Track: Shanghai International Circuit
Number of Laps: 56
Circuit Length: 3.4 miles (5.5km)
Race Length: 189.6 miles (305.1km)
Start Time: 07:00 BST
Fastest Lap: 1:32.239 (Michael Schumacher, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, 2004, Race)
2015 Pole Position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 1:35.782, Soft Tyres
2015 Race Winner: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas
Tyre Compounds: Supersoft, Soft, Medium, Intermediate, Wet
First F1 Championship Grand Prix: 2004
Most Wins: Lewis Hamilton (4), Scuderia Ferrari (4)
After poor starts in both of the opening two races of the season, reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton will be looking to take his first win of the year at a track he absolutely loves.
Whilst he lost the 2007 championship in the pit lane gravel trap, the 31-year-old Brit has enjoyed more success around this track than any other driver – taking four wins.
Mercedes need to be on the lookout, though. Whilst they can equal Ferrari’s record of taking four wins in China, Sebastian Vettel is looking to bounce back from the engine failure that put him out of the Bahrain race on the formation lap.
Unusually, there is some good news for Formula One fans heading into this race. The awful elimination style qualifying has finally been dropped, with the 2015 system returning for the rest of the season.
For Fernando Alonso fans, the news is not so good. It is still unknown if he will be declared fit to race in China. He will be assessed by the FIA on Thursday to check the injury he sustained in Australia has healed sufficiently. The Spaniard missed the Bahrain Grand Prix after doctors concluded his cracked rib was not healed enough to allow him to race safely. Stoffel Vandoorne – who replaced Alonso in Bahrain – has travelled to Shanghai and will replace him once again if necessary.
Read Motorsport will of course have updates and reports of every session over the weekend.
