Written by Rohan Brown, Edited by Dhara Dave
Formula One returns after a chaotic opener at Albert Park last weekend. We return to the Shanghai Circuit again, this time without the home hero Zhou Guanyu, who is not a full-time driver this year but a reserve driver for Ferrari. China has been home to many interesting races over the years, and this one is certain to be equally as thrilling as last week’s Australian Grand Prix.
The circuit
Shanghai International Circuit was built in 2003, first joining the calendar in 2004 - where the inaugural GP was won by Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello. The circuit is primed for overtaking; the combination of two long DRS zones and predominantly long, sweeping corners allows for engaging racing.
Like many permanent circuits, it is certainly spacious and one doesn't feel the ever-close presence of the walls as in some circuits like Albert Park. Tyre provider Pirelli has elected to bring the C4, C3 and C2 compounds for the race, with the median in the C6-C1 range that the teams can choose between. Strategy-wise, it is usually a two-stop race for the teams.
Storylines
1) The first sprint race of the season: China is the first of six sprint races in the 2025 F1 season, extra points will be up for grabs compared to a usual F1 weekend. This infrequent opportunity will be something many teams are going to want to capitalise on. However, only the top eight score points. Who will capitalise on the sprint weekend in China?
2) A hopeful second Grand Prix: Many drivers other than the Ferrari duo had a weekend that was most likely below their expectations. Drivers such as Oscar Piastri, Isack Hadjar, Jack Doohan and Fernando Alonso had to give up on their aspirations of scoring good points in the season opener. Going into this race weekend they will be hoping for an improved result. Are these drivers going to improve?
3) Can Ferrari improve after last week? After an underwhelming beginning to the season in last week’s opening round in Australia, the Scuderia will be hoping for a performance much better than what they were able to put in. With their driver lineup arguably being one of the best on the grid. Will they be able to achieve a result fitting Ferrari’s calibre?
4) Only one practice session: Due to China being a sprint weekend, practice is going to be limited. This throws a spanner in the works, meaning the teams are going to have to use this solitary hour as efficiently as possible. How much of an impact will the modified weekend structure have on the teams?
5) Can Lando Norris win another race? Lando Norris had a strong opening round in Australia, clinching victory, the drivers’ championship lead and ending Max Verstappen’s over 1000-day record as drivers’ championship lead. The McLaren driver has been vocal about aiming for the (drivers’) championship this season, he has both, the skill and the car performance to work towards this - so will he be victorious in Shanghai?
Winner picks
Lando Norris: McLaren easily possess the fastest car on the grid right now, and Norris has the momentum after a controlled victory at Albert Park last week. So the Briton is one of the strongest picks to stand on the top step after Sunday’s Grand Prix. This season has lived up to its promise of being one of the most competitive to date from the outset at Australia, but Norris is a pick who has a high chance of clinching a win in China.
Oscar Piastri: Piastri had an underwhelming home race last week, but like teammate Norris, he shares the current fastest car on the grid and skill. He cannot be discounted from a race win, the Australian has shown us in the past that he has been able to win against Norris whilst sharing a highly competitive McLaren.
Max Verstappen: Verstappen’s second-place finish in Australia demonstrated how generational of a driver he is. The Dutchman doesn’t have the best car anymore but has shown time and time again how he is able to extract the most out of a car to achieve success throughout the season. Certainly, a driver who can’t be discounted at all.
Notes
The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) is going to be introducing stricter rear wing deflection testing (the gap between the rear wing flap and rear wing). This change was made after the FIA reviewed footage from teams’ rear wings after the Australian Grand Prix and subsequently decided that stricter testing rules needed to be implemented.
As mentioned earlier, this will be the first of six sprint weekends in the 2025 F1 season, meaning there’s going to be a different weekend structure. Instead of practice two and three, there will be the sprint shootout and race.
Past winners
China has hosted only one Grand Prix in the current ground effect era of Formula One, won by Verstappen in dominant fashion last year. The Dutchman won by 13.7s ahead of second placed Lando Norris, last year’s race also being where his team Red Bull set one of the fastest pit stop times of 1.9 seconds.
Before that, the last Grand Prix hosted in China was in 2019, won by Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes. Hamilton clinched the victory by 6.5 seconds over teammate Valtteri Bottas. This was during the era of Formula One dominated by Mercedes, and this race was one of the many the team dominated during that era.
2018’s Chinese Grand Prix was characterised by fierce duels between Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen and Mercedes’s Bottas and Hamilton however, the race ended in a dominant victory by Ricciardo, as he won by 8.8 seconds.
Session times(in GMT/UTC):
Practice 1 = 3:30 - 4:30am
Sprint qualifying = 7:30am - 8:14am
Sprint race = 3:00 - 4:00am
Qualifying = 7:00 - 8:00am
Race = 7:00am
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