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.

However, with the Pole being 12 points behind Hamilton with only 20 remaining his task seems impossible. But he will take heart from the fact that at the same time last season Raikkonen was 17 points behind Hamilton, yet beat him to the title.

As for the Finn, his third place at Fuji meant that his title defence was officially over, and he has been cast into a supporting role for the final two races of the season.

So what about the circuit? As I have already stated it held its first race back in 2004, and everybody was impressed with what they saw. It is essentially a typical Tilke circuit, having a long back straight leading into a hairpin for better overtaking opportunities.

But unlike other Tilke circuits it has other challenging corners as well. With the circuit being designed in the shape of the Chinese symbol "Shang," it allowed the designers to put in some challenging corners, such as the very long first corner, the fast chicane at Turns five and six, and the long banked Turn 10 which leads onto the back straight.

The circuit facilities are also top of the range, with a huge two-tiered grandstand facing the pits and the teams having excellent paddock facilities, with huts suspended on stilts in a small lake to replace the usual motorhomes that the teams take to European races.

So who do I tip to take the spoils at China this weekend? On recent form I wouldn’t dare make a prediction for any position. So far this season we have seen seven different winners from five different teams, and with unpredictable weather expected at Shanghai it could be anyone’s race.

Fernando Alonso will be looking to become the first multiple winner of the Chinese GP and make it a hat-trick of wins after winning the last two races following a dismal season, while Robert Kubica will be wanting to take his second F1 win to have a chance of the title going to Brazil.

But more than likely it will be a driver from one of the Big Two teams, with the two Finns of Kovalainen and Raikkonen looking to help their team-mates in any way they can. Only one thing is guaranteed now this season, and that is that we will have a new world champion on the list. Will Hamilton clinch it this weekend? We will have to wait and see

PREVIOUS WINNERS:

2007 – Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) Ferrari

2006 – Michael Schumacher (GER) Ferrari

2005 – Fernando Alonso (ESP) Renault

2004 – Rubens Barrichello (BRA) Ferrari