Chinese Grand Prix

Shanghai International Circuit Results The Circuit View All Races

Results

Race George Russell 1:40.112 Fastest Lap 56 Laps 6 th Lewis Hamilton 1:40.835 Fastest Lap 56 Laps 9 th Sprint Lewis Hamilton Time: 32:17.703 2 nd George Russell Time: 32:30.356 8 th Grand Prix Qualifying George Russell 1:34.433 Fastest Lap 20 Laps 8 th Lewis Hamilton 1:35.573 Fastest Lap 6 Laps 18 th Sprint Shootout Lewis Hamilton Time: 1:59.201 2 nd George Russell Time: 1:36.345 11 th Read Race Report

The Circuit

Much like most of the circuits on the calendar, the Shanghai International Circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke. The design is iconic on the calendar and so easily recognisable, with its configuration being loosely based on the Chinese symbol “shang”, which translates to “up above”.

For the 16 corners, there are a mix of high-speed sections like the esses which can be found between Turns 7 and 8 and provide very-high G-Force, as well as lots of slower turns for a challenging lap. Track evolution is very high, but this is also a circuit where the drivers will experience high tyre-stress as a result of the tough asphalt abrasion around the 5.451km of track.

It’s going to be a big weekend for strategy too. We have been away from this track for several years, and the Sprint format will significantly limit our chance to get data with only one practice session.

We have also seen a completely different set of rules and regulations applied to these cars since we last visited in 2019, with F1 introducing a new era of the pinnacle of motorsport in 2022.

In fact, tyre supplier Pirelli referenced this 2024 Chinese Grand Prix as “much a matter of starting from scratch”.

DRS Corners Speed Trap

• First GP 2004
• Circuit Length 5.451km
• Race Distance 305.256km
• Laps 56

Everything You Need To Know: China

It’s time for another race week, and this time around we’re visiting China. It’s been a while since Formula 1 took a trip to the Shanghai International Circuit, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but it’s finally back and we’re set for our first Sprint weekend of 2024!

There have been 16 Grands Prix in Shanghai since its debut on the calendar in 2004, and it’s a circuit we love. We’ve had the most success here in terms of wins out of any team on the grid, lifting that first place trophy on six occasions over the years. Lewis has also had six victories here, and Nico Rosberg helped deliver us two wins including our first as a works team in over five decades – more on that later!

The 5.451km circuit consists of 16 turns, has two DRS zones and features one of the longest straights on the calendar as cars fly down the 1.2km stretch to Turn 14. This weekend, the cars will be back on the track for the first time in five years, with the last event being in 2019 and marking a huge milestone for F1 as it was their 1,000th race.

As well as getting to grips with a track that has been absent from our schedules for some time, we also have the extra task of it being a Sprint weekend. This will be the first of six Sprints over the season, with the others being in Miami, Austria, Austin, Brazil and Qatar. The structure of Sprint weekends have also had a change for this year, with several tweaks to get your head around.

Lewis and George will get a one-hour practice session on Friday, before they go into the newly renamed Sprint Qualifying. This was previously on the Saturday but has now been moved to Friday afternoons and will set up the grid for Saturday’s Sprint. Fast forward to Saturday, and the day now starts with the 100km Sprint which gets under way at 11:00 local time. Traditional qualifying will follow as normal and the Chinese Grand Prix will occur on the Sunday, completely unaffected by the scheduling changes.

The reshuffle will allow for a very important change of parc ferme regulations for us, as they previously stopped teams from being able to make important changes to the setup of the cars from the moment traditional qualifying began on the Friday until the end of the weekend on Sunday.

Five F1 Regulation Changes To Watch Out For in 2024

Our Successes

As we mentioned, China has been a great place for memorable moments for the Silver Arrows. We have witnessed six wins, seven pole positions and 12 podiums during our time here, but one of the most special came in 2012. We had always shown ourselves as being capable of being an incredible winning team, but we finally got the sweet taste of victory thanks to Nico Rosberg.

The weekend started strongly when Nico got his first pole position in Formula 1. The achievement placed him in the best possible position to lead the race, and he dominated the Grand Prix by finishing 20 seconds ahead of second place. It was the team’s first win as a works squad since 1955, when Juan Manuel Fangio won in Monza, and now here we are 116 victories later.

Lewis won for us in 2014, 2015 and 2017 with the seven-time champ showing his strengths around this spectacular circuit, with Nico winning again in 2016 to make it four consecutive wins for Mercedes at this circuit. During the last race in China, we also secured a 1-2 result thanks to Lewis taking back-to-back victories and his 75th career win, and Valtteri Bottas finishing behind in second on F1’s 1,000th race.

For George, he’s raced here once before in just his third Formula 1 event back in 2019 with Williams.

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