Formula One Vault

PRIXVIEW – Chinese Grand Prix

Round two of the 2025 season brings F1 to China’s business and commercial capital Shanghai for the first sprint weekend of the season. Since joining the calendar twenty years ago the Shanghai International Circuit has become one of the best of the newer circuits with penalty of overtaking and drama, thanks to its trick nature in terms of set-up.

The design of the circuit is based on the Chinese character Shang (上), the first character in the name of the city Shanghai, meaning “above” or “ascend”. This has created a high-speed and high downforce circuit with multiple straights and tight following corners. One of the most eye-covered corners is Turns One to Three, drivers head into a tight long almost circle which can create drama on the opening laps.

Designed by Herman Tilke at the time it opened in 2004 it was the most expensive circuit built for F1. The 3.387-mile circuit features a wide mix of corners and some of the trickiest corners of the season, including the almost snail circle at Turn One to Four, one of the longest straights of the season and the best places for overtaking.

The almost three-quarter of a mile back straight, is the equivalent of eleven football pitches laid end to end, or the same length as three and a half of the world’s biggest aircraft carriers Turn Fourteen is a hairpin at the end of the straight, the second gear corner is a prime overtaking spot as DRS is available in the run-up to the corner. Turn Sixteen requires early braking so you can carry as much speed to the line.

It’s a real test for both drivers and engineers to find the right compromise between the two. This gives drivers’ multiple opportunities to follow and attempt to overtake, but getting the car stopped towards the end of the straight can be challenging with the longest straight in the sport.

The race debuted in 2004 five years after its planned debut after the circuit in in the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong Province failed to meet standards, with it due to join the calendar alongside Malaysia in 1999. Instead, a new deal was reached in 2002 for the race to move to Shanghai from 2004, where it has remained except during 2020-2023 when the race was cancelled due to Covid.

Rubens Barrichello won the race from pole after Michael Schumacher started from the pit lane and then had a scrappy race with incidents with other drivers before losing his tyre as did his brother Ralf, before being lapped. In the final laps, Barrichello managed his advantage over his pursuers, who approached the Ferrari driver but never seriously threatened him.

Shanghai hosted the final race of the following season, Fernanda Alonso had already won the title and took the race win from pole four seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. Alonso dominated the race, taking a lights-to-flag victory, capping a best-ever season for Renault which included victories in both titles.

The following season saw Schumacher take what would be his final win, after taking the lead following a tactical battle in the middle of the race between Renault and Ferrari. The German eventually passed Alonso for his final win following the last round of stops as Alonso ran out of laps to close the gap and take the lead.

2007 race would ultimately cost Lewis Hamilton the chance of becoming the first driver to win the title in his debut season. Leading the race and the championship, the McLaren driver pitted but went off becoming beached in the small gravel trap after going wide. That led to him retiring and Sao Paulo cost him the title by a point.

While Räikkönen eventually came home to win the race, and eventually the title, comfortably from Alonso, who after having pulled out a considerable lead from Massa was later pulled back until the Brazilian finished less than three seconds behind him.

2009 saw the race move from autumn to spring, with the order up ended Red Bull would score their first win with Sebastian Vettel. The German beating teammate Mark Webber to win from pole by ten seconds in mixed conditions, ahead of the two Brawn’s. Webber also, until the Nürburgring, scored the best result of his career.

Vettel took pole in mixed conditions the following year, but it was Jenson Button who took advantage of the conditions winning by a second, as both Felipe Massa and Hamilton struggled on track. While Brawn which had dominated the first two races appeared to struggle in the cooler conditions.

Jenson Button would win ahead of Hamilton by a second and a half as Mercedes returned to the podium in cloudy and damp conditions taking the lead of the championship. It was the first time since 1969 that two Englishmen finished one-two, while Nico Rosberg gave Mercedes their first podium since 1955 in the team’s third race since returning.

Hamilton returned to the top step, in the second of six wins in 2011 becoming the first multiple winners in Shanghai ahead of both Red Bulls. That was despite the Englishman starting from the pit lane and overcutting Vettel with a mid-race stop he went on to overtake with four laps to go.

Rosberg would two years later give Mercedes a dominant victory their first since Monza 1955 and his first since GP2 in Sakhir in 2005. The race itself was characterised by intense battling throughout the field and by high reliability with 23 of 24 starters finishing the race, Schumacher only retiring thanks to a bodged pit stop.

Alonso would take one of his, to date, final victories for Ferrari in 2013. The Spaniard took the lead from Vettel around half distance and retained the lead following the final stops, and built a ten-second lead to win on his two-hundredth start.

2014 and the beginning of the hybrid era saw Mercedes begin a run of five wins in six years four coming from Hamilton and the other from Rosberg. Hamilton won comfortably like in 2008 from pole leading every lap of the race and beating Rosberg by eighteen seconds.

Hamilton took a comfortable grand slam securing victory by ten seconds in 2015 ahead of Rosberg and Vettel. Rosberg took his second win in Shanghai in 2016 from pole.

Hamilton meanwhile was on the back the top step in 2017 beating Vettel after the Ferrari driver lost out during the change from inters to slicks under a VSC while Max Verstappen came from sixteenth. Hamilton’s winning from pole allowed him to equal or pass several records.

Daniel Ricciardo won the race in 2018 after overtaking Bottas in the closing stages as teammate Verstappen pushed Vettel wide, resulting in both of them going off and a ten-second penalty.

China hosted the 1,000^th world championship race in 2019, before a five-year hiatus, with Hamilton passing teammate Valtteri Bottas at the first corner and then going on to dominate the race. Hamilton became the first and to date the only driver to win two races in multiples of a hundred.

Race & Circuit Guide

Fast facts

• Michael Schumacher recorded his last race victory at the Shanghai circuit in 2006. The Chinese Grand Prix was also the venue for the first victory of the Red Bull team (2009) and Nico Rosberg (2012).
• In both 2017 and 2018, Mercedes led the Constructors’ Championship by a single point after the Chinese Grand Prix. In 2006, Renault (now Alpine) also led the way by just one point after the Shanghai race.
• Lewis Hamilton’s unfortunate DNF here in 2007 is the only time the polesitter at the Chinese Grand Prix has failed to finish the race. He has won four of the last six races in China.
• The circuit, comprised of a series of long straights plus two 270-degree corners, is notoriously difficult on tyres and brakes.

Event timetable

What happened in 2024?

Sprint qualifying saw Lando Norris take back-to-back poles in that format as he went over half a second faster than five-time Shanghai winner Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton put his Mercedes seven-tenths faster than Fernando Alonso, as Max Verstappen looked to struggle in the wet conditions.

Verstappen won the sprint race beating Lewis Hamilton to win by thirteen seconds. The Dutchman made a brilliant start from fourth to take the lead midway through the sprint. Norris after the pole sitter slid off into the opening sequence of corners. The Mercedes driver drew level into the first corner before hanging on to take the lead on the inside of Turn Three

GP Qualifying saw he beat his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez by three-tenths to take pole. Fernando Alonso put his Aston Martin third as he improved on his final attempt to go over a tenth and a half behind Perez. The Spaniard beat sprint pole sitter Norris, by nearly two hundredths.

Verstappen was again unstoppable in the GP as he beat Norris to victory by thirteen seconds. While Norris fended off Perez in a tight race-long battle after he passed Charles Leclerc. Perez had looked to be on course for second but two safety cars changed the race, which opened the door for Leclerc to be passed by both Perez and Norris.

Championship Standings

What to watch for?

Following the opening race, you need to say McLaren are the favourites, last year they were very quick and challenged Max Verstappen for the Grand Prix win and Lando Norris took his maiden win in the sprint. This circuit is similar to Bahrain, so we need to expect if as we expect McLaren is quick in a straight line and high-speed corners, they again will be the favourites for both the sprint and Grand Prix win, can Norris do three Grands Prix or four wins in a row?

This is going to be another tough challenge, as will Suzuka, we a straight into a sprint weekend following the opening race and only three days of testing. We know the teams are still learning how to optimise their cars and they only have one practice session before sprint qualifying and though they can make changes between the sprint and GP qualifying they are able to make changes. However, there isn’t a lot of time between the sessions, sprint and GP Qualifying to make changes.

Shanghai is a brilliant circuit we see great racing here as many of the long corners allow drivers to take multiple lines into the corners and try to overtake, we also have long straights one of the longest in F1, these create hard braking zones at the end create opportunities for overtaking.

Ferrari had a difficult weekend in Melbourne and if as we are expecting that its going to be tight this year they cannot afford that, maybe coming to Shanghai Lewis Hamilton who is the most successful driver here can show he is as good as ever he can equal Sebastian Vettel still by winning in his second race for Ferrari. They looked fast in Sakhir but not quite on the same level as McLaren.

Mercedes, I think got lucky in the omnishambles in Ferrari’s strategy last weekend, yes, they are improving like we have seen over the last few years. But I don’t think it’s enough to mount a challenge for the win given the strength of Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, but we are still learning at this stage of the season.

Williams is another team who have significantly improved and had a very strong weekend in Melbourne, they are leading the best of the rest as you need to expect they will lose fourth to Ferrari. this is a good start but how long can they stay there as the impression I have is much of the focus is on 2026

2024 vs 2019 Race Data

2024 Lap time comparison

Tyres