2010 FORMULA 1 CHINESE GRAND PRIXFormula 1 remains in Asia this weekend, in the Chinese city of Shanghai for the 2010 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit. The Chinese Grand Prix marks the fourth round of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. We have six drivers at the top of the standings covered by less then ten points in the drivers championship, the dual will once again be scintillating in China.
China is one of the world’s largest economies in the world and is rapidly growing as a country, this means that Formula One can not afford to not have a Grand Prix in China – it is a very lucrative market for the sport. With businesses such as the Bank of China, Sinopec and Aigo all having sponsored F1 teams - teams have greatly benefited from the commercial revenue that Chinese businesses have given to teams. In terms of TV viewership, China is only behind Europe in terms of how many Chinese people watch the races. In general, the business opportunities and public interest that China has in F1 are key factors in China having a place in the calendar.
The Shanghai International circuit cost a staggering $450 million to build, it is a state of the art facility that can match the standards of the very best circuits on the calendar. The construction of the circuit was funded by respective governments in China to host an F1 Grand Prix. China hosted its first F1 race in 2004. The track has also hosted Moto GP races, a V8 Supercar race, GP2 Asia races and A1GP races – as China opens its doors to international motor racing.
Overtaking opportunities The Shanghai International Circuit is not only one of the less interesting layouts on the calendar, it has very few passing opportunities in the dry.
Turn 1 is a passing opportunity, especially in the opening laps. Drivers often get turn 16 wrong and run wide, which can lead opponents to go side-by-side along the pit straight and do a dandier move into turn 1 which has a very fast entry to it. Turn 6 is a possible passing opportunity, but unless somebody gets the exit of turn 4 wrong – the straight between both turns is usually not long enough for drivers to slipstream there rivals and pass their rivals in this turn. The circuit really mainly consists of continuous series of twists and turns, which means that passing is hard at this track with limited opportunities for cars to slipstream each other and pass into big braking zones. Undoubtedly, the best passing opportunity comes at turn 14. The drivers will stay flat out on one of F1’s longest straights and reach approximately 195 mph before stamping on the brake pedal to just 45 mph. This is a massive braking zone with a wide entry that encourages passing, this is the most significant overtaking opportunity due to the opportunities for slipstreaming along the back straight and driers trying to out-brake each other into turn 14 – a major stop from high speeds. Moves at this corner have been pulled off countless times.
However, all of this is thrown out of the window with rain descending on the circuit. The 2006, 2007 and 2009 Chinese GP’s have all been rain-affected. If this occurs again for this year’s event, then every corner literally becomes a realistic overtaking opportunity – with huge variation in grip levels and each driver’s level of confidence in wet conditions. Not even the sheer downforce that F1 cars generate can affect the prospects for unpredictable and thrilling wet Grand’s Prix.
What to watch forAccording to Bridgestone, the Shanghai track is very severe on rear tyres. As can be seen on the track guide, the circuit features many continuous tight and twisty corners with few full throttle sections in between. This means that teams run medium to high downforce levels at this track, so the cars have maximum traction when exiting these fiddly corners. Meaning less wheel-spin is caused by cars being more planted to the track, so cars exit corners as fast as possible for competitive lap times. But, in the cars being run in high downforce specifications, this only increases tyre wear because the tyres are digging into the tarmac more aggressively due to higher downforce levels run then at other tracks. This is particularly an issue for the rear tyres, because the power is transmitted to the rear wheels in F1 cars. So, drivers who are too aggressive and generate too much wheel-spin, especially carrying so much fuel may have to ease off and conserve their rear Bridgestone tyres or pit for new tyres.
If the race is dry, it will be interesting to see if some drivers just push too hard, too soon and have to either nurse their tyres until their scheduled pit stops. Or, whether they will make earlier pitstops. As we saw in Australia, not even the hard compound is particularly durable if a driver drives too aggressively for a whole stint.
Car requirementsThe Shanghai track requires medium to high downforce levels, but this really depends on the relative downforce of each car. The cars with higher downforce levels may be able to sacrifice downforce, trimming the wings out to gain more speed on the long back straight. Because, cars such as the Red Bull machine produce staggering levels of downforce, so even if teams such as RBR do trim their cars out for more top speed, they can still rely on the high downforce levels of their cars to ensure that they are as stable in the tight corners. Teams such as Virgin may not have this luxury, because their cars do not have high downforce levels – and ensuring that their car is fast as possible through the tight turns will be of the highest priority for them.
Mechanical grip is very important as well, due to the track’s many slow speed turns. Because the track is so twisty, strain on engines and fuel consumption is very low here – due to the drivers being off throttle for much of the lap when negotiating the circuit’s slow, long and often frustrating corners. So, the thirstier and less reliable engines on the grid will not be under such strain here.
Tyre selectionsBridgestone will bring their soft and hard Potenza compounds to Chinese Grand Prix. As ever, both compounds must be used by all drivers in the race.
Video footageLets see a flying lap of this Shanghai circuit with Jarno Trulli in his Toyota TF108 driving during practice 2 of the 2008 Chinese Grand Prix, as described by the former Toyota driver:
Weekend schedule in UK time:Fri 16 April 2010Friday Practice 1 03:00 – 04:30
Friday Practice 2 07:30 – 08:30
Sat 17 April 2010Saturday Practice 04:00 - 05:00
Qualifying 07:00
Sun 18 April 2010Start of formation lap 08:00
Chinese Grand Prix race start 08:03
Where to watch – GMT time-Free practice 1 live: 03:00am – 04:30am BBC via Red Button / online
-Free practice 2 live: 07:00am – 08:30am BBC via Red Button / online
- Free practice 3 live: 04:00am – 05:00am BBC via Red Button / online
- Qualifying coverage live: 06:00am – 08:30am BBC One / online
- Chinese Grand Prix live: 07:00am – 10:15am BBC One / online
*If you are watching the Grand Prix in Britain, after race day coverage has finished on BBC1, press the red button for the F1 Forum. When you’ve pressed the red button, there will be a link to follow for the F1 forum. Where the BBC F1 experts continue to have an in-depth discussion of the key moments in the motor race.
As always, live timing and scoring is available for every session at http://www.formula1.com/ Registration is free. If you wish to watch this Grand Prix outside the UK, please check your local listings.
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Subject: F1 - 2010 CHINESE GRAND PRIX - SHANGHAI 
