Teams warning: Big issue for Chinese GP. As the Formula One circuit returns to China for the first time in five years, the introduction of a sprint race to the weekend’s schedule has caused concern among teams and drivers alike. The sprint, which will take place on Saturday morning before qualifying for the main event, comes with revised regulations that also relax the parc ferme conditions, allowing teams to make necessary modifications after the sprint.
The Shanghai International Circuit will only host a single practice session on Friday, significantly reducing the amount of preparation time available. The lack of recent experience at the venue adds to the challenges for the teams, particularly for tyre supplier Pirelli.
“It’s very clever,” says world champion Max Verstappen sarcastically when asked about the decision to hold a sprint race in China in his first year back.
“I don’t think it’s good because when you haven’t been to a track for a while, you never know what you’re going to experience there, so it would have been better to have a normal race weekend there,” said reigning world champion Max Verstappen, criticising the decision with a hint of irony.
Despite the concerns, some see the potential for added excitement: “On the other hand, it probably makes things a bit more exciting and that’s what they might want to see. But from a pure driving and performance point of view, I don’t think it’s the wisest solution.” Verstappen added arguing that it might not be the wisest approach from a performance point of view.
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Pirelli’s predicament: Navigating the unknown
Complications arise from the track surface itself, which may have developed imperceptible bumps due to its swampy foundation. In addition, the 18-inch tyres that will be introduced in 2022 have yet to be tested on the Shanghai tarmac.
Pirelli’s inability to carry out its usual pre-race assessments further complicates matters. “It’s like approaching a new track,” said Pirelli’s F1 chief engineer Simone Berra.
“The ageing and condition of the asphalt will be crucial to understand before the race.”
“Because we have new cars and new tyres. The track hasn’t been used for five years, it’s only been used for one race a year or something like that. So it’s going to be very green and quite dirty, although of course it will be cleaned.
“And we have to understand, even when we measure the tarmac before the race, how it has changed. In the past it was quite rough, both in terms of micro and macro roughness. We need to understand how it has aged in recent years,”
“Unfortunately I don’t have anyone available to do that,” he says of the lack of early inspection. “So we’ll do it on Wednesday.”
Despite these uncertainties, Pirelli remains confident in its tyre selection, opting for a balanced range of C2 to C4 compounds. “We have chosen a middle ground with our tyres, which should protect us from different potential problems,” explained Berra.
“C5 was really too soft and C1 was probably too conservative considering the track.”
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Red Bull Motorsport Consultant Helmut Marko is hoping the tyres won’t cause any problems for his team, having already suffered a major setback at the Australian Grand Prix.
“I hope there won’t be any surprises like in Melbourne,” said the Austrian. “The track was so aggressive that we were completely wrong in terms of tyre wear, which is one of our strengths. There might be another surprise in that direction, but we were warned about it in Melbourne and now we know more about how to react,”
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Ferrari: Why Shanghai is ideal for a sprint ‘on paper’ but…
Despite the concerns, Shanghai’s track record for overtaking – an average of 74.5 moves per race over the last decade – makes it a prime candidate for a sprint format. “It’s an excellent track for overtaking, which justifies a sprint here,” said Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who also expressed concerns about the limited practice time and demanding conditions imposed by the new rules, therefore arresting his comments on suitability somewhat:
“At the same time, it’s what we said in the FIA and Formula 1 drivers’ briefing…
“If you go to a track with this kind of cars, where you can only practice for an hour and then go straight into qualifying, with the rules they’ve imposed on us, with the wear on the boards and things like that, and how tricky a bump the car can be, I don’t think it’s a good decision to put the Sprint [there] after four or five years,
“We also heard that the surface has been replaced. That might be exciting for [the spectators] at home, but for the engineers and drivers I think we should take no risks and have a normal weekend.”
Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc added: “I think the sprint weekend, as always, is very tricky and you can’t afford to make any mistakes. But I like that. It’s an even bigger challenge.”
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Team bosses cautious but resigned
While acknowledging the complications of the sprint format at a virtually new venue, team bosses also recognise the level playing field it provides.
“It’s tough for everyone. No team has a clear advantage,” said Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur.
“We will all be in the same situation,” said the Frenchman. “The biggest question mark for me will be the tarmac, because we know the layout of the track and we know the corners.”
“And compared to the last event we will probably have colder conditions. And then we will see that we don’t know the roughness of the asphalt. And that will be the key for the weekend, to see if we have grains or not. “
McLaren’s Andrea Stella added: “It complicates things, but we have no control over that. We’ll concentrate on adapting and performing as well as we can.”
“From the team’s point of view, let’s just say it adds a lot of complications. At the same time, there’s nothing we can do about it. So we just turn it off and concentrate on doing a good job.”
As the teams prepare for what promises to be an unpredictable weekend in Shanghai, the consensus is clear: while the sprint may add to the spectacle, it adds to the challenges in a sport where familiarity and precision are paramount.
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