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Lewis Hamilton surprised fans in China while signing autographs and greeting them in Chinese ahead of the Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit this weekend.
As F1 returns to Shanghai for the first time since 2019, some drivers are already making their presence felt with the fans. Hamilton shared a moment with his fans as he signed autographs and also had a little surprise as he greeted them in Chinese.
A video viral on social media shows the Mercedes driver getting his supporters excited ahead of the weekend.
Lewis Hamilton won the last race in Shanghai in 2019. Since then, there have been attempts to organize the race again but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The seven-time world champion is the most successful driver on the track with a whopping six wins. Subsequently, Mercedes are the most successful constructor with as many wins.
However, things have shaken up quite a bit since F1's last race here. The Brackley-based team have not adapted to the new regulations well enough and have suffered in terms of performance.
Mercedes' poor form poses a new challenge for Lewis Hamilton in China
Mercedes have had their worst start in over a decade with the W15, the challenger that was meant to overcome the weakness of their former car. However, they have been even poorer in performance this year.
The Silver Arrows are currently fourth in the constructor's stadings, just one point above Aston Martin. Lewis Hamilton has also had the worst start to a season of his career, having scored just 10 points from the opening four races.
After the Australian GP, where he retired on the 17th lap because of an engine failure, Hamilton said that the performance gap between them and championship leaders Red Bull was over a second and similar to what it was earlier. Finishing P9 in Japan, with George Russell in P7, only helped the team to remain stable in the championship standings.
It is hard to say if Mercedes will improve in China, despite the fact that they are the most successful team on the track. Max Verstappen, who has won relentlessly in the past two seasons, is expected to win another race after the Japanese Grand Prix earlier.
Meanwhile, Mercedes still have a lot to work on. They have been slower than Ferrari, McLaren, and even Aston Martin on some occasions this year. So their basic focus might not lie around winning, but remaining within the top five in China.
