The annual petrolhead pilgrimage is upon us once more, as racing fans are called to the Shanghai International Circuit by the siren song of roaring engines. Big boys racing big toys at breakneck speeds, all in pursuit of the 2014 Formula One World Championship. Here’s the inside track.
Team talk
New rules for this season have introduced all-new 1.6-liter V6 turbo hybrid engines with extensive energy-recovery systems, and cars can use no more than 100 kg of fuel throughout a race, resulting in a quieter, greener competition.
Red Bull Racing may have won their fourth consecutive constructors’ championship title last year, and 26-year-old German Sebastian Vettel his fourth consecutive drivers’ championship – becoming just the third driver in the sport’s 64-year history to do so – but things are not looking so hot this year.
Vettel retired just three laps into the opening Australian Grand Prix, while Austrian teammate Daniel Ricciardo was stripped of his second place finish after breaching those new fuel consumption rules.
The decision promoted Dane Kevin Magnussen – making his F1 debut – to second in his McLaren. His teammate, Brit Jenson Button, was third, making McLaren early construction leaders. They use Mercedes engine.
The silver machines of Mercedes themselves, and their drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, remain the favorites for the season and the Championship, though, after an impressive performance in testing in Spain and Bahrain.
German Rosberg followed that up by winning the Australian Grand Prix at a canter, while 2008 champion Hamilton, who started on pole, dismissed concerns about his race being cut short by engine trouble, pointing out the team’s overall positive performance.
The other teams who use Mercedes engines – Williams and Force India – also look in pretty good shape, while the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen shook off stuttering preseason form, coming fourth and seventh respectively in Melbourne. With so many contenders, get ready for the most dramatic season for years.
Where we fit in
Season race starts Shanghai Time
Going by taxi?
Show the driver 上海国际赛车场 or say Shanghai Guoji Saichechang
Going by metro?
Shanghai Circuit station on Line 11
Shanghai International Circuit
Built on a marsh in 2004 in Jiading District by German master circuit designer Hermann Tilke and his team of 120 architects for a cool USD450 million, the track layout was inspired by the character shang 上 of Shanghai fame. At 5.5 km long, it has widely varying corners, offering plenty of overtaking opportunities, with F1 cars capable of surpassing 300 km/h (186 mph) on the long back straight between corners 13 and 14.
Dash dozen
As the Chinese GP goes into its 12th year, here’s who has made it first past the checkered flag
2013 Lewis Hamilton
2012 Nico Rosberg
2011 Lewis Hamilton
2010 Jenson Button
2009 Sebastian Vettel
2008 Lewis Hamilton
2007 Kimi Raikkonen
2006 Michael Schumacher
2005 Fernando Alonso
2004 Rubens Barrichello
// The 2013 Chinese Grand Prix takes place on Sunday, April 20. Tickets range from RMB380 to RMB3,280 and are available at www.smartshanghai.com/smartticket
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