By Simon Baggus
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| The first corner at Shanghai, amazing for spectators |
Like the Bahrain GP, the Chinese GP became a new addition to the Formula One calendar in 2004.
The event took place at a brand new circuit, where expense wasnt' the limit and this announced China as a main player on the Formula One stage.
As at Bahrain, the Shanghai International Circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, who has one more track up its sleeve, in the form of Istanbul Park in Turkey. Unlike Malaysia and Bahrain, this track boats amazing spectator facilities and holds just under double the amount of both Circuits put together with an astonishing 200,000.
The circuit itself has 14 corners divided equally, into right and left hand turns with two major straights, providing plenty of overtaking opportunities. This circuit also boasts harsh acceleration and deceleration changes that are demanding for both the cars and drivers. This should play into the hands of Mercedes powered cars.
The first winner here was Rubens Barrichello, with a young Jenson Button finishing second in his BAR.
Another recent highlight here will be that of Lewis Hamilton, in 2007, his debut year, going into the gravel trap at the entrants to the pits, thus handing victory to Kimi Raikkonen who also went onto winning the title by 1 point that season.
Built at a cost of 240 million US dollars, at the time the most expensive circuit built, Shanghai International is certainly a spectacular venue.
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| Hamilton was your pole sitter, whilst Alonso was your winner in 2013 |
Your last three winners here have been, Fernando Alonso (2013, 2005), Nico Rosberg (2012) and Lewis Hamilton (2011, 2008). Alonso and Hamilton being the only double winners since the track was introduced to the Formula One world in 2004.
Hamilton must be revelling in the fact his Mercedes W05 has benefited the most from the rule changes and he is on top of the F1 world riding that ever so bumpy roller coaster. Hamilton being the pole sitter last time F1 visited China, will be looking to repeat history and why not? His form is blistering at the moment, taking back to back wins in Bahrain and Malaysia and being the pole sitter in Australia and Malaysia also.
Breathing down his neck like a fire breathing dragon, Nico Rosberg is hot on his heels. Winner of the season opener in Australia, after Hamilton retired and taking pole last time out in Bahrain, he must fancy his chances in China as well. This intra team battle is very intense, will it turn sour, will they fall out, will the 'real champion' emerge compared to the 'race winner'.
You have to think Hamilton always has the edge on Rosberg. Rosberg seemingly too soft handed, not aggressive enough, not showing as much hunger.
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| Hamilton seems to have the edge over Rosberg |
Best of the rest is still Red Bull. Had Vettel and Ricciardo not started 11th and 13th in Bahrain, they would have been on that podium, as there race pace proved this.
With no penalties to either name and a break to improve reliability, aerodynamics, race pace etc you have to think, Red Bull has the resources to benefit the most from this.
I fully expect either Red Bull to be on that podium come race day and on that second row come qualifying.
Bahrain has shown the true speeds of each team and with China being another high speed circuit, Force India must be in prime position to benefit again as they have seemed to grasp the new Mercedes power unit the best.
Perez had a performance that silenced the critics for one more weekend, just as he was beginning to fall behind team mate Hulkenberg. His third place was great for him, for his team and to kick start his campaign. Force India, incredibly, are second in the constructors championship and Perez will be running off great momentum that should bring him another good run in China. Hulkenberg was again consistent in Bahrain, comfortably in the points, albeit struggling at the end of the race. Expect the same from him in Shanghai. In typical Hulk style no less.
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| Perez will be looking too continue his good form into China |
Williams will be gutted they did not extract the most from their weekend. This could just be down to lack of good strategy, not fighting at the front for podiums for some time, showing their race rust. All will come to them as the season goes on. They will undoubtedly be on that podium more than once this season in the form of two great drivers.
Bottas who is the young pretender, has been great this year, scoring more points than Williams would have imagined at the beginning of the year, after their dire performance the season before. He will be looking at bringing home the points again.
Then there is Massa who seems much happier than his final years as a Ferrari driver, this has shown in his performances so far, as no such mistakes that hampered him in previous years have appeared this season, just consistent point scoring GP's so far. Apart from his retirement in Australia, which was not his fault. China should suit the Williams outfit and more points seem inevitable.
McLaren started this season with promise with a double podium in Australia, after Ricciardo's disqualification, but have fallen back since then, resulting in two retirements last time out in Bahrain.
They will be hoping their luck changes. China is a track that should suit them and with Button winning the 2010 event here, recent history and knowledge could help. Hamilton had his last win here courtesy of McLaren also, so they do know how to approach this track.
Ferrari may be looking at the final point scoring positions again, as the long straight in China could hurt their performance, with an underpowered Ferrari unit. Alonso was the winner last time here, but reminiscing is all he will be doing, as Alonso will know himself he has no chance. If Alonso knows he has no chance, Raikkonen will be in the same boat, as he is struggling even more than Alonso with the Ferrari car this year.
Torro Rosso seem to be hovering around the final points scoring positions with Vergne and Kvyat taking points in the opening couple of GP's and just missing out in Bahrain with Kvyat 11th. They will be looking to get both cars into Q2 and maybe snatch some points.
Lotus made a little progress, by getting both cars home in Bahrain. They still lack overall pace though and it is bold claims they match McLaren for pace and have the speed to score some points. Hard to see from my point of view. Maldonado will be near the back of the grid in China due to his incident in Bahrain, so all hopes look to be on Grosjean for some points. Maybe they will have made some progress from in season testing.
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| Guiterrez will have a new chassis after this crash in Bahrain |
Sauber are another team not performing to expectations, With the speed of Gutierrez and the wisdom of Sutil they should be in the points more often. They both seem to be riding the storm, until significant upgrades emerge in the near future as their package is very heavy and pretty slow. Sutil has been the slower so far out of the team pairing but this is down to his weight disadvantage i feel.
Caterham and Marussia are very evenly matched, bringing up the rear of the field and it will be interesting to see who will take the 10th place position in the constructors. It is swapping at every race we have visited but maybe Max Chilton will be the man to do it for Marussia who has been the most consistent out of the four back runners.
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Thank you,
Simon Baggus
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