Start from scratch ~ Garage Rio de Janeiro

The Chinese Grand Prix returns to the calendar after five years of absence. 2019 was the last year that Formula 1 passed through Shanghai. On this occasion, celebrations took place for the thousandth event in the history of the most prestigious world motorsport championship. The long pause is due to the slow return to normality following the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, with China now back on the calendar. The first edition of this Grand Prix took place in September 2004.

The 16 editions took place at the Shanghai International Circuit, designed by Hermann Tilke, whose layout was inspired by the Chinese character «shang», which means «high». The 5,451 kilometer course features 16 corners, many of which are very slow, such as the sequence of turns 1 to 3 and 6 to 14, and others of high speed, such as turns 7 and 8. The circuit also has two long straights, one at the finish line and the second between turns 13 and 14, both used as a DRS zone.

Based on previous simulations and data, the tires will be subjected to lateral and longitudinal forces that fall into the medium category, which will cause increased wear on the outside of the tire, especially on the left side of the car. The intermediate tires from the range were chosen for this first prize: C2 (Hard), C3 (Medium) and C4 (Soft). In theory this is the same choice as the 2019 race, but at the time 13-inch tires were in use, installed on the previous generation of single-wheel cars. For the riders, the teams and also for Pirelli, in fact, it is practically a question of starting from scratch, given that the references are very vague.

To further complicate matters, the Chinese Grand Prix will be the first of six rounds this season in the Sprint format, which has been slightly changed this year in terms of the running order of the sessions. Free practice and Sprint qualifying will take place on Friday, the Sprint race and qualifying on Saturday, and the Grand Prix on Sunday. The Parc Fermé has also changed, divided into two parts: one covering qualifying and the Sprint race and the other starting before qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

This means that on Friday there will only be an hour of free practice to find the right set-up of the single-seaters and, above all, to evaluate the tires during a long race on a track that will inevitably be far from ideal conditions. It is likely that, in terms of grip, the evolution of the track, which has not changed since 2019, and which has been used little since then, will be very significant, as the single-seaters deposit rubber on the asphalt. This means that simulator work takes on even greater importance for drivers and engineers, both in preparation and during the race.

The Sprint format also involves a different set of dry tyres, dropping from 13 to 12 sets (two hard, four medium and six soft), while the number of wet sets remains the same (five intermediate and two wet). In the month of April in Shanghai the climate can undergo sudden changes, with variations around 10°C, which add another variable to the puzzle that teams and riders must put together. Normally the Chinese Grand Prix is ​​a two-stop race. As in the case of Suzuka, the undercut is generally very effective in Shanghai too.

Of the 20 drivers on the grid this year, only three have reached the top step of the podium in Shanghai: Lewis Hamilton (six times), Fernando Alonso (twice) and Daniel Ricciardo (once). Hamilton also has six pole positions in Shanghai. In terms of teams, Mercedes leads with six wins, ahead of Ferrari with four, while Red Bull have won twice. In fact, it was here, in 2009, that Sebastian Vettel gave the team its first victory.