There has been no racing in Shanghai since 2019
Formula 1 returns to Shanghai after a five-year absence. In fact, the Chinese Grand Prix had not been held since 2019, which that year hosted the celebrations for the thousandth event in the history of the greatest automotive competition. The pandemic kept the world championship Circus away from China for longer than expected and this year the return to Shanghai also coincides with the anniversary of the first GP in China held in 2004 (victory for Rubens Barrichello with Ferrari ahead of Kimi’s McLaren Raikkonen).
5,451 meters long, the track has 16 corners, some very slow – such as the combination 1-3, 6 and 14 – or fast, such as the S composed of 7 and 8. There are two main straights, which also correspond to the two DRS zones: the start/finish one and the one, over a kilometer long, which connects curve 13, slightly elevated, to 14.
According to what was reported by Pirelli in the press release with which the F1 tire supplier presented the Chinese GP, based on simulations and historical data, lateral and longitudinal forces which the tires will be subjected to should be within the average range, with the external part subject, particularly on the left side of the car, to greater wear. The trio of compounds selected this winter to be brought to Shanghai is the medium one, with C2 as Hard, C3 as Medium and C4 as Soft. Nominally, this is the same selection as 2019 but the scenario is totally different. Five years ago, in fact, the 13-inch tires mounted on the previous generation of single-seaters were still used, characterized by a flat bottom and with completely different aerodynamics from the current one. In fact, it’s almost as if we were starting from scratch: for the riders, for the teams and for Pirelli itself, given that the references are very vague.
Complicating the situation will also be the fact that the Chinese Grand Prix will be the first of the six scheduled for the season to adopt the format Sprinthowever slightly modified compared to last year both in terms of the order in which the sessions take place – free practice and Sprint qualifying on Friday, Sprint race and qualifying on Saturday, Grand Prix obviously on Sunday – and in the management of the parc fermé, which will be divided into two parts: one that includes qualifying and the Sprint race and one that starts before qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
However, there will only be one hour on Friday to find the best settings for the cars and, above all, to test the tires over long distances on a track that will inevitably be in far from optimal conditions: it is foreseeable that the evolution of the level of grip offered by the asphalt, which has remained unchanged since 2019 and has only been used in very few events between then and now , will be very significant as the cars tire it. For the teams and drivers, the work carried out on the simulator will therefore be even more important than usual, both in preparation for the event and during it.
Also pay attention to the different ones allocation of dry tires in light of the Sprint format. The sets of tires are reduced from 13 to 12 sets (two of Hard, four of Medium and six of Soft) while those of wet tires remain unchanged (five Intermediate and two Extreme Wet). The month of April in Shanghai traditionally features significant temperature changes, with fluctuations of over 10°C, adding a further unknown to the puzzle that teams and riders will face. As far as strategies are concerned, the Chinese Grand Prix is usually a typical race two pit stops, also because the track offers various overtaking possibilities, both at the braking section of 14 and on the main straight as well as at the braking section of turn 6. As in Suzuka, the undercut is traditionally very effective in Shanghai too. The fact that the race could be a two-stop race makes a Sprint even more interesting which could present great degradation at the end of the race given that no team will set a strategy that involves pit stops in the 19 laps in which the Sprint race will be divided.
Tags: China discovered pay attention left front tire News
