Only the second race of the season, and no build up? Well here we go...
Its off for the 14th race (believe it or not!) at the Shanghai International Circuit, built in the old swamps on what used to be the outskirts of the city. Now its positively suburban. Shanghai has now hosted more championship races than old favourites such as Estoril, Brands Hatch, Adelaide or Reim, but is still considered a 'new' circuit by many.
However, this Tilkedrome might have an unfair reputation, as its had some humdinger moments in the past - not to mention the 161 overtakes last year. Will we get there this year with the new regs?!
THE CIRCUIT
Length: 5.451km (3.388 miles in old money)
Laps: 56
Lap Record: 1:32.238 (Michael Schumacher, 2004)
LAST YEAR
Pole: Nico Rosberg, 1:35.402
Winner: Nico Rosberg, followed by Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Kvyat
Nico Rosberg took his third victory of the season and his sixth in a row. He extended his championship lead to 36 points. (Wikipedia)
QUESTIONS THIS YEAR:
- Will the lap record be smashed after the relative disappointment in Melbourne?
- Will the overtaking situation improve on the much more pass-friendly circuit than was Albert Park?
- Can Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes take the fight back to Ferrari?
- Can Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen 'finnish' in front of their respective teammates this time round?
- Will Red Bull find improvement?
- Who will emerge at the head of the tight midfield battle of Williams, Force India and Toro Rosso? Can Hulk and Renault muscle in there?
- Can Stroll manage a weekend without crashing?
- Can McLaren avoid humiliation and finish above Sauber?
- Will Giovanazzi continue to impress in his stand in role?
MEMORABLE MOMENTS:
Who can forget when the wheels literally came off Buemi's practice lap in 2010?
Or, just as odd, when Schumacher and Albers crashed on their grid lap in 2005?
In the good old days of gravel, remember when Lewis Hamilton's quest for a rookie season title suffered a mortal blow in the pitlane runoff?
Also in 2005, the year the drains had it in for Montoya
And how about Jenson's pit cock-up of 2011?
Of course on top of these bizarre moments we've had Michael Schumacher's final F1 victory in 2006, Mercedes' first victory of their current era with Nico Rosberg in 2012, Mark Webber's stunning drive up the field in 2011, and of course Red Bull's crushing 1-2 in 2009 which kick started their mini-era.
woah I never knew about MS Albers collision in intallation lap and Montoya's drain accident in 2005
maybe i didnt watch that race
As I just checked, both MS and Albers started the race which is amazing , I can see a T car in mc garage when Mon pitted to retire, so was it the power of T car?
Can't wait for this race! for the many obvious reasons but also because my wife bought me SkyF1 for a year for my bday next week! So I can finally watch and record all the practice and qually and not miss things or rely on a dodgy-stream site for the race that keeps stopping and starting every 2 mins! yay \o/
Thread needs to be deleted. Unacceptable Kristian:
- Can Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen 'finnish' in front of their respective teammates this time round?
I was trying to make a super funny opening post, but a really dull day in work had supressed all hope of humour in me, and that was literally the best I could come up with.
I should have waited until now, I've got a couple of beers in me....
Given the competitiveness of Ferrari in Oz, I am really looking forward to this race. Hopefully Red Bull can step up to the plate, and thrust Max and Dan into the mix as well. I'll miss the practice sessions (skiing in Colorado), but be able to catch Q and the race. Expecting a Mercedes/Ferrari mix on the podium, however if weather is a factor a win for either of the RB drivers would not surprise me.
I hope it rains! Curious to see how they will handle these cars in wet condisions.
I hope it doesn't the Barcelona wet tyre test was a damp squib with little running at all, who knows what would happen if these cars actually had to race on those tyres.
This is a race where the FOM really should be all the time live on air with Alonso's team radio.
I like a bit of classical music on the motorway myself but would have thought Alonso would be too busy to listen to the radio - maybe he is practising to be the next Stig.
Can't wait for this race! for the many obvious reasons but also because my wife bought me SkyF1 for a year for my bday next week! So I can finally watch and record all the practice and qually and not miss things or rely on a dodgy-stream site for the race that keeps stopping and starting every 2 mins! yay \o/
Don't count your chickens, they managed to screw up and fail to record Q in Oz.
Stupid question: are Japanese & Chinese kanji's the same?
No they are different although some characters looks similar / same.
Japanese Kanji is inspired from the Chinese characters ("Kanji" actually means "Chinese words") set at around 600-900 A.D ( Tang dynasty in China )
The Chinese characters keeps evolved itself throughout next 1000 years and become the "Traditional Chinese" which is still the primary written language in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
On the other hand, after the PRC starts ruling the mainland China in 1949. The government has set up a new set of characters (aiming for less strokes) which is known as "Simplified Chinese" and used inside China, as well as Singapore and other Chinese societies in S.E. Asia.
Beware that while "Traditional Chinese" and "Simplified Chinese" would be interchangeable, some ( superset ) Chinese characters may have the same writing as Japanese Kanji however Chinese version could have different ( some even in opposite ) meaning from the Japanese one.
, I can see a T car in mc garage when Mon pitted to retire, so was it the power of T car? 
