Having received no notification in the FIA pre-event notes of any resurfacing, the color of the asphalt – which has already deteriorated in places on the racing line – has left some concluding that the circuit had been touched with a brush.
As Daniel Ricciardo said: “It looks like they painted the track or something. They did something to the surface.
“I don’t know how the track will change, if it will be the same or if it will be very slippery. But maybe it will change the behavior of the tires.”
Ricciardo was not the only driver wondering what the impact would be on a weekend where teams are aware there is only an hour of testing before sprint qualifying begins.
World champion Max Verstappen said he had not seen anything like it since his karting days, when efforts were made to improve grip on old tracks.
“It looks like they painted it, not redone it,” the Red Bull driver said.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz said the situation had left the drivers and team a little confused.
“I think there are a lot of unknowns, particularly the tarmac which seems to have been treated in a very particular way,” he said.
“I don’t think the FIA or the teams really understand what has been done here: whether it is a complete overhaul or just a strange bitumen treatment on the track.
A view of the track
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“It certainly looks very special, and it’s something we haven’t found on F1 circuits recently.”
But research by Autosport has revealed that although the track appears to have been painted, it is actually a bitumen surface treatment commonly used on roads in the US and Asia.
The bitumen is applied in fluid form to the track surface to facilitate bonding with the existing circuit surface. The idea is that it helps eliminate dust, improves sealing and also prevents track disintegration.
It is understood that this work was carried out in Shanghai last year and that the varied colors around the track are the result of this treatment which has been worn down by the track races which have taken place since.
The way it is treated means it will likely see more wear over the course of the F1 weekend, which could open the door to different levels of grip around different parts of the track.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said differences in grip triggered by the presence or absence of the treatment could cause headaches.
“I think it seems a little inconsistent,” he said. “That inconsistency is what worries me the most – the inconsistency from mid-corner entry to exit in each corner. If it’s variable, it’s going to be quite tricky.”
“Then, of course, it’s a sprint weekend. You only have an hour, probably three races to sort out your car, whether it’s with or without fuel. I think it will be a very difficult challenge .”
No repeat of Turkey
The appearance of the dark surface layer inevitably brought back memories of Turkey 2020, when teams and drivers were surprised by a remarkable lack of grip on a newly covered surface.
But Sainz was pretty confident things weren’t going to be that dire – as sources suggested the treatment should actually help improve grip rather than reduce it.
“I have a feeling it won’t be like Turkey,” he said. “Turkey was a very special case. But if suddenly there is graininess and all that, it could call into question your choices for the rest of the weekend.”
Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF1000, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W11
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
But while the track treatment might not trigger the kind of chaos we saw in Turkey, it could certainly have an impact on tire performance.
Teams don’t yet know if the current cars and tires will head into a weekend where front-end graining is the limit, or if the highest pressures of the year so far will trigger d huge degradation problems.
A weekend of graining, like in Australia, could be good news for Ferrari – while a downgrade would suit Red Bull better.
As Sainz said: “Honestly, I think for us the graining depends a lot on the tarmac. That’s why we were talking so much about the surface, what they did with the treatment of the tarmac, because the graining depends a lot on the tarmac. .
“Once you take that out of the equation, long corners are something that puts a lot of stress on the tire and here we have a lot of that.
“There were years where China was limited at the front, years where China was limited at the rear, so to adapt the car to the demand you have to be very careful when setting up the car .”
Having received no notification in the FIA pre-event notes of any resurfacing, the color of the asphalt – which has already deteriorated in places on the racing line – has left some concluding that the circuit had been touched with a brush.
As Daniel Ricciardo said: “It looks like they painted the track or something. They did something to the surface.
“I don’t know how the track will change, if it will be the same or if it will be very slippery. But maybe it will change the behavior of the tires.”
Ricciardo was not the only driver wondering what the impact would be on a weekend where teams are aware there is only an hour of testing before sprint qualifying begins.
World champion Max Verstappen said he had not seen anything like it since his karting days, when efforts were made to improve grip on old tracks.
“It looks like they painted it, not redone it,” the Red Bull driver said.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz said the situation had left the drivers and team a little confused.
“I think there are a lot of unknowns, particularly the tarmac which seems to have been treated in a very particular way,” he said.
“I don’t think the FIA or the teams really understand what has been done here: whether it is a complete overhaul or just a strange bitumen treatment on the track.
A view of the track
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“It certainly looks very special, and it’s something we haven’t found on F1 circuits recently.”
But research by Autosport has revealed that although the track appears to have been painted, it is actually a bitumen surface treatment commonly used on roads in the US and Asia.
The bitumen is applied in fluid form to the track surface to facilitate bonding with the existing circuit surface. The idea is that it helps eliminate dust, improves sealing and also prevents track disintegration.
It is understood that this work was carried out in Shanghai last year and that the varied colors around the track are the result of this treatment which has been worn down by the track races which have taken place since.
The way it is treated means it will likely see more wear over the course of the F1 weekend, which could open the door to different levels of grip around different parts of the track.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said differences in grip triggered by the presence or absence of the treatment could cause headaches.
“I think it seems a little inconsistent,” he said. “That inconsistency is what worries me the most – the inconsistency from mid-corner entry to exit in each corner. If it’s variable, it’s going to be quite tricky.”
“Then, of course, it’s a sprint weekend. You only have an hour, probably three races to sort out your car, whether it’s with or without fuel. I think it will be a very difficult challenge .”
No repeat of Turkey
The appearance of the dark surface layer inevitably brought back memories of Turkey 2020, when teams and drivers were surprised by a remarkable lack of grip on a newly covered surface.
But Sainz was pretty confident things weren’t going to be that dire – as sources suggested the treatment should actually help improve grip rather than reduce it.
“I have a feeling it won’t be like Turkey,” he said. “Turkey was a very special case. But if suddenly there is graininess and all that, it could call into question your choices for the rest of the weekend.”
Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF1000, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W11
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
But while the track treatment might not trigger the kind of chaos we saw in Turkey, it could certainly have an impact on tire performance.
Teams don’t yet know if the current cars and tires will head into a weekend where front-end graining is the limit, or if the highest pressures of the year so far will trigger d huge degradation problems.
A weekend of graining, like in Australia, could be good news for Ferrari – while a downgrade would suit Red Bull better.
As Sainz said: “Honestly, I think for us the graining depends a lot on the tarmac. That’s why we were talking so much about the surface, what they did with the treatment of the tarmac, because the graining depends a lot on the tarmac. .
“Once you take that out of the equation, long corners are something that puts a lot of stress on the tire and here we have a lot of that.
“There were years where China was limited at the front, years where China was limited at the rear, so to adapt the car to the demand you have to be very careful when setting up the car .”