Chinese GP Preview

Circuit: Shanghai International Circuit

Laps: 56

Length: 3.387 miles/ 5.451 kms

2007 Pole Position: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1 min 35.908

2007 Winner: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)

2007 Fastest Lap: Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1 min 37.454

After a hectic last few races, there is no respite for the F1 circus as, only a week after Japan, the teams and drivers head to China for the penultimate race of the 2008 F1 season.

The championship is now mathematically down to three drivers, and by the end of this weekend we will either be down to two, have a three-way fight going to Brazil or possibly the first British world champion in 12 years.

But before we get into the business of who will win what, let’s look at the history of the Chinese GP. Like Bahrain, Turkey, Valencia and Singapore, the Chinese round is a recent addition to the calendar, first holding a race back in 2004. Although it wasn’t the first time there had been a Chinese GP scheduled on the F1 calendar.

Back in 1999 there was a Chinese GP scheduled on the draft calendar for that season, to be held at the Zhulai circuit before political and safety issues meant this race never happened. The Chinese government then went back to the drawing board and built a brand new circuit just outside Shanghai, designed by Herman Tilke, and they were given a place on the 2004 calendar.

The inaugural winner of the Chinese GP was Rubens Barrichello in the Ferrari, while recently-crowned world champion Michael Schumacher had a nightmare weekend, spinning in qualifying then colliding with Christian Klien during the race. In 2005 the race became the final race of the season, and seen the constructors crown settled in Renault’s favour after Fernando Alonso led home a Renault one-three.

Their closest challengers, McLaren, lost out when Juan Pablo Montoya became a victim of a loose drain cover, smashing his suspension and retiring from the race.

But for 2006 the weather was poor, and this let Michael Schumacher show his wet weather skills to take what was to become his final F1 victory, ahead of championship rival Fernando Alonso.

Last year seen F1’s new superstar, Lewis Hamilton, have the chance to take the title at his first attempt, but he threw the chance away in a gravel trap on the entrance to the pit lane due to heavily worn tyres. His rivals, Kimi Raikkonen and then team-mate Fernando Alonso, went on to finish first and second and set up a three-way showdown at the final race in Brazil which eventually went the way of the Ferrari driver.

We could end up with the same scenario again this season. After what has been an eventful season to say the least, we have three drivers in with a mathematical chance of taking the championship.

The current leader Lewis Hamilton had yet another scrappy race and finished a distant 12th after receiving a drive-through penalty for causing mayhem at the first corner and being tipped into a spin by Felipe Massa.

Massa then received a drive-through penalty himself for his actions but managed to salvage something from the afternoon, scoring two points after benefiting from a time penalty handed to Sebastien Bourdais, with whom he collided during the race. Contender number three is Robert Kubica, who has been the most consistent of the three this season and scored a strong second place in Japan.

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