The 2015 Chinese Grand Prix preview
Everything you need to know about this weekend's race in Shanghai
Tuesday 21 April 2015 15:16, UK
F1 makes its annual trip through the smog of downtown Shanghai to the Shanghai International Circuit for the third race of the 2015 season.
Built at a cost of $450m, the venue opened in 2004, hosting its inaugural grand prix that September.
So read on below as Sky Sports Digital provides your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about the grand prix weekend.
The 2015 Chinese GP in a nutshell
Track: Shanghai International Circuit. Permanent circuit.
Race start time: 7am UK time Sunday (2pm local).
Laps: 56.
Track length: 5.451 km.
Tyre allocation: Medium (white) and Soft (yellow).
DRS Zones: Two with separate detection points (Pit Straight and between Turns 13 and 14).
Driver steward: TBA.
Lap record: Michael Schumacher - 1:32.238 (Ferrari; 2004).
2014 pole: Lewis Hamilton - 1:53.860 (Mercedes).
Sky Sports F1’s schedule
Wednesday April 8
9pm - Classic F1 - 2011 Chinese GP.
Thursday April 9
8am - Drivers’ Press Conference - Live! - Jenson Button (McLaren), Marcus Ericsson (Sauber), Felipe Massa (Williams), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Nico Hulkenberg (Force India), Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
8:45pm - Paddock Uncut: China.
9pm - Classic F1 - 2007 Chinese GP.
Friday April 10
2:45am - Chinese GP Practice One - Live!
6:45am - Chinese GP Practice Two - Live!
9am - Team Principals’ Press Conference - Live! - Yasuhisa Arai (Honda), James Allison (Ferrari), Andrew Green (Force India), Paul Monaghan (Red Bull), James Key (Toro Rosso), Pat Symonds (Williams)
11am - The F1 Show - Live!
12pm - Chinese GP Practice One - replay.
2:05pm - Chinese GP Practice Two - replay.
5:05pm - The F1 Show - replay.
Saturday April 11
4:45am - Chinese GP Practice Three - Live!
7am - Chinese GP Qualifying - Live!
10am - Chinese GP Qualifying replay.
12:45pm - Ted’s Qualifying Notebook.
2:15pm - Chinese GP Qualifying replay.
Sunday April 12
5:30am - The 2015 Chinese GP - Track Parade - Live!
6am - The 2015 Chinese GP - Pit lane - Live!
6:30am - The 2015 Chinese GP - Race - Live!
9:30am - The 2015 Chinese GP - Paddock Live!
11:30am - 2015 Chinese GP Highlights.
1:30pm - 2015 Chinese GP - replay.
8pm - Ted’s Race Notebook.
Form guide
Lewis Hamilton took his third victory in China last year to become the most successful driver at the Shanghai venue. Fernando Alonso is the only other multiple winner of the race, while Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen have all won the race on one occasion.
2014 result: 1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes); 2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes); 3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari); 4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull); 5. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull); 6. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India); 7. Valtteri Bottas (Williams); 8. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari); 9. Sergio Perez (Force India); 10. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso).
Last five winners in China: 2014: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes); 2013: Fernando Alonso (Ferrari); 2012: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes); 2011: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren); 2010: Jenson Button (McLaren); 2009: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull);
Tyre allocation
Pirelli will bring the white-marked medium and yellow-banded soft compounds to the Shanghai circuit.
“The weather tends to be quite unpredictable in China, although generally we can expect to see temperatures that are significantly cooler than those we experienced in Malaysia," said the Italian firm's motorsport director Paul Hembery.
"Last year we had reasonably stable weather conditions in China whereas in previous years it has been more up and down – so this throws in a very interesting variable. The front-left tyre is the most stressed in Shanghai, while the traction demands of the circuit also give a lot of work to the rear tyres. Although we haven’t actually yet seen a very hot Chinese Grand Prix during our time in Formula 1, if you look at the weather history there is potential for this to happen as well.
"This would make things very difficult for the tyres – Shanghai is a big, open circuit and if you add in heat, it creates a lot of energy – but we’ve seen from Malaysia that these tyres will rise to the challenge. As Shanghai is a large circuit there’s plenty of opportunity for overtaking and big on-track battles. Strategy-wise, we’d normally expect a two-stop race.”
Sky Bet odds
Despite losing out to Sebastian Vettel in Malaysia, Lewis Hamilton is the man Sky Bet are backing for victory in China. Check out the full range of odds here.
