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This will be the 11th time that the spectacular Shanghai International circuit will be playing host to a F1 race. So here is everything that you need to know about the track. Who has the most wins? Which drivers dominate the track? Or who has the lap record? For all of this, just read on.
Circuit: Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai
Circuit length: 5.451 km
Track Design: Hermann Tilke
Track Cost : $450m
Number of corners: 16 (7 left, 9 right)
DRS zones: 2
Race laps: 56
Race distance: 305.066 km
2014 tyre compounds: Medium, Soft
Circuit lap record: 1m 32.238s – Michael Schumacher (2004), Ferrari
About the Circuit
Situated in the district of Jiading, a city in the north-western part of Shanghai, the Circuit has played host to a F1 Grand Prix for every year since 2004. The track is just half an hour away from the city center by car and has its own station on the Shanghai Metro.
The $450m facility was built on reclaimed marshland, some of which is retained, with the paddock and hospitality areas surrounded by water. The circuit layout similar to the Chinese character “? (Shang), which means “above” or “to ascend.”
With a number of long straights, including the longest in Formula One, Shanghai is the most demanding circuit of the year in terms of brakes, as the cars are subject to intense braking distances.
Interesting Trivia
- Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button and Felipe Massa are the only drivers to appear in every single Chinese Grand Prix.
- The inaugural Grand prix was won by Rubens Barrichello of Ferrari in 2004.
- Of the 10 races held so far, 5 of them have been won by the man on pole position.
- Eight of the last 10 Chinese Grand Prix has seen World Champions take victory.
- Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) in 2004 and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) in 2012 are the only two non-champions to have won the race.
- Only three drivers—Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton—have won the title in the same year that they took victory in China.
- Fernando Alonso has completed every lap of the Chinese Grand Prix since its inception in 2004.
- Alonso also holds the record for having led the most laps in Shanghai with 119, Hamilton is a distant second with 87.
- Along with Lewis Hamilton, Alonso holds the record for most wins with 2.
- Ferrari are the team with most victories in China (4)
- The lowest grid position from which a driver has won the race is 6th, when Michael Schumacher started there and finished in the top step of the podium in 2006.
- Saturday’s qualifying was the first full wet qualifying for Chinese Grand Prix since 2005, when Alonso claimed pole for Renault.
- Hamilton’s pole position today means that he now has the most pole position in this circuit with 4.
- Kimi Raikonnen and Lewis Hamilton have finished in the podium places five times each- the most by any driver on this track.
- Ferrari have now gone 70 consecutive races in the points, whilst Nico Rosberg has 12 consecutive races in the points
- With 22 consecutive classified finishes since his debut in 2013, Max Chilton will be looking to continue his record.
