2012 Chinese Grand Prix

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Ross

Ross

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Now that we've all had a chance to catch out breath after Malaysia, it's time to start all over again. The championship now moves on to Shanghai for the third race of the 2012 season.​



Results




Shanghai International Circuit
UBS Grand prix

Shanghai-International-Circuit-Track-Map-2010.jpg


One lap of Shanghai International Circuit 2010 with Sebastian Buemi


A detailed forecast of Shanghai for the next seven days

Lap record ~ 1:32.238
(Michael Schumacher, 2004, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro)

2011 results:
~ Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes)
~ Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault)
~ Mark Webber(Red Bull-Renault)

2012 standings (after two races):
1. ~ Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) ~ 35
2. ~ Lewis Hamilton (Mclaren Mercedes) ~ 30
3. ~ Jenson Button (Mclaren Mercedes) ~ 25
4. Mark Webber (Red Bull Renault) ~ 24
5. Sergio Perez (Sauber) ~ 22
6. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Renault) ~ 18
7. Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus) ~ 16
8. Bruno Senna (Williams) ~ 8
9. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) ~ 8
10. Paul di Resta (Force India Mercedes) ~ 7
11. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) ~ 4
12. Nico Hülkenberg (Force India Mercedes) ~ 2
13. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) ~ 2
14. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes Benz) ~ 1


Two down, eighteen to go. The Malaysian Grand Prix demonstrated that even the smaller teams can still fight for a top 3 spot and it might just be the starting point of some new teams coming through and proving themselves. The big questions for this weekend are:​


  • Can Red Bull finally get back on the podiums?
  • Will Lewis Hamilton get yet another poll position?
  • What side of the track will poll be on?
  • Can Perez keep up his form?
  • Can HRT actually qualify?
  • Will Felipe Massa prove us all wrong and actually do well?
  • Will we see more of the unproven teams break into the top 5-6? If so, which ones?
Whatever happens I think this season is going to be one of the best and most unpredictable seasons for a while as many of the new teams are coming in and challenging the likes of McLaren Mercedes and Red Bull Renault. PS, sorry to prisonermonkeys for copying the format​
​
 
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Way too early, dude. The race threads don't go out until the Tuesday before the race. We've still got three weeks.
 
Another improtant question for me is how MGP will fare if they can actually drive a whole dry race WITHOUT being taken out by others or technical problems. Still have a feeling they will have terrible luck once again.
 
Yes, after a three week sabbatical, I can prepare for back to back races.

I think Mclaren will be strong again, with Mercedes also slightly improved. Sauber also have a strong car, them choosing to not develop the EBD too much looks like it's paying off now.

Ferrari will be back to their troubled path, struggling to get into the top 6. Fernando Alonso will wipe the floor with Felipe for a third consecutive race (as much as I don't want to admit it. Oh yeah, forgot about Red Bull, I think they'll be pretty much were they already were.

It's just my predictions though, I'm most likely going to be proved entirely wrong come Sunday evening.
 
I'm gonna say wet start to a dry end of the race, and Alonso and Button on the podium.
 
It's way to early to tell the weather now. I think Mclaren and Red Bull will be on top if it's a regular dry race. Otherwise who knows.

I think it will be interesting to see Vettel's reaction tho after Sepang. Even if he claims that he dont worry and that it's still early, his reaction in Sepang shows the contrary for me.
 
Matty
I'm gonna say wet start to a dry end of the race, and Alonso and Button on the podium.
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I kind of want a normal, procession like race so as to see were everyone actually is, performance wise.
 
Mercedes to do well in qualifying, but rubbish in the race. What are the odds?
 
Hopeful for McLaren again, though I'd love to see the mid-field teams up there again.
 
If HRT can qualify at Malaysia, which is said to be the hardest track when it comes to the 107% rule, then they will qualify everywhere else.

The bigger issue is, can they beat Virgin Marussia in Qualifying and race? Last race they had problems with cooling, and were still just sorting out their hydraulics problems, so they weren't able to unlock the car's full potential as yet. They're bringing a few updates to the car, as are all teams, so we'll see.

Regarding the front fight, Mercedes could take advantage of the F-Duct again thanks to Shangai's very long back straight, so we may very well see a Mercedes on the front row, or at least in the top 3 again. It will most likely be Schumacher. McLaren seem to be the team to beat ,though Red Bull can in race trim, but never in qualifying. Lotus look strong, too, even moreso than Red Bull in qualifying. As for Ferrari, he can get the car into the top 5 on merit, some luck, or rain, can give him a podium.
 
NINE_HUNDRED
I wonder how Maldonado will ruin his race this week.
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He'll blow the engine on the last lap on the back straight cause of bad shifting.. :)
 
I'm going to predict that Mercedes will be very strong here; pole position and both cars finishing high in the points, with one getting a podium. I don't think they can win though. I predict that Webber will beat Vettel in the race to finish on the podium too, and one of the Mclaren boys will win, whilst the other will retire due to reliability (or failed overtake in Hamilton's case).

Ferrari will be back to their poor form, but I predict both the Saubers and Ferraris will make up the last 4 points scoring positions.
 
Peter.
The bigger issue is, can they beat Virgin Marussia in Qualifying and race? Last race they had problems with cooling, and were still just sorting out their hydraulics problems, so they weren't able to unlock the car's full potential as yet. They're bringing a few updates to the car, as are all teams, so we'll see.
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I wouldn't expect HRT to be anywhere near Marussia just yet, Marussia have the benefit of an extra race distance-worth of information to use. I reckon its going to be much the same as last year and 2010 where Marussia have better pace than HRT, only occasionally being beaten by 1 HRT on genuine pace.

I don't think Karthikeyan or DLR are quite good enough in qualifying to beat them, but they generally drive safe races so can be relied upon to make the most of any lucky strategies the team uses.

The only sad thing so far this year is that the backmarker battle has been somewhat predictable, at least we had the brief excitement of Kathikeyan in 8th last race though.

I think the question I'd still like to know most is where all the midfield teams' qualifying pace really is. Its still a muddy picture as Sauber, Williams and Toro Rosso clearly have top 10 pace in the races but struggle to really show it in qualifying. Lotus and Force India seem to qualify roughly where their race pace is.
 
I think the question I'd still like to know most is where all the midfield teams' qualifying pace really is. Its still a muddy picture as Sauber, Williams and Toro Rosso clearly have top 10 pace in the races but struggle to really show it in qualifying. Lotus and Force India seem to qualify roughly where their race pace is.
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That is right. It seems like many teams has very different performance in race compared to qualifying.
 
And now I'm disturbed for life..........
 
1.) Raikkonen
2.) Hamilton
3.) Vettel

Raikkonen is being seriously overlooked, and so is the Renault. He's been quick, just unlucky, and had the fastest race lap at Malaysia by 3 tenths. He's also a good passer, something that seems to be a bit of a lost art in F1. I'd still love to see Schumacher get at least a podium finish.
 
It has been said here but Mercedes might be going strong here. The sequence of corners and loong back-straight may prove to be very effective for them but my favourite pick is still the McLaren for being an all-rounder.

The position and condition of Red Bull is really unknown. Perhaps we'll find out this weekend. Weather talk, seems like there may be a chance for some light rain somewhere in the morning to the evening and could be set for a miserable Sunday.
 
thechosenwonton
Raikkonen is being seriously overlooked, and so is the Renault. He's been quick, just unlucky, and had the fastest race lap at Malaysia by 3 tenths.
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The Lotus E20 isn't good enough to challenge for race wins. Not unless something happens to wipe out the McLarens.
 

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