130 replies to this topic

[Ellios]

• Race Date: 17 Apr 2011
• Circuit Name: Shanghai International Circuit
• Number of Laps: 56
• Circuit Length: 5.451 km
• Race Distance: 305.066 km
• Lap Record: 1:32.238 - M Schumacher (2004)

• BST
  Fri 15 April 2011
• Practice 1 03:00 - 04:30
• Practice 2 07:00 - 08:30
  
  Sat 16 April 2011
• Practice 3 04:00 - 05:00
• Qualifying 07:00
  
  Sun 17 April 2011
• Race 08:00

Will Sebastian Vettel score a hat-trick of victories at the start of 2011 setting up perfectly his bid to become a double WDC?

Will Mark Webber make it an all front row Red Bull lock out?

Will Lewis Hamilton shred his tires once more?

Will Button remain McLaren's leading points scorer after the race?

[Villes Gilleneuve]

Will Petrov re-enter from his low-flying orbit without burning up?

Edited by Villes Gilleneuve, 11 April 2011 - 19:02.

[D.M.N.]

Will it precipitate during Qualifying or the Race?

Edited by D.M.N., 11 April 2011 - 19:06.

[Stormsky68]

Seen nothing to suggest its not going to be a 3rd victory for Vettel

[korzeniow]

Seen nothing to suggest its not going to be a 3rd victory for Vettel

Two victoreis in a row might be a good indicator

[joshb]

its a good chance. Not much time for anyone to put big upgrades on the cars, the circuit should be similar to Malaysia.
Will Red Bull ditch KERS? It could be costly; McLaren were not far off last weekend.
Can Webber dig even deeper or will he by relying on an off weekend from Vettel to beat him?
Can Lotus get amonst the midfield and into Q2?
Looking forwards to it, it normally rains in Shanghai for the GP (2006,07,09,10)

[Kelateboy]

Will it precipitate during Qualifying or the Race?

Wet Shanghai GP in the last 2 years. Will we have a hattrick this year?

[Atic Atac]

Any idea where the DRS activation and usable zones will be?

[Kelateboy]

Any idea where the DRS activation and usable zones will be?

The only rationale place for the use of DRS would be along the back straight between T13 and 14, which incidentally is the longest straight in F1. The activation zone should be 1 corner preceding T13 or maybe even 200-300m before T11.

[V8 Fireworks]

Will Petrov re-enter from his low-flying orbit without burning up?

The problem is clearly the poorly designed Renault, they used to make it to at least lap 5 of the (real) Nurburgring before less well-engineered entries pulled into the pits with collapsed suspension.

Edited by V8 Fireworks, 12 April 2011 - 06:53.

[Gyan]

We'll finally get a double winner of the Grand Prix I guess.

[V8 Fireworks]

The only rationale place for the use of DRS would be along the back straight between T13 and 14, which incidentally is the longest straight in F1. The activation zone should be 1 corner preceding T13 or maybe even 200-300m before T11.

Nope, FIA said pit straight didn't they...?

[slmk]

Isn't Korea's straight the longest in F1?

Hard to say who'll get the pole and the win but I am betting on McLaren. I think Lewis could have his first pole.

[AvranaKern]

Nope, FIA said pit straight didn't they...?

No words yet. Back straight is far too long to make it available for the whole length, otherwise people will cruise past the guy in front with ease. Pit straight is not a good candidate as 1st corner is not an ideal place to overtake. Therefore, they could determine a fixed length just as they had announced before the season starts: 600m. It may be a little higher than this figure, 750m per se.

[Kelateboy]

Nope, FIA said pit straight didn't they...?

FIA mentioned pit straight for Malaysian GP, but hasn't announced anything for the Chinese GP yet, as far as I know.

[dau]

No words yet. Back straight is far too long to make it available for the whole length, otherwise people will cruise past the guy in front with ease. Pit straight is not a good candidate as 1st corner is not an ideal place to overtake. Therefore, they could determine a fixed length just as they had announced before the season starts: 600m. It may be a little higher than this figure, 750m per se.

First corner may not be ideal, but maybe we could still get some overtakes there with DRS. Back straight should allow for overtakes without DRS anyway.

[Peter3hg]

Isn't Korea's straight the longest in F1?

Hard to say who'll get the pole and the win but I am betting on McLaren. I think Lewis could have his first pole.

Abu Dhabi has the longest straight, followed by Korea.

[D.M.N.]

Looking at the track map: http://upload.wikime...t_track_map.svg

I'd actually be tempted to have the DRS Detection just before Turn 1, with it being activated just after the exit of Turn 3 as Turn 6 is quite a good overtaking point. I'm not sure if it's long enough to be useful, though.

Please don't choose the start/finish straight, overtaking into Turn 1 is not going to happen. Don't mind the backstraight, but if it is, I'd only have the first half of the straight - if someone is close enough they should be in the slipstream to pull off an overtake without DRS for the latter half of the straight.

Edited by D.M.N., 12 April 2011 - 12:21.

[Kelateboy]

Abu Dhabi has the longest straight, followed by Korea.

Yas Marina Circuit is 2m shorter than Shanghai. Yas Marina is 1173m long while Shanghai back straight is at 1175m.

Korean organizer claimed that they have the longest straight at 1.2km.

[Dunder]

Looking at the track map: http://upload.wikime...t_track_map.svg

I'd actually be tempted to have the DRS Detection just before Turn 1, with it being activated just after the exit of Turn 3 as Turn 6 is quite a good overtaking point. I'm not sure if it's long enough to be useful, though.

Please don't choose the start/finish straight, overtaking into Turn 1 is not going to happen. Don't mind the backstraight, but if it is, I'd only have the first half of the straight - if someone is close enough they should be in the slipstream to pull off an overtake without DRS for the latter half of the straight.

I would agree with that T6 is a good overtaking spot (Hamilton passed 4 or 5 cars there last year).

[dutchie]

No words yet. Back straight is far too long to make it available for the whole length, otherwise people will cruise past the guy in front with ease. Pit straight is not a good candidate as 1st corner is not an ideal place to overtake. Therefore, they could determine a fixed length just as they had announced before the season starts: 600m. It may be a little higher than this figure, 750m per se.

I suppose this would be the most viable option as I don't think any of the other straights would really work. Turn 1 for reasons you mentioned and I feel the run-ups to Turn 6 and Turn 11 are too short. I'd rather there'd be no DRS at all but that's a discussion for a different time and a different place.

[D.M.N.]

ugh:

F1 Fanatic
The same stewards from Malaysia will oversee the race in China: Emanuele Pirro, Garry Connelly and Vincenzo Spano. #F1
2 minutes ago

[Don_Humpador]

ugh:

F1 Fanatic
The same stewards from Malaysia will oversee the race in China: Emanuele Pirro, Garry Connelly and Vincenzo Spano. #F1
2 minutes ago

Might mean some consistency though? Although, of course, this will mean Vettel can weave all he wants..

[Kelateboy]

Might mean some consistency though? Although, of course, this will mean Vettel and other drivers can weave all he they wants at the start.....

Fixed that for you.

[D.M.N.]

DRS zone confirmed: http://www.f1fanatic...ne_shanghai.gif

Edited by D.M.N., 13 April 2011 - 08:51.

[AvranaKern]

902 m before Turn 14.

902

DRS detection zone by the way is before Turn 12 and after Turn 11. I fear that drivers who understeers through Turn 13 may lose their 1sec advantage and end up not getting advantage from DRS.

Edited by ali.unal, 13 April 2011 - 08:55.

[Kelateboy]

DRS zone confirmed: http://www.f1fanatic...ne_shanghai.gif

Did I get any prize for getting it right?

[BRK]

So that's on the back straight and not the SF unlike in Malaysia. I don't think they could have done it any other way, but I think there's going to be a ridiculous amount of passing at China: Mercedes especially will be in deep trouble if they manage to qualify ahead of the quicker Saubers.

[AvranaKern]

So that's on the back straight and not the SF unlike in Malaysia. I don't think they could have done it any other way, but I think there's going to be a ridiculous amount of passing at China: Mercedes especially will be in deep trouble if they manage to qualify ahead of the quicker Saubers.

Mercedes has one of the fastest straight line speeds, as I'm sure you know, provided that they can get it right with DRS. If they can, they will be in great shape in qualifying and race.

[Kelateboy]

902 m before Turn 14.

902

DRS detection zone by the way is before Turn 12 and after Turn 11. I fear that drivers who understeers through Turn 13 may lose their 1sec advantage and end up not getting advantage from DRS.

There will tons of overtaking in China next Sunday... The backstraight is 1175m long!

Understeering would be less of a problem going through T11-T13. IMO, oversteering would be much more of an issue there.

[Don_Humpador]

DRS detection zone by the way is before Turn 12 and after Turn 11. I fear that drivers who understeers through Turn 13 may lose their 1sec advantage and end up not getting advantage from DRS.

If that happens, then it won't make it too easy.

IMO I think 902m is way too much.

How big was it at Malaysia? 700m?

This will really be the race where it looks fake..

Edited by Don_Humpador, 13 April 2011 - 09:05.

[flyer121]

Will Sebastian Vettel score a hat-trick of victories at the start of 2011 setting up perfectly his bid to become a double WDC?

Will Mark Webber make it an all front row Red Bull lock out?

Will Lewis Hamilton shred his tires once more?

Will Button remain McLaren's leading points scorer after the race?

Are you looking to replace Legard ?

[nol]

Should be a lot of overtaking, 11 bunches the field up so it should be easier to stay within the required 1 second and the straight is long enough to allow you to get a tow, deploy DRS and get past the car ahead before the next corner.

[RichardF1fan]

If that happens, then it won't make it too easy.

IMO I think 902m is way too much.

How big was it at Malaysia? 700m?

This will really be the race where it looks fake..

I think after the last race they should have restricted it to 500-600m

[Kelateboy]

Should be a lot of overtaking, 11 bunches the field up so it should be easier to stay within the required 1 second and the straight is long enough to allow you to get a tow, deploy DRS and get past the car ahead before the next corner.

Deploy DRS and KERS. Should be tons of overtaking.

Mercedes has the top speed and possibly the best DRS. Will Schumacher and Rosberg be competitive and fighting for podium here?

[zztopless1]

Will Petrov re-enter from his low-flying orbit without burning up?

Well it is the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first trip in to space

[flyer121]

Should be a lot of overtaking, 11 bunches the field up so it should be easier to stay within the required 1 second and the straight is long enough to allow you to get a tow, deploy DRS and get past the car ahead before the next corner.

Bunching is in terms of distance not time ...

[Massa]

Deploy DRS and KERS. Should be tons of overtaking.

Mercedes has the top speed and possibly the best DRS. Will Schumacher and Rosberg be competitive and fighting for podium here?

their DRS never work.

[AvranaKern]

their DRS never occasionally works.

Fixed

[STRFerrari4Ever]

People saying it will look fake in Shanghai, just imagine if we were still racing at the Fuji Speedway. 1.5km straight

[joshb]

Isn't the straight in Korea longer than this one?
Its good that they have to wait for a while to use it as using the whole straight would make it too easy.

[D.M.N.]

I don't think it will lead to fake racing. Just that the driver in front will have to use his brain and not use his KERS until the backstraight, and deploy it all at once to negate the effect that DRS has for the driver less than one second behind. (of course if the driver behind also has a full battery of KERS left on that particular lap, then you're a stuffed monkey)

Edited by D.M.N., 13 April 2011 - 10:40.

[RichardF1fan]

That's Lewis stuffed then - in Malaysia he never kept any of the Kers back, however much I shouted at the screen.

[BRK]

Isn't the straight in Korea longer than this one?

From Merc's technical preview:

"The back straight at Shanghai International Circuit covers 1170m, equivalent to 21.4% of the total lap distance. This is the longest straight encountered during the Formula One season, closely followed by Abu Dhabi (1140m), Monza (1120m) and Yeongam (1050m)."

Korea's fourth.

And the unfair DRS system is the reason I said earlier some teams could struggle a bit in the race compared to qualifying. No matter how good your top speed is you're still going to waste a lot of time passing or defending against quicker cars while the leading pack pull away. Especially if you're anywhere near the extremely annoying Saubers and their one-less-pitstop 'strategy'.

[Kelateboy]

Just hoping Mercedes sorts out their DRS system soon. Once they do that, they will be a force to be reckoned with in qualifying where the use of DRS is unlimited. You qualify well, you have a better chance at doing well during the race.

From my understanding in Malaysia, Mercedes rear wings opened without difficulties. But once the brake is applied which effectively cut off the DRS, Mercedes rear flaps did not return to its original state. As such, their downforce was compromised in subsequent corners where the rear wings are not at its optimum max-downforce configuration. Most likely than not, Mercedes should be bringing in a new rear wing to solve this issue for the Chinese GP.

[Bernoulli]

Deploy DRS and KERS. Should be tons of overtaking.

Mercedes has the top speed and possibly the best DRS. Will Schumacher and Rosberg be competitive and fighting for podium here?

I don't agree with you. Mercedes cars are nowhere near the likes of those of Red Bull, McLaren, Renault and Ferrari.

Renault has got an excellent engine and they could go all the way to top in China. Imagine if Kubica was still there.

[robefc]

From Merc's technical preview:

Korea's fourth.

And the unfair DRS system is the reason I said earlier some teams could struggle a bit in the race compared to qualifying. No matter how good your top speed is you're still going to waste a lot of time passing or defending against quicker cars while the leading pack pull away. Especially if you're anywhere near the extremely annoying Saubers and their one-less-pitstop 'strategy'.

Isn't the unfiar DRS system also going to help a car pass another therefore will help some teams in the race?

[Kvothe]

It turns out that the stewards will be the same for the Chinese GP as they were for the Malaysian.

Former Scuderia Italia driver Emanuele Pirro will once again act as the driver representative steward and he will be joined on the panel by FIA Institute Executive Committee member Gary Connelly and Vincenzo Spano, president of the Sporting Commission of the Automobile and Touring Club of Venezuela.

http://www.planetf1....-for-Chinese-GP

I hope I am not alone in hoping for some consistency to the decisions made this weekend.

[Lurb]

Something that bugs me about this GP: I hate hate hate the layout of this track.

I usually run a few dozen laps in rFactor during the week before each GP and while I'm slow compared to dedicated sim-racers I do it just to improve my enjoyment of the real thing. I get a better sense of the whole thing by knowing my way around the corners and can follow both Q and the race much better. rFactor is close enough so that you can for example detect subtle errors in qualy laps or make better sense of some of the ex-driver comments about this or that corner.

All that works great except for China. The layout just doesn't make any sense. Every corner from the 1st until the backstraight is a wishy-washy-neither-here-nor-there-mickey-mouse piece of crap. It makes so little sense that after 20 laps I still have trouble learning it while I can draw the whole of the friggin' Nordschleife from memory and get the basic gist of any new track within 5 laps. This one I just can't seem to learn and forget it completely from year to year.
Well, I guess it looks cute in those overhead maps. Meh.

[Atreiu]

DRS zone confirmed: http://www.f1fanatic...ne_shanghai.gif

Who decides where the Sectors timing beams are placed?
It'd make much more sense to have Sector 2 end at the exit of turn 13 because then we'd have two sectors full of twists and turns and then another sector which would be stop and go with a lot of full throttle. Sector times would then be much more representative or a cars strength/set up and us fans would get more valuable info.

I also wonder why there aren't more Speed Traps placed around the circuit. It'd be very informative to have one placed at the apex of turn 8, for example.

For the race itself, I expect Vettel to make it 3 on the trot. Followed by Alonso and then either of the McLarens. Webber will once more find a way to not fight for the win. The run to the first corner is short and Red Bull won't be tempted at all with KERS.

I'm doing my rain dance already.