Formula 1 just got even more interesting.
After the inter-team shenanigans that unfortunately was the main talking point of the Malaysian weekend, Formula 1 returns to the concrete wilderness that is the Shanghai International Circuit in, er, Shanghai for surely the most anticipated race weekend of the season. Inevitably, the chat will be about team-mates; or more specifically the relationship (or lack of it) between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. It remains to be seen as to whether the two Red Bull drivers will kiss and make up or whether their relationship will deteriorate further. (I don't want to sound dictatorial but it would be useful if we mainly talk about the upcoming race weekend, rather than having this thread hijacked by arguments relating to the team order fiasco of the last one).
But there is much more to talk about. We can't really conclude much at the moment, as we have had two unpredicatble weekends in terms of the weather. But we can conclude that the Red Bulls are rather fast, the Lotii are rather adept at conserving their tyres, Massa has raised his game to Alonso, Mclaren may be showing green shoots of recovery,Marussia Jules Bianchi has impressed and Caterham are nowhere.
However there are still many questions to be answered. Can Red Bull maintain their pace advantage over the others? Can Mercedes win again at the scene of their first victory since the 1950's? Will Mclaren start sorting their season out? Can Marussia catch up to the midfield? Will Force India be able to carry out a pitstop in under a minute? And can Paul DiResta ever give an exciting interview? All these questions will (hopefully) be answered in just over two weeks' time.
If grey is your favourite colour, then the Chinese Grand Prix is the event for you. The expansive concrete paddock, along with the overstated grandstands, the large run-off areas and the ever-approaching city ensure that the Chinese Grand Prix is one of the more corporate events on the calendar. But at least the race can advocate the open, liberal society that is China, so that's alright. A quick word on attendance for the race - they were dwindling but the Chinese seem to have given the event a proper go which is good (for Bernie at least).
However, don't be fooled by the initial uninspiring characteristics- this event has thrown up some brilliant races. How about Nico Rosberg's maiden win last year, in which Kimi Raikkonen went from 2nd to 14th in one lap? Or the tyre-influenced drama of 2011, where Lewis Hamilton overtook Vettel for the lead with four laps to go? Throw in a couple of stonking wet races, and Lewis Hamilton's pit lane heartbreak in 2007, and you have some memorable races. All at a circuit which is flat, soulless, uninspiring and was built to look like a Chinese character (that's true by the way).
Here are these past race highlights (UK users only, although I'm sure that there are some nice videos on Youtube):
2006 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7992260.stm
2007 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7992265.stm
2009 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/8006795.stm
2010 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/8628045.stm
2011 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/13108629
2012 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17719946
It's too early for a weather forecast, although we have had sun, rain and cloud in the past so who knows what type of race we will have.
In terms of coverage, it will the the BBC's first live weekend of the year so for those of us who don't have Sky, remember to get up early!!
For superb circuit write-ups, overtaking stats and other useful stuff, there are some nice clickable buttons at the top of the page, called Race Hub and Overtaking. They won't bite.
All that remains is for me to say Ready, Steady, Discuss!
After the inter-team shenanigans that unfortunately was the main talking point of the Malaysian weekend, Formula 1 returns to the concrete wilderness that is the Shanghai International Circuit in, er, Shanghai for surely the most anticipated race weekend of the season. Inevitably, the chat will be about team-mates; or more specifically the relationship (or lack of it) between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. It remains to be seen as to whether the two Red Bull drivers will kiss and make up or whether their relationship will deteriorate further. (I don't want to sound dictatorial but it would be useful if we mainly talk about the upcoming race weekend, rather than having this thread hijacked by arguments relating to the team order fiasco of the last one).
But there is much more to talk about. We can't really conclude much at the moment, as we have had two unpredicatble weekends in terms of the weather. But we can conclude that the Red Bulls are rather fast, the Lotii are rather adept at conserving their tyres, Massa has raised his game to Alonso, Mclaren may be showing green shoots of recovery,
However there are still many questions to be answered. Can Red Bull maintain their pace advantage over the others? Can Mercedes win again at the scene of their first victory since the 1950's? Will Mclaren start sorting their season out? Can Marussia catch up to the midfield? Will Force India be able to carry out a pitstop in under a minute? And can Paul DiResta ever give an exciting interview? All these questions will (hopefully) be answered in just over two weeks' time.
If grey is your favourite colour, then the Chinese Grand Prix is the event for you. The expansive concrete paddock, along with the overstated grandstands, the large run-off areas and the ever-approaching city ensure that the Chinese Grand Prix is one of the more corporate events on the calendar. But at least the race can advocate the open, liberal society that is China, so that's alright. A quick word on attendance for the race - they were dwindling but the Chinese seem to have given the event a proper go which is good (for Bernie at least).
However, don't be fooled by the initial uninspiring characteristics- this event has thrown up some brilliant races. How about Nico Rosberg's maiden win last year, in which Kimi Raikkonen went from 2nd to 14th in one lap? Or the tyre-influenced drama of 2011, where Lewis Hamilton overtook Vettel for the lead with four laps to go? Throw in a couple of stonking wet races, and Lewis Hamilton's pit lane heartbreak in 2007, and you have some memorable races. All at a circuit which is flat, soulless, uninspiring and was built to look like a Chinese character (that's true by the way).
Here are these past race highlights (UK users only, although I'm sure that there are some nice videos on Youtube):
2006 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7992260.stm
2007 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7992265.stm
2009 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/8006795.stm
2010 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/8628045.stm
2011 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/13108629
2012 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17719946
It's too early for a weather forecast, although we have had sun, rain and cloud in the past so who knows what type of race we will have.
In terms of coverage, it will the the BBC's first live weekend of the year so for those of us who don't have Sky, remember to get up early!!
For superb circuit write-ups, overtaking stats and other useful stuff, there are some nice clickable buttons at the top of the page, called Race Hub and Overtaking. They won't bite.
All that remains is for me to say Ready, Steady, Discuss!
And I detest the safety car. 
