[deetjohn]

Round 3

Originally Posted by James Allen

Another Asian addition to the 2004 season, once again designed by Hermann Tilke was the Shanghai circuit. The layout is based on the Chinese sign of 'Shang' meaning 'rising' and has been constructed on thousands of polystyrene blocks in swampy land. It has a contrasting blend of fast-flowing turns and some tricky, slow sections. The venue boasts one of the largest and most impressive paddock facilities on the calendar.

A fast, sweeping section mid-way through the lap challenges the drivers to keep their right foot pinned down and extract the most from their machinery on the all-important qualifying lap. The circuit has hosted some dramatic races in its eleven-year history. Michael Schumacher pulled off a brilliant victory in wet conditions in 2006 while Lewis Hamilton saw his title hopes fade in 2007 when he got beached in a gravel trap entering the pit-lane. Nico Rosberg claimed his first pole position and race victory here in 2012 for Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team.

A blast from the past, the start from 2005.


The grandstand is absolutely huge, the total circuit capacity is a whopping 200,000 spectators.


The pair of the moment! Lewis was bemused to know that Vettel is just 3 points behind him in the standing after the last race.


The brilliant pair of 2015 at Toro Rosso.



Race Strategy Briefing

Originally Posted by James Allen

Because of its layout, with some long, tight corners, a significant percentage of the lap time in Shanghai is spent turning and so this is a circuit where the cars are limited by the way they use their front tyres. This will be even more true this year as the Pirelli rear tyres are much stronger than in 2014.

Teams will have to work around how many laps their car‘s front tyres will last before performance drops off and they must plan their strategy around their relative strength or weakness in this area compared to the opposition. Overtaking is easy here because of the long straight (1.17 km), so teams can plan for the fastest strategy, knowing that passing through traffic will not be a huge problem.

News for the round
1) B-spec Force India, VJM08B delayed until at least round eight at Austria
2) New hair for the world champ?



TV Listings
Q - Sat 12:25 PM SS4, SS HD4
Race - Sun 11:25 AM SS4, SS HD4

[rshanker]

1 Lewis Hamilton 01:39.033
2 Nico Rosberg 01:39.574
3 Sebastian Vettel 01:40.157
4 Kimi Raikkonen 01:40.661
5 Felipe Nasr 01:41.012
6 Daniel Ricciardo 01:41.029
7 Daniil Kvyat 01:41.097
8 Carlos Sainz Jr 01:41.112
9 Valtteri Bottas 01:41.303
10 Felipe Massa 01:41.304
11 Pastor Maldonaldo 01:41.335
12 Max Verstappen 01:41.575
13 Jenson Button 01:41.845
14 Marcus Ericsson 01:41.918
15 Jolyon Palmer 01:41.967
16 Sergio Perez 01:42.141
17 Fernando Alonso 01:42.161
18 Nico Hulkenberg 01:42.184
19 Will Stevens 01:45.379
20 Roberto Merhi 01:46.443

Results from FP1. looks like Mercedes is back to doing what it does best!

[zenren]

FP1 results:


Mercedes are clearly ahead, followed by Ferrari. It is interesting to see that there is roughly 0.5 seconds gap between each position in the top 5, which could also mean that the drivers who set the times later in the session might have been aided by the higher track temperature. Vettel and Raikkonen were having similar times till Vettel improved the time towards the end. I think Mercedes is 1s faster than Ferrari considering the difference between Hamilton-Vettel or Rosberg-Raikkonen since these pairs set the time around the same time frame.

As always, Williams is under-performing in the FP1 and they could prove to be closer to Mercedes in Qualifying than Ferrari considering the better top speed pays dividend in China.

[arun_kun]

Looks like normal service resumed for the world champions. Ferrari are way back and Malaysia seems to be one of the times where they won on speed & strategy.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by arun_kun

Looks like normal service resumed for the world champions. Ferrari are way back and Malaysia seems to be one of the times where they won on speed & strategy.

It remains to be seen how Mercedes fares in the long run pace and tyre wear. That was the ace up the sleeve of Ferrari in Malaysia and cannot be figured out from a single lap pace.

[arun_kun]

Originally Posted by zenren

It remains to be seen how Mercedes fares in the long run pace and tyre wear. That was the ace up the sleeve of Ferrari in Malaysia and cannot be figured out from a single lap pace.

Yes, I understand that. But the gap seems to bigger than Malaysia(i know fp1 is not exactly representative) and everyone are expected to do 2 stopper, so they will not have the advantage of doing one less stop unless they can do it with just one stop, which seems highly unlikely. Anyways lets see how fp2 goes. It will show glimpse of the race pace.

[Fullrevs]

Originally Posted by arun_kun

Yes, I understand that. But the gap seems to bigger than Malaysia(i know fp1 is not exactly representative) and everyone are expected to do 2 stopper, so they will not have the advantage of doing one less stop unless they can do it with just one stop, which seems highly unlikely. Anyways lets see how fp2 goes. It will show glimpse of the race pace.

I actually woke up to see FP1 and it was keen to note that on the slightly longer runs 6-7 laps, Ferrari seemed to be equal to Mercedes race pace. Mercedes seemed to struggle with maintaining tyre temperatures (explains the numerous offs Rosberg and Hamilton had) which in turn caused quite a few blisters (due to the offs) and graining.

Mercedes have qualifying covered a front grid lock-up is inevitable. Hope there's some sunshine to aid the Ferrari's on race day.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by arun_kun

Yes, I understand that. But the gap seems to bigger than Malaysia(i know fp1 is not exactly representative) and everyone are expected to do 2 stopper, so they will not have the advantage of doing one less stop unless they can do it with just one stop, which seems highly unlikely. Anyways lets see how fp2 goes. It will show glimpse of the race pace.

Ferrari can catch Mercedes with 2 stops too. China is hard on the front tyres. If the temperature is relatively high on Sunday, then Ferrari will have better rubber during the closing laps while Mercedes won't. But for this to work, the red cars shouldn't lose sight of the Mercs all through the race.

Lot of ifs and buts, I know. Just trying to keep that glimmer of hope.

[arun_kun]

Originally Posted by Fullrevs

I actually woke up to see FP1 and it was keen to note that on the slightly longer runs 6-7 laps, Ferrari seemed to be equal to Mercedes race pace. Mercedes seemed to struggle with maintaining tyre temperatures (explains the numerous offs Rosberg and Hamilton had) which in turn caused quite a few blisters (due to the offs) and graining.

Mercedes have qualifying covered a front grid lock-up is inevitable. Hope there's some sunshine to aid the Ferrari's on race day.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Ferrari can catch Mercedes with 2 stops too. China is hard on the front tyres. If the temperature is relatively high on Sunday, then Ferrari will have better rubber during the closing laps while Mercedes won't. But for this to work, the red cars shouldn't lose sight of the Mercs all through the race.

Lot of ifs and buts, I know. Just trying to keep that glimmer of hope.

It doesn't seem that bad as I expected after FP2, but still Mercs are comfortably ahead. Specially KIMI seems to be on it. But he finds his way to screw up his quali and struggle through the pack. I wish at least one Ferrari finds a spot in first row and give some competition to the Mercs.

[Fullrevs]

Hear hear Arun! Promising signs from Ferrari. Here's hoping for a close race on sunday.

FP2 results:
1. L. Hamilton Mercedes 01:37.219 32
2. K. Raikkonen Ferrari 01:37.662 35
3. D. Ricciardo Red Bull 01:38.311 24
4. S. Vettel Ferrari 01:38.339 30
5. N. Rosberg Mercedes 01:38.399 35
6. D. Kvyat Red Bull 01:38.737 10
7. V. Bottas Williams 01:38.850 27
8. F. Nasr Sauber 01:39.032 26
9. R. Grosjean Lotus 01:39.142 32
10. J. Button McLaren 01:39.275 29
11. P. Maldonado Lotus 01:39.444 30
12. F. Alonso McLaren 01:39.743 27
13. M. Ericsson Sauber 01:39.751 33
14. M. Verstappen Toro Rosso 01:39.894 32
15. C. Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 01:39.971 28
16. N. Hulkenberg Force India 01:40.151 28
17. F. Massa Williams 01:40.423 7
18. S. Perez Force India 01:40.868 24
19. R. Merhi Manor 01:42.973 27
20. W. Stevens Manor 01:44.564 8

There was more than car action during FP2. Some spectator decided to run across the pit straight. Click here for video

[anachronix]

And this happened too in FP

[Chetan_Rao]

Track temps are expected to be in the 30s, so any chances of Mercedes tire-wear problems are hopeful optimism at best.

What's more encouraging is Ferrari actually seem to have found a good performance balance with this year's car. Even if the win in Malaysia was due to a certain set of circumstances coming together, the overall outlook is bright. They'll be able to pick up some wins where Mercedes either mess up, or conditions play the equalizer (like Malaysia). Given how vulnerable Nico looks, 2nd in the championships should be an achievable target for the season. If only Williams and RB could step up, we could have a good best-of-the-rest scrap on our hands!

[narayans80]

In the mid field its interesting to note that Sauber (rather Felipe Nasr) seems to be doing well in cooler weather and are back in the top 10s in both the practice sessions while they were struggling to even reach Q2 in Malaysia. Toro Rosso who had a good run in Malaysia are beyond the top 10s now.

Got to watch FP3 to see how the times are with different tyres.

[GTO]

Talk about being C-L-O-S-E! 4/10ths separate the Mercedes drivers. That is absolute driving precision.

Meanwhile, 3rd place Vettel is nearly a second off. Good to see Williams separate the Ferraris. Their car is looking great!

Fernando used to joke about his 'permanent' 5th place during the Ferrari days. Looks like 17th & 18th are permanent McLaren spots now!

[SchumiFan]

.9 sec between a Mercedes and another team. Seems large after the excitement from FPs. Still have hopes for the race. Seeing Mercedes chew the soft tires by 12-13 laps, I can sense some trouble for them in the race.

Not sure of Ferrari strategy although Kimi did 19 laps on medium and ended fast than Rosberg at the end of the stint. If they can prolong it, I guess Kimi will stop less than Vettel maybe.

Hoping for a clean race tomorrow to see what Kimi can do. This time they have to take the Williams on track. Can't wait for the pitstops I think.

Great work from Rosberg to close the gap to Hamilton. Hope he is close to push Hamilton in the race.