Chinese F1 Grand Prix 2019: Preview + Feature (MBAMGF1)

Chinese F1 Grand Prix 2019: Preview + Feature (MBAMGF1)

Round three of the 2012 Formula One World Championship, the UBS Chinese Grand Prix, takes place at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday 15 April. The 5.451 km Herman Tilke designed circuit made its debut on the calendar in 2004 and is shaped to represent the Chinese 鈥榮hang鈥?character. 鈥淲hen I think about the Chinese Grand Prix, the fans are the first thing that comes to mind. For many years now, I鈥檝e had a big and loyal fan base there, and it鈥檚 still very touching to see the lengths they go to in supporting me. A big thank you to all of them! As for the race itself, I鈥檝e never had much luck in Shanghai, apart from my win in 2006; however that could change this year. In the first two races of 2012, we didn鈥檛 manage to maintain our qualifying pace in race conditions. 鈥淚 have good memories of the Chinese Grand Prix as I was on the podium there in 2010 and led the race last year.

I like the Shanghai International Circuit very much with its many unique, long corners. For me, China is really the start of the season as the first two races have not gone to plan. The track is quite different to the first two, as it demands more from the front tyres than the rears - in other words, what is termed a front-limited circuit. 鈥淭he Chinese Grand Prix takes place at the very impressive Shanghai International Circuit and has really established itself on the Formula One calendar in recent years. China is an important and growing market for our sport, and indeed for Mercedes-Benz, and we look forward to our annual visit next week. On track, we hope that the weekend will prove more successful than the first two races of the season where our race results did not match expectations after a positive start to both weekends. 鈥淭he first two races of the 2012 Formula One season have been ones of unfulfilled promise for our team.

Michael鈥檚 second row qualifying positions were less than half a second from pole in Australia and Malaysia, however at both events we did not convert our qualifying speed into a consistent race performance on Sunday when it counts. Since the last race in Malaysia, the team has conducted analysis of our tyre usage during the first two rounds, and how we can improve. The Chinese Grand Prix will provide an answer on our progress, although weather conditions and circuit characteristics will be different to either Melbourne or Malaysia. Two races into the 2012 season, and firm conclusions are very hard to come by when assessing the true competitiveness of the teams. The results from the first two races indicate that this could be one of the most open seasons for years, with seven different teams finishing in the top ten in Melbourne - and nine in the mixed conditions of Sepang.

For MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, the time between the races in Malaysia and China has been spent trying to unravel a conundrum: why hasn鈥檛 strong qualifying speed been translated into a similar level of competitiveness on Sundays? 鈥淚n both races, our problems have been related to getting the tyres into the correct working window,鈥?explains Team Principal Ross Brawn. Temperature readings give a clearer picture of the shift: while on Friday and Saturday, track temperatures were in the mid-40s in Sepang (peaking at 45掳C on Friday), they hovered around 30掳C in the race. 鈥淚n the dry at the end of the race, we got the car working more effectively and our pace was more respectable. The consequence of the drop in temperatures was to flip the primary challenge of the race on its head: instead of needing to protect the tyres from overheating, it was critical to generate tyre temperature in the cooler conditions.

More than one team experienced a loss of relative competitiveness compared to Saturday. 鈥淭he result in Malaysia was a great one for Formula One - but certainly not what would have been predicted before the start,鈥?continues Brawn. 鈥淟ike other teams at the front of the grid, we spent two days getting tyre temperatures down - and then, in the race, found that we needed to work the tyre harder. However, circumstance alone does not explain the team鈥檚 difficulties at the opening races of the season. 鈥淲e have too narrow a window in which we are operating the car - and we have to broaden that, and build more tolerance into how we are using the tyres,鈥?explains Brawn. 鈥淲hen we encounter challenges like this, we look at all areas of the car and we challenge ourselves collectively to find the solutions we need. So far, the potential of the F1 W03 has only been glimpsed on Saturday.