Sprint weekend #1 Good weather: 23-26C daytime temperature Friday - Sunday We might see full performance on a non street circuit showing us who is really fast in this event. --The circuit’s pleasing form when seen from the air – it’s designed to look like the Chinese symbol for ‘shang’, meaning upwards – is equally pleasing to the drivers on terra firma. There’s a unique start to the lap as the drivers fly into the ever-tightening Turns 1 and 2, before they dart left through 3 and 4. The super-high g force Turns 7 and 8 are loved by the drivers, while the circuit also features one of the longest straights on the calendar, the 1.2km stretch that separates Turns 13-14.-- Image Unavailable, Please Login
Mclaren should absolutely dominate S1 and S2, and probably match Red Bull (Max) in S3 at worst. The mechanical grip on that car is just beautiful.
Looking forward to this one to truly get an accurate idea of where everyone stands as compared to the chaotic mess of Australia.
I wonder if the Chinese fixed that dip coming out of the last turn underneath that overhead structure that comes over the track?
It's up to Ferrari to win back my interest. Whether it was the car or just the set up, the weekend was a disaster. Both drivers seemed to have issues with their engineers. As for China, I'm interested in seeing how Mercedes and Williams do on a full dry weekend. I think we'll have a McLaren 1,2. and Max will have to fight for third. If Ferrari can get 5 and 7, they'll be lucky.
Repost of a meme I posted last week. I never imagined it would turn out to be prophetic! Image Unavailable, Please Login
[via AutoRacer] "Next week will be a different story" says Fred Vasseur: "As for next week [China GP], we won't approach the weekend thinking we have to do P1, P2, or P12; the goal is to maximize the work, and we didn't manage to do that today. In China, we'll start from scratch. That said, we must also keep in mind what happened in the last four races of last season, where both we and Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren won, always with significant gaps over our rivals. In Las Vegas, Mercedes was flying; in Austin or Mexico, it was us; in short, the situation changed quite a bit depending on the weekend. It's all about the preparation work; if the car isn't set up for a particular track, then you'll never have performance. That's why I think next week [this week] will be a different story."
Giuliano Duchessa on X: "Esclusiva mini-DRS: la FIA è furiosa con le squadre, in Cina un’altra direttiva (TD) e sarà severa #FlexiWing #F1 #ChineseGP https://t.co/SC8YZdlszL" / X Not seen any evidence of a new TD yet but seems FIA is not quite happy with Mclaren using the same mini DRS from last year. It passed the test but allegedly new tests already coming as soon as China. IF true, it'll tighten the field but Mclaren will still be clear of the rest, I'm in awe of that Chassis.
So a Sprint weekend and Ferrari has only FP1 to get the car right after a dismal MelbourneGP. Good Luck Ferrari!!
FIA on X: "Stricter Rear Wing Deflection Tests Introduced for the Chinese GP! Following analysis from the Australian GP, the FIA has decided to toughen rear wing flexibility tests starting at the Chinese GP. Update to Article 3.15.17: When 75kg of load is applied to the rear wing, the https://t.co/lmG4VAdBSW" / X new wing tests now confirmed
I have read some scuttlebutt about Ferrari having a transmission issue that required the ride height adjustment to reduce the load on it. Hopefully just crap, since that seems like a major issue.
It seems there was a last minute ride height change, indeed. At motorsport.it they say that the simulations didn´t predict correctly the plank wear, which sounds more credible than a transmission issue, but who knows. Well, it can´t get worse. I hope.
I dont see how China will be better for tyre wear at all for Ferrari. Perhaps a good set up change will alter this problem. Seems to be the main problem for the car during qualy and race in Melbourne. The hope Ferrari's clinging to with its 2025 F1 car https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/the-hope-ferraris-clinging-to-with-its-2025-f1-car/ --The car seemed unstable and ate through its tyres in the dry and the wet, Ferrari's communication was frayed, and its decision-making under pressure was poor. Hamilton's much anticipated debut was compromised and underwhelming, and even Leclerc had an uncharacteristic spin. In basic terms, the decline can be traced to qualifying, when its prospects for the race collapsed as the SF-25 ate through its rear tyres and neither driver had enough grip at the end of their laps. One indication was Ferrari had been too slow to adapt to the changing track conditions on Saturday, when it was extremely hot. Another suggestion is that Ferrari had to raise the car to avoid bottoming out too much and wearing away the plank, costing downforce and causing sliding. Whatever the cause, overusing the tyres was a critical variable for all teams. Vasseur pointed to how suddenly Red Bull's Max Verstappen went from splitting the two McLarens to being over a second per lap slower in the opening stint of the race, because of tyres overheating. It pointed to the root of Ferrari's troubles being a lack of grip and the overuse of its tyres in qualifying, then paying the price for that on Sunday when track position was everything. This surely meant using the intermediates too aggressively as well. Vasseur has pledged Ferrari "will be much better" in China, and that this weekend "will be different". An instant response is a necessity. And it's one thing for Ferrari to get a better result than in Australia as that's the absolute bare minimum. The question is how much better, because Ferrari is relying on a pretty big and sudden swing against McLaren to get anywhere near the early pacesetter. Vasseur conceded McLaren looked to be "one step ahead", and Hamilton confessed he didn't know if Ferrari had "anywhere near the pace McLaren had". If not, it will hardly bode much better for its championship prospects than the Melbourne nightmare. But as has often been the way when his Ferrari has suffered setbacks, Vasseur's message is for the team to focus on doing the best job it can - because that's a prerequisite whether the car is fast enough or not, and in Australia it was not the case. --