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After an enforced hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese Grand Prix is at last back on the Formula One calendar for the first time since the 1000th anniversary race in 2019. Be sure to tune in on The Roar for rolling coverage from 5pm (AEST).
So much has changed in Formula One since this Grad Prix was last held, not least the dominant Mercedes team of the time now struggling to even make the podium; while the Red Bull dynasty continues to assert itself after another one-two finish in Japan.
The 5.4km Shanghai International Circuit is a track that blends technical sections, with high-speed flowing corners as well as the long back straight. After the 19 laps experienced in the Sprint race, the challenge of tyre management is ever present.
Pirelli have brought compounds in the middle of their range to China, given that this is the first time the low-profile 18-inch tyres are being run here. There has been no track resurfacing, but a layer of bitumen has been painted over the tarmac.
The Sprint gave us some exciting racing in its final phase, when a wheel-to-wheel battle broke out between Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, with Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc all involved also.
Red Bull’s ascendancy is clear with Max Verstappen romping to the win after starting fourth, but what is unclear is the battle behind. Can Hamilton enjoy the same bit of real estate he had in the Sprint? And what of Lando Norris too? The Briton started on pole for the Sprint but was cast wide by Hamilton at the start.
Verstappen made that clear in qualifying with a 0.322-second gap over teammate Perez, to claim Red Bull’s 100th pole position at the very track they claimed their first back in 2009. Alonso shocked, too, by eclipsing the McLarens in Q3 to head up the second-row ahead of Norris.
The shock of qualifying was seeing Hamilton bow out in Q1, going from second in the Sprint race earlier in the day to the second-last row of the grid for the grand prix.
Guanyu Zhou, who makes history being the first Chinese-born driver to race in his home grand prix, was agonisingly close to scoring a point in the Sprint. But after qualifying a lowly sixteenth and with Sauber the way they’ve been with pit-stops, points seem unlikely.
Lights out: 5pm (AEST)
Venue: Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai
TV: Fox Sports
Streaming: Kayo Sports, Foxtel
2019 winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Grid
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull), 3. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), 4. Lando Norris (McLaren), 5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), 6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 7. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 8. George Russell (Mercedes), 9. Nico Hülkenberg (Haas), 10. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber), 11. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), 12. Daniel Ricciardo (RB), 13. Esteban Ocon (Alpine), 14. Alexander Albon (Williams), 15. Pierre Gasly (Alpine), 16. Guanyu Zhou (Sauber), 17. Kevin Magnussen (Haas), 18. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 19. Yuki Tsunoda (RB), 20. Logan Sargeant (Williams)
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