2010 Chinese Grand Prix Race day at Shanghai International Circuit
Live Text
Sort by
Fernando Alonso has taken up his third place on the grid and begins to talk to Spanish reporters.
Nico Rosberg spent a little time in the garage. He has since left the pits with a set of soft tyres.
Schumacher takes a dive through the pits and heads around on another reconnaissance lap. Team-mate Rosberg does the same.
The rain is still only a very light drizzle, which isn't really impacting grip levels for the moment.
Mark Webber has already arrived on the start/finish straight and is pushed into place on the front row.
Vettel is strapped in to his polesitting Red Bull as he prepares to head to the grid.
The circuit radar shows more light showers marching towards the track in the lead up to the start.
The rain is only very light at the moment as drivers get ready to drive around to the grid.
The umbrellas are going up in the grandstands as light rain falls at the circuit!
The pitlane is now open, allowing drivers onto the circuit for the first time today.
With half-an-hour to go until the start, they will be keen to check the grip level. The team radio, all functions on the car and front-to-rear balance will also get their attention.
With half-an-hour to go until the start, they will be keen to check the grip level. The team radio, all functions on the car and front-to-rear balance will also get their attention.
The rainfall radar is teasing everyone at the moment with just over 30 minutes to go before the formation lap.
It shows us that moderate rainfall is gathering rather than fragmenting to the west of the circuit, with smaller light showers expected by some teams in the next few minutes.
It shows us that moderate rainfall is gathering rather than fragmenting to the west of the circuit, with smaller light showers expected by some teams in the next few minutes.
Hamilton's 2007 title campain ran aground in the pitlane gravel
2007 saw the rain return to again dash the championship aspirations of the points leader.
This time it was Lewis Hamilton, who - just like Alonso the previous year - looked in complete control as the rain fell during the early stages of the race. The Briton pulled out a sizable lead on intermediate tyres but in doing so wore them heavily. Hamilton made the move to pit for fresh rubber on a damp track, but disaster struck. He slid into the pitlane gravel trap and couldn't recover.
Raikkonen assumed control of the race and took victory ahead of Fernando Alonso, with Hamilton left to rue a costly error - one that severely compromised his championship chances.
The third time that rain intervened was of course last year. FIA race director Charlie Whiting decided to start the event under the safety car. When it did, Sebastian Vettel put on a wet weather masterclass to give Red Bull its maiden victory in the sport.
With the RB6 machines locking out the front row and again a threat of light rain in the air, a similar result is entirely possible.
Schumacher celebrates his last win in 2006
The Shanghai International Circuit has hosted six Chinese Grands Prix since its inception in 2004. Three races have been held in dry conditions with the other three seeing some form of rain during the race.
2006 was the first wet event. Light rain fell before the start of the race and during the early laps. Fernando Alonso established a big lead in the Renault, but crucially opted to swap to fresh front intermediate tyres. His race was ruined there and then. Team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella and a charging Michael Schumacher caught and passed the Spaniard easily, leaving Renault's number two and Ferrari's star driver to fight it out.
The leaders pitted for grooved tyres as a dry line emerged. Schumacher stopped first and had that crucial one lap advantage to drill Fisichella as he squirmed out of the pits on dry rubber. Schumacher blazed to his 91st victory on one of the Scuderia's greatest days.
Webber will hope to steal the lead this time
A lock-out of the front row is the perfect place for Red Bull to start its bid for a one-two finish for the second race in succession. If the rain doesn't arrive, it is unlikely that Alonso, Rosberg or the McLaren pair will be able to prevent a maximum score for the blue cars, with the main interest being whether Webber can pay back his team-mate for Malaysia and grab the lead at Turn 1.
Alonso will hope to have good race pace in his Ferrari, but the formbook suggests only reliability can stop the rapid RB6 in a completely dry race. Both tyre compounds look durable enough to go a long way, with Bridgestone suggesting pitstops from about lap 20 to discard the softer tyres that most will start on if the track is dry.
Rain really is the big factor in today's strategy, and the fact that timing and quantity remain uncertain only adds to the challenge of planning the afternoon.
Alonso said yesterday: "When it will rain, if it's wet all race, only the first part, only the middle or only the end? We don't know. Anyone can win those types of races because there is so much difference in terms of lap time if you make the right choice at the pit stop or whatever."
Being on the right tyres at the right time is the strategists mantra for any inclement weather and things could get pretty chaotic if we do get the odd shower today.
The new team battle will continue
The battle at the rear of the field to be the best new team in the sport this year has been intriguing. We are set for another showdown today as Lotus and Virgin square up to eachother for the fourth time.
Lotus set much of the pre-season testing and early pace, but Virgin registered its first finish with Lucas di Grassi last weekend in Malaysia and Timo Glock has out-qualified both Lotus T127 entries this weekend at Shanghai.
Doubts remain over the race pace of the Virgin due to its fuel tank issue, but in the early laps we can expect di Grassi and Glock to give Lotus drivers Trulli and Kovalainen a real fright. The four of them were covered by just 0.505 seconds yesterday in qualifying.
Hispania Racing remains rooted to the bottom rung of the Formula 1 ladder, but the team is much closer to the pace of its two main rivals this weekend. Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok qualified just over one second slower than Glock's leading Virgin. Chandhok was handed a five-place grid penalty early on Saturday and the team has elected to start him from the pitlane.
The local weather radar continues to point towards a threat of rain - particularly during the second half of the race.
The showers are less than 100 km away from the Shanghai International Circuit, while right now conditions remain dry but overcast overhead.
The showers are less than 100 km away from the Shanghai International Circuit, while right now conditions remain dry but overcast overhead.
Here's how the grid will line up this afternoon:
Pos Driver Team
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault
3. Alonso Ferrari
4. Rosberg Mercedes
5. Button McLaren-Mercedes
6. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
7. Massa Ferrari
8. Kubica Renault
9. Schumacher Mercedes
10. Sutil Force India-Mercedes
11. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari
13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari
14. Petrov Renault
15. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
16. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
17. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari
18. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
19. Glock Virgin-Cosworth
20. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
21. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
23. Senna HRT-Cosworth
24. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth *
* Five-place grid penalty for breaking a gearbox
seal without an observer present. Starting from pits.
The Chinese Formula 1 fans drifted away when Michael Schumacher retired at the end of the 2006 season. But today, they are back in increased numbers.
Airhorns blared and the crowd in the grandstand at start-finish cheered loudly as Schumacher joined his fellow-drivers for the traditional parade round the circuit.
The 24 drivers have since gone back to the waterside team buildings to prepare for a long race, lasting at least one hour and thirty minutes.
Airhorns blared and the crowd in the grandstand at start-finish cheered loudly as Schumacher joined his fellow-drivers for the traditional parade round the circuit.
The 24 drivers have since gone back to the waterside team buildings to prepare for a long race, lasting at least one hour and thirty minutes.
Timo Glock chats with Porsche winner Christian Menzel
The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia provided the only support action in Shanghai with a race on Saturday and a second encounter this morning.
German tin-top ace Christian Menzel dominated the season opener in his Team StarChase entry, topping practice and qualifying before leading home Darryl O'Young and Marchy Lee by over five seconds.
Menzel remained unstoppable this morning as he again won from O'Young, while Craig Baird completed the podium. The series will be back on the F1 support bill at the Singapore Grand Prix in September.
Fans in the stands
Motor racing enthusiasts love to debate and discuss the action on track, and the live forum at the bottom of the screen is your chance to let everyone know your thoughts on events as they unfold at the circuit.
• Will the Red Bull pair sail off into the distance this afternoon?
• Assuming they do, who is set to take the final podium position? The McLaren drivers were hit by an alarming lack of pace when it mattered and do you really think Nico Rosberg has the pace pace in the Mercedes to match Alonso's Ferrari?
• Which team will take the honours today out of the three new outfits down the field? All of them will be looking forward to working with updated packages at Montmelo in three weeks' time.
Tell the world what you think.
Click the SHOW LIVE FORUM link in the red bar at the bottom of your browser window if you'd like to join the debate.
Vettel celebrates another pole
The finger of celebration made yet another appearance yesterday at the end of a qualifying session with few surprises, as Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber secured a Red Bull lockout at the front of the grid.
So far this season the Q1 question has revolved around which of the top 18 drivers will become the fall-guy to join the Lotus, Virgin and Hispania teams on the sidelines. At one stage it looked like Pedro de la Rosa would be that man, but it was Tonio Liuzzi who was unable to improve.
The second stage was predictable, as both Williams drivers failed to make the shootout, along with Alguersuari and Buemi in the Toro Rossos, the Sauber drivers and Vitaly Petrov in the Renault.
That left Adrian Sutil and Robert Kubica to join the McLarens, Ferraris, Red Bulls and Mercedes in the top ten shootout.
On both runs Vettel blasted his way to the top of the pile, but Webber gave the German a run for his money. Fernando Alonso came through for third on the last run and Nico Rosberg finished a very positive fourth - out-qualifying his team-mate Michael Schumacher by over seven-tenths of a second in the process.
Vettel storms to Chinese GP pole
A few breaks in the cloud base have led to sunny spells over the last few hours, but to the west the teams are watching the radar closely as a band of rain makes its way across the region.
However, the rain is showing signs of fragmenting into two areas: one drifting to the south of the circuit and the other part drifting to the north.
The local rainfall radar reads like the script from the movie 'Armageddon' currently and we will continue to track its progress in the build-up to the race. It is a knife-edge situation, but the latest news is that the teams are still expecting some light rain during the grand prix.
With a south-westerly air source continuing to drag mild air northwards, temperatures will rise to around 19 degrees Celsius today - possibly nudging 20 for a time.
However, the rain is showing signs of fragmenting into two areas: one drifting to the south of the circuit and the other part drifting to the north.
The local rainfall radar reads like the script from the movie 'Armageddon' currently and we will continue to track its progress in the build-up to the race. It is a knife-edge situation, but the latest news is that the teams are still expecting some light rain during the grand prix.
With a south-westerly air source continuing to drag mild air northwards, temperatures will rise to around 19 degrees Celsius today - possibly nudging 20 for a time.
Shangahi International Circuit
Hello everyone and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live for coverage of round four of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 5.451 km Shanghai International Circuit has provided some good action this weekend and the qualifying battle was hard-fought, but the end result is becoming familiar - an all-Red Bull front row.
The race itself begins at 07:00 GMT, but before then we will set the scene by reviewing yesterday's qualifying session, update you on today's weather conditions and support card activity, and focus on some of the major talking points heading into the race.
By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton
Published:
Lap:
