qualifying: Bottas, Hamilton(both Mercedes), Vettel, Leclerc(both Ferrari), Verstappen, Gasly(both Red Bull), Daniel Ricciardo, Hülkenberg(both Renault), Magnussen, Grosjean(both Haas), Kvyat(Toro Rosso), Perez(Racing Point), Raikkonen(Alfa Romeo), Sainz, Norris(both McLaren), Stroll(Racing Point), Russell, Kubica(both Williams).
Albon - Toro Rosso(FP3 crash) & Giovinazzi - Alfa Romeo(no time set).
📸 Albon suffered a heavy shunt, but went from the pitlane to P10 on his first and only visit to China.
2019 race result: Hamilton, Bottas, Vettel, Verstappen, Leclerc, Gasly, Ricciardo, Perez, Raikkonen, Albon, Grosjean, Stroll, Magnussen, Sainz, Giovinazzi, Russell, Kubica.
DNF: Norris, Kvyat, Hülkenberg.
Looks a little different..
1. It’s been a while…
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and F1 and China have certainly be absent from one another for some time. Several drivers on the grid have either raced here once or never in their F1 careers.
📸 China has played host to many massive F1 moments - but perhaps none bigger than this one above?
2. Different machines
The current iteration of F1 car has never raced here. There is a vast difference in how the cars look and are driven compared to the cars that last visited Shanghai in 2019.
📸 The cars now look very different to these 2019 ones.
3. It’s a sprint weekend/one practice session
Sprint races have been introduced since the last trip to China and this weekend has been selected to become the first one of the season.
With one practice session only, drivers must get their eye in quick around Shanghai if they’re going to be competitive all weekend - especially the newbies..
📸 A sprint race is expected to shakeup the order.
4. Not everyone has a lot of experience around the circuit
Oscar Piastri, Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu & Logan Sargeant have never raced here. Experienced drivers like Pierre Gasly, Charles Leclerc and Esteban Ocon have only done it twice and George Russell, Lando Norris, Alex Albon have only done it once.
Learning curve.
📸 Piastri will sample Shanghai for the first time.
5. There’s a home favourite
Zhou will race in Shanghai for the first time in front of a home crowd, all willing the Chinese driver on to glory.
📸 Zhou will not be short of support this weekend.
6. It’s a power hungry circuit
The Shanghai International Circuit features a 1.1km, a long pit straight, a long and winding turn 1-3 and similar qualities to Silverstone all the way through sectors 1 & 2. Power reliance will be a huge factor and could result in multiple overtakes…see 2016; which featured 161 overtakes.
📸 The view down the pit straight.
And finally…
7. Tyres
The last visit, the circuit was well rubbered in and the cars featured 13 inch tyres. The latest and currently-in-use tyres are 18 inches.
They’ll behave very differently to their 2019 counterparts and on a potentially highly abrasive circuit ‘deg’ or degradation, to those lesserly proficient in F1 lingo, will be high.
📸 Today’s tyres are incredibly different to those last used in China.
Could chaos reign in China? Maybe some rain for the sprint race could also shake things up? Be sure to tune in for a good one!
📸 Image credits: Sky Sports, Formula Motorsport Limited.
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