Official F1 Journal Track Guide- China Shanghai Circuit

We are back in China!! This weekend is an unknown for many reasons, not only because we haven't raced here in 5 seasons but also because of Weather, Track surface and the new Sprint layout that sees the Sprint Qualifying now happen on a Friday and the Sprint Race is now held on a Saturday morning before the Qualifying for the Grand Prix.
Lets hope we see some great racing and the pack closer again to the rapid Redbull's. 

Race Stats

​Sprint Laps- 19
Grand Prix laps- 56
Circuit Length- 5.451km
Sprint Race Distance- 103.569km
Race Distance- 305.066km
Corners- 16   7 Left    9 Right 
DRS Zones- 2 Activation 1- Entry Turn 12 
                         Deployment 2- Back Straight 
                 Activation 2- Entry Turn 16 
                 Deployment 2- Exit Turn 16
Downforce Level- Med
Tyre Degradation- High 
Time @ Full Throttle- 54%
Time Lost in Pitlane- 22 secs 
Pole Side- Left
Tyre Compounds- 
       Hard     Medium     Soft 
        C2           C3           C4
Minimum Starting Tyre Pressures- 
           Front           Rear 
         26.0psi         22.0psi
Maximum Starting Tyre Camber-
          Front             Rear
         -3.00º            -1.75º         

Weekend Schedule 

Track Stats

​Times Held- 16 
First Time Held- 2004
Laps Raced- 894
Finishing Percentage-84%
Pole Record- 1'31.095 VET 2018
Lap Record- 1'32.238 SCH 2008
Winners- 9
Pole Sitters-6 
Podium Finishers-16
Most Driver Poles- HAM 6
Most Team Poles- Mercedes 7
Most Driver Wins- HAM 6
Most Team Wins- Mercedes 6
Most Driver Podiums- HAM 9
Most Team Podiums- Ferrari 13
Most Fastest Laps(Driver)- HAM 4
Most Fastest Laps(Team)- Mercedes 3
Most Consecutive Wins(Driver)-  HAM 2
Most Consecutive Wins (Team)- Mercedes 4 
Most 1-2 Finishes-  Mercedes 3
Times Won From Pole- 9
Times Won from Front Row-11 
Lowest Starting Position to Win- 6th SCH 2006 & RIC 2018 
Smallest Pole Margin- 0.023 BOT 2019
Smallest Win Margin- 0.714 HAM 2015
Largest Pole Margin- 0.715 VET 2011
Largest Win Margin- 37.776 ROS 2016
Safety Cars-7/16 races have featured a safety car
Red Flags- Never at Shanghai

Previous Results 

2017

​Qualifying-
              1 HAM 1'31.678
               2 VET 1'31.864
                3 BOT 1'31.865
Race-
​.        1 HAM (4 stop)
           2 VET (5 stop)
            3 VER (4 stop)
Fastest Lap- 1'35.378 HAM lap 44

2018

​Qualifying-
              1 VET 1'31.095
               2 RAI 1'31.182
                3 BOT 1'31.625
Race-
​.        1 RIC (2 stop)
           2 BOT (1 stop)
            3 RAI  (1 stop)
Fastest Lap- 1'35.785 RIC lap 55

2019

​Qualifying-
              1 BOT 1'31.547
               2 HAM 1'31.570
                3 VET 1'31.848
Race-
​.        1 HAM (2 stop)
           2 BOT (2 stop)
            3 VET (2 stop)
Fastest Lap- 1'34.742 GAS lap 55

Random Facts 

• we have not raced in China in 5 years due to Covid 19 and the political issues 
• It cost £132 million to build the Shanghai Circuit 
• 1st race at Shanghai wasw on by Ruben Barrichello 
• The Shanghai track is built over swamp land and is sat on top of 40,000 stone pillars to support the circuit 
• The shortest race ever in Shanghai was 1h 29 minutes compared to the longest which was 1h 57 minutes 
  

      342 cars took the lights 
      286 cars saw the Chequered flag 
     = 84% finishing percentage. 

Enjoy guys 

Joanna Blackmore 
​Writer @f1journal.co.uk