Shanghai F1 Return Promises Unexpected Twists

After a three-year hiatus, F1’s Shanghai sprint could reshape the race dynamics with limited practice.

Formula 1 has not visited the Shanghai International Circuit since 2019, and this could lead to some surprises in the results, especially since it is a Sprint weekend, with only one practice session to find the right settings, both for single-lap qualifying and optimal tire degradation for the races.

When it was suggested to Fred Vasseur that this might somewhat disrupt the hierarchy, the director of Scuderia Ferrari somewhat downplayed it.

“We all know the track very well; the biggest question mark for me is the tarmac (the track has been completely resurfaced, editor’s note).”

“It will be decisive. It will also be quite cold, which will lead to graining, and so that will be the key to the weekend.”

It was under these graining conditions that Ferrari managed to gain an advantage over Red Bull in Melbourne.

“We will see if this will be the case again in Shanghai. There will be a lot to understand in one hour. The fact that we only have one practice session will force us to choose the compound we want to test on a long stint.”

“It will be tough, but it’s the same for everyone.”

“We are preparing our weekends better and better, this is confirmed this season, I hope we will take an advantage from it in China.”