Five years is an awfully long time in Formula 1 and it seems even longer given the global pandemic which has halted F1’s visits to Shanghai.
The last time F1 visited China, Max Verstappen had only won five races and RB was still racing under the Toro Rosso name rather than its old AlphaTauri name.
Meanwhile, as the Shanghai International Circuit hosted a makeshift COVID-19 hospital in 2022 rather than any major motor racing, F1 saw vast regulation changes and Pirelli introduced different tires mounted on rims. bigger.
Pirelli warned that the teams were “starting from scratch” on Friday. While the layout itself has not changed, the lack of action of any kind in recent years means that the circuit surface may well have suffered significant aging.
As the event approaches, several bumps have been smoothed out to accommodate the more sensitive ground effect machines.
Choosing China of all countries to host the first sprint format of the year raised eyebrows, with Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz both wondering if it was really the right decision for this year.
It gives teams just 60 minutes of free practice to validate their setups, with an even greater emphasis on simulation work.
Photo by: Pirelli
But while a sprint adds to the engineers’ headaches, it also provides an opportunity to shake things up, which can be good news both for fans and for teams who aren’t as confident in their performance .
“It’s a good challenge that we’re going straight into a sprint race,” said Mercedes track engineering director Andrew Shovlin.
“We haven’t gone there with this generation of cars, so the tires are different, the aerodynamics are very different, there’s a lot of work we need to do and most of that work is done in simulation.
“But you also have to re-read a bit of old notes, look at the performance of the tires in terms of wear, what led to the degradation to try to build that picture.”
“It’s definitely a big challenge, but it’s quite fun and there’s a good motivation to work at it because if you achieve it, the opportunities in a sprint race are always greater because someone someone else may have been wrong.”
This is particularly the case for teams that expect to be behind in China, like McLaren. The Woking team has started the season well, but Shanghai’s combination of slow, twisty corners and long straights is exactly what its MCL35 struggles with comparatively.
And while team principal Andrea Stella acknowledged that sprinting there “adds a lot of complications,” it could prove to be a blessing in disguise for Team Papaya if it executes its Friday better than its direct rivals.
Photo by: Erik Junius
“Difficulties can also be seen from the side of opportunities, because everyone will have difficulties, which means you can gain an advantage,” Stella reflects philosophically.
“Ideally, China would not have been a sprint event. At the same time, it is not something we are able to influence. So we put that out of our heads and focus on doing the right job .”
Crucially, those who make a mistake now have a second chance under the revised format, as parc ferme reopens after Saturday morning’s sprint race so teams can fine-tune their settings ahead of Grand Prix qualifying.
The ultimate question is whether these challenges can actually trip up Red Bull or whether it blithely continues its dominance.
Shanghai is a track where graining is expected to be a problem as the tires cool down on the long straights before being punished by more demanding corner combinations, destroying parts of the rubber from the tire surface.
Ferrari has always been strong at circuits where this phenomenon is a theme, such as last month’s Australian Grand Prix, where Carlos Sainz won after Max Verstappen ran into early problems, and at Las Vegas last year , where Charles Leclerc could also have beaten the Dutchman to victory. .
When Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was asked if Ferrari could be as strong in China as in Australia, he replied: “Ferrari at this circuit, they were definitely competitive and we expect that that they are probably our closest competitors. [in China].
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“It’s a good circuit. The first corner is endless and with the high-speed corners on the back straight as well, it was always very taxing on the front left tire.”
With temperatures expected to hover around the 20°C mark, the colder conditions could further exacerbate graining and potentially play into the Scuderia’s hands.
“The biggest question mark for me will be the tarmac and probably compared to the last event we will have colder conditions,” said Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur.
“We don’t know the roughness of the tarmac and that will be key for the weekend to see if we have graining or not.
“With the sprint and a practice session, you have to choose which compound you are going to test on Friday. This means that anticipation of the weekend is crucial.”
But while Vasseur backs Ferrari to do well after seeing the team start every Friday in a good position so far, which is crucial for a sprint weekend, he didn’t want the Scuderia to get ahead being given the low margins in mind.
“We have always had a good start to the weekend. This means that we have the capacity to be ready from the first session,” added the Frenchman.
“But it’s so tight that I think what’s crucial in my job is humility. You don’t need to consider that what you did one weekend will be true on the weekend according to.
“We are going to start from scratch and we have to keep this mindset for all the races.”
Watch: F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2024 Preview – Everything You Need to Know
