Kimi eager for Shanghai test

Sporting the old narrow nose, Raikkonen blitzed the field during the three-day test as McLaren prepared its cars for the all-new Shanghai circuit. The team, like its rivals, has no knowledge of the new venue (bar Ferrari, who did a lap of the circuit with former F1 driver Gerhard Berger earlier in the year during a promotional event) and has had to rely on simulation techniques to get an early understanding of the track.

"Following the Italian Grand Prix, the team has been testing at the Silverstone circuit in the UK," Raikkonen said. "We had a productive test where we focused on set-up for China. The Shanghai International Circuit looks like a great track to drive. It has an equal number of right and left handers, a good mix of corner types, from long sweeps to tight hairpins, and a number of straights where we can stretch the legs of the MP4-19B.

"We have of course used simulation techniques prior to the race to get an initial understanding of the characteristics of the track and now I am looking forward to actually driving it."

The circuit profile reveals a medium to high downforce configuration, which explains the testing of the narrower, lower nose on the MP4-19B at Silverstone last week. More importantly for spectators, though, are several potential spots for overtaking, as David Coulthard explains.

"Having looked at the plans there are a number of potential overtaking opportunities," he said, "the most obvious of which is under braking at the end of the long straight, we should be able to slipstream along the 1km stretch and get alongside before making our move.

"The general consensus is that the Shanghai International Circuit will be technically demanding from a set-up perspective and also quite tough physically."

Click HERE to read what BAR's Jenson Button and Anthony Davidson think of the new circuit.