2017 FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN CHINESE GRAND PRIX PRACTICE 1/2/3 ***SPOILERS***

Scuderia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel is set to unveil a special tribute to his hero Michael Schumacher at the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend in Shanghai. The Ferrari legend took his 91st and final Formula One victory at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix and in order to highlight this major achievement, Sebastian Vettel has prepared a touching tribute in Shanghai on Sunday. The current Ferrari driver will wear a helmet emblazoned with a picture of Michael Schumacher’s former racing car.

The artwork was created by Jens Munser who worked with seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher in order to design the iconic red helmet he used at the height of his career. Sebastian will definitely hope to emulate his hero this weekend as he competes for his second win of the new season.

source:Sebastian Vettel to pay homage to Michael Schumacher at the Chinese GP - Scuderia Ferrari Fans
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Chinese GP Preview: Rain adds intrigue to knife-edge battle at the front

This Chinese Grand Prix this weekend is hotly anticipated with fans and commentators wanting to see two things in particular; is Ferrari faster than Mercedes in race conditions, as Melbourne seemed to suggest?

And with a 1.17km straight leading to a hairpin, will overtaking with these new cars be more feasible than in Melbourne?

Strategy will again be crucial and early indications are that this is likely to be a more interesting race than Melbourne, with two stops probable in dry conditions.

But it could get even more interesting than that as rain and cold temperatures are forecast for Sunday and if extreme wet tyres are needed, this potentially hands championship leaders Ferrari something of an advantage.

They are the only team to have done meaningful running on the new Pirelli extreme wet tyre and therefore will be the only ones who know where the crossover is between that and the intermediate tyre (green sidewall below), which tells the strategist and the driver when it is time to change to the other type of tyre.

There was some wet testing in Barcelona but it was mainly intermediate running. With limited time to test, it’s usually the extreme wet that misses out. In the test programme with the top teams to develop the 2017 tyres, the only serious wet running fell on Ferrari’s turn.

The previous Pirelli extreme wet wasn’t a great tyre, so we may find out more about the new one this weekend.

The rain will also increase the variability of the race, with possible safety cars and opportunities for the smaller teams to score a point. It presents an opportunity for Sauber and McLaren to bag an early point, which would not be likely in dry conditions.

If the other teams are lucky, they might get a chance to learn about the tyre and the crossover during practice on Friday, which is also forecast wet currently. So, unusually, we are likely to see cars going out in the event of heavy rain.

The choice of dry weather tyres for this weekend is Super Soft, Soft, Medium. Our indications are that the fastest strategy is likely to be Super soft – Super soft – Soft. We don’t see the medium tyre being run very much unless the front tyres grain badly, which can happen at Shanghai, with its two long constant radius corners. However we haven’t seen much front tyre graining during winter testing with these new wider tyres, so it is more of a remote possibility.

Unlike many F1 venues, where protecting the rear tyres is key to success, Shanghai is all about getting the front tyres at the optimum temperature, especially for qualifying. This is an area where historically Ferrari has given something away to Mercedes, on front limited tracks.

A significant percentage of the lap time in Shanghai is spent turning.

There are two unusual corners, Turn One and Turn 13, which are long and drawn-out, Turn One being a 270 degree, tightening corner. This overstresses the left front tyre and this is the limiting factor in any strategy plan. Teams have a limited scope for working on set ups for this kind of circuit situation, so there are always question marks about how competitive a team will be over a race distance.

This weekend’s race will be the 14th running of the Chinese Grand Prix, which first joined the F1 calendar back in 2004.

There have never been more than two safety car periods in any F1 race in Shanghai and there have only been two interruptions in the last five events. The teams also enjoy very high reliability rates in Shanghai. There was not a single retirement in the 2016 event (one of only seven times that has occurred in F1 history), just three in 2015, four in 2013, two in 2014, and one in both 2011 and 2012.

Mercedes, which is hoping to claim its 75th F1 pole on the same weekend it celebrates its 150th start as a constructor in the championship, has scored the last five poles in China, which is its best record at any circuit on the current calendar. It has also won four of the last five Chinese Grands Prix, with Fernando Alonso winning the 2013 event for Ferrari.


Lewis Hamilton has five poles and four race wins in Shanghai, which are both driver records. The polesitter has won the last three events in China and no driver has ever won the Chinese Grand Prix from starting outside of the top six places on the grid.

After his triumph last time out in Australia, Sebastian Vettel heads to China with the world championship lead for the first time since he clinched the 2013 title. The German driver has never lost a championship whenever he has led it at any point in a season and since 1990, 70 per cent of the winners of the first race have ended up topping the standings at the end of the year.

Two drivers have notable streaks that they will be hoping to continue as they travel to Shanghai. Fernando Alonso is the only F1 driver ever to finish every Chinese Grand Prix, but his McLaren team hasn’t scored a point at the 5.451-km track since the 2013 event.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo possesses the longest continuous streak of making it through to Q3 in qualifying as the last time he failed to do so was at the 2015 Italian Grand Prix, which was 30 races ago. But the Australian driver did lose his 29-race finishing and 17-race points finishing streaks after failing to get to the end of his home event due to gearbox sensor and fuel cell problems on his RB13.

Lance Stroll, who will make his second F1 start for Williams this weekend, produced a debut performance that exactly matched Jenson Button’s first F1 appearance for the Grove-based squad 17 years ago.

Button also crashed in the final practice session, qualified on the last row of the grid and had his race ended by a technical issue at the 2000 Australian Grand Prix. But the 2009 world champion went on to score his first ever F1 points in his second Williams start, when he finished sixth at the next race in Brazil.

source: https://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2017/04/chinese-gp-preview-rain-adds-intrigue-to-knife-edge-battle-at-the-front/

 

Pirelli Shanghai 2017
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https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/hamilton-2017-mule-car-tyre-testing-a-waste-of-my-time-890111/

Hmm. One saying testing new tires is a waste of his time, the other saying every little helps and it'll never hurt.

I much prefer Vettel's approach. Earns a million per week and shows his worth. I remember when F1 made the switch to Pirelli's and Vettel went to the factory twice on his own accord just to understand the tires better...not even driving them but learning the construction.

 

Interesting, that Nico spent the off season after 2015 driving karts as much as possible. Nic then proceeded to hand it to Lewis in 2016 doing everything needed to best him for the championship.

I'm gonna go with Vettel on this one, but there is a point to not wear oneself out; however, in F1, the schedule does not permit the relentless F1 driving that would have that effect.

 

I don't think the handful of tests they did over the last season would mean a worry for wearing oneself out ...Back when testing was still allowed look at Schumacher's utterly relentless schedule: Race on Sunday, fly back to Italy and be in the test car on Monday to Wednesday before flying to the next race.

I really like Vettel's dedication to the team and improving wherever possible. I hope we have the pace to fight the Mercedes and Vettel wins his 5th title, and many more!

 

SF70-H rear/aft bodywork upgrades and poster
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Formula 1 2017 China Press conf Vettel Max Verstappen Niko Hulkenburg (22min 34sec)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF1CfHolXTA

Max(fan perception question) @ 14:48...noise and overtaking.....question is presented to all 3 @ 12:28.

 

We are go, and it is wet!

 

Drizzle....not raining yet...on full wets

 

red flag....The medical helicopter is unable to operate, seemingly because the cloud cover is very low.

 

Because the heli can't fly?

 

Red flag. Medical helicopter can't take off, well it can takeoff it can't get to the hospital safety.

 

Good evening, gents!

 

Ahh, heli can't fly because it can't land at the hospital in Shanghai.

 

The FIA have just confirmed that the session will be delayed by a minimum of thirty minutes...

 

30min delay min.

 

good evening

 

If the FIA red flags, why don't they give the time back for practice?

 

Vettel and Kimi out

 

we are go

 

hulk in the gravel after spinning.....he is stuck

 

red flagged again.