After Max Verstappen's return to victory in stage a Suzuka, break week and stopover in Shanghai for the Chinese GP. Circuit absent from the F1 calendar for five years.
The last edition dates back to 2019, on that occasion the winner was not the Dutch driver but Hamilton ahead of Bottas and Vettel. An eternity if we think that at that moment Verstappen had 'only' five victories in F1.
Below are the times for the Chinese GP:
The circuit returns to the calendar and does so with the Sprint Race format. The absence of the Chinese GP for several years could make the race decidedly interesting despite the times are not too favorable to the Europeans.
Redemption in qualifying for Ferrari and Leclerc.
Despite the excellent placement in 3th and 4th position in the Japanese GP, the Maranello team certainly has that objective optimize qualifying results. The last stage in particular showed Charles Leclerc slightly further behind than usual. A sign of recovery arrived immediately in the race where the Monegasque was the protagonist of a splendid performance tire management, but, to dispel any doubt, he must return to 100% even in qualifying.
Carlos Sainz, fresh from a victory at Albert Park and a podium at Suzuka, will also want to impose himself in the GP in China, Charles Leclerc is therefore called upon to make a 'healthy' counterattack, without compromising the excellent work done on the SF-24 at the start of championship.
Alarm bell in China?
Also watch out for doubts expressed by the riders about the unknowns of the Sprint weekend for the Chinese GP. The main concern, according to Sainz, is related to limited time to prepare for the weekend. In fact, in the Sprint format there is only one free practice session, on Friday.
A single session to become familiar with the track and to find the ideal set-up to avoid problems with wear of the boards. Factor that would lead to disqualification, as happened to Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in Austin last season.
GP China, times and where to see F1 on the track in Shanghai
There is certainly no shortage of reasons why, despite the times, not to miss the show at Suzuka: it will be possible to follow the Chinese F1 GP live on Sky Sport and in streaming on NOW.
Friday April 19th
Ore 05:30 – Free Practice 1
Ore 09:30 – Sprint qualification
Saturday April 20th
Ore 05:00 - Sprint
Ore 09:00 – Qualifications
Sunday April 21
Ore 09:00 - Competition
