Chinese Grand Prix: track and statistics

In April 2003, a year and a half before Formula 1’s debut on Chinese soil, a group of engineers and architects visited the construction site of the future circuit for the first time. At that time, no one believed that a large-scale racing complex could be built in 18 months, but the Chinese were surprised by their exact adherence to the schedule, which quickly resolved several serious problems.

The design of the track was invented by Hermann Tilke, who included the Chinese character “Shang” in the configuration and tried to deviate from the usual scheme so that the press would no longer write that “Tilke’s circuits are like twins” – this is a high-speed ring with overtaking options built into the design. According to unofficial information, the total cost of the complex exceeded $325 million.

Then there was a long pause in the history of the Chinese stage due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020 it was canceled long before the start of the season, then others were canceled, resulting in the season only starting in July and consisting almost entirely of European stages.

Over the years, stages have gradually returned to the calendar, but the Shanghai race, after a four-year hiatus, will only return this year – and will be held in a sprint format on Saturdays for the first time. Previously, this format simply did not exist.

A wide track that allows you to experiment with the trajectory during the attack, a good possibility of overtaking while braking at the end of the straight, large safety zones and excellent infrastructure – you can fully concentrate on racing.

The regulations for the Saturday sprint format are different again this year.

Previously, the first training and qualifying took place on Friday and the sprint qualifying and the sprint itself on Saturday. This year, the only practice and qualifying for the sprint will take place on Friday, and the sprint and main qualifying for Sunday’s race will take place on Saturday.

The ‘closed park’ regulations have also changed, in which teams are not allowed to work with cars. Only replacement of damaged parts with new ones with the same specifications is permitted.

The Parc Ferme regime starts again on Friday from the start of the Sprint qualifying, but is interrupted after the finish of the Sprint. This way, the teams can work on the cars before the main qualifying session on Saturday and adjust the settings if necessary, based on the information collected in the sprint qualifying and in the sprint itself.

After the start of qualifying on Saturday, the parc ferme regime will resume and continue until the start of the race.

Track features

The circuit has a challenging configuration with a tricky right-hander followed by one of the longest straights on the calendar – the combustion engine will run at top speed for almost 20 seconds – around a fifth of the lap time.

The combination of the first, second and third turns is very interesting: engineers have to solve the difficult task of finding settings for this segment. The track is very uneven, the characteristics of the asphalt surface are different every year.

The circuit requires a moderate amount of downforce and the traditional compromise between speed on the straights and grip in the slow corners. Due to the large number of long turns, it is important to avoid oversteer when adjusting the car.

There are two independent DRS zones on the track. Pilots can change the position of the rear wing control on two straights – between turns 13 and 14 and the starting line. The first point for measuring the interval between cars is located at the 12th turn, the second – before the 16th.

Tire wear is average; the limiting factor on long turns is the wear of the left front wheel. The load on the brakes is high. At the end of the straight before the hairpin bend, the riders slow down from about 320 km/h to 60 km/h in a stretch of 100 meters.

Weekend schedule

You can follow the progress of all Formula 1 sessions on our live broadcast page.

Tire kits issued to teams for the weekend

Pirelli will bring the three ‘medium’ compounds to Shanghai – C2, C3 and C4 in Hard, Medium and Soft roles. On the one hand, they are well known to the teams, on the other hand, they have never run on tires of this specification in China, so problems are possible, especially if you take into account only one practice in the Saturday sprint format.

Performance of current riders in China

Nico Hulkenberg: “Shanghai is a great place. I always stay in the city center where there is a lively atmosphere, there is always something going on.

The circuit combines different sections: slow, medium and fast corners. It is similar to Sepang, where the aerodynamic efficiency of the car is also important. High speed cornering puts a lot of strain on the tires, especially on the left front tire, and makes it very difficult to complete a perfect lap.”