Grand Prix 2024 Chinese Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

The question of which location is the most soulless on the F1 circuit often arises. under the current contracts. & i know many say abu dhabi. but i would argue that it is the venue next on the calendar, because almost every race we are there because that country / city wants to be in F1 more. I would say that in this case, F1 is more eager to be in China than China is to be in F1, because it represents a vast market for manufacturers with its 1.4 billion population & status as the largest car market.. shown by stats i heard on the 5 live F1 podcast. that back in 2019 only 40% of the tickets were sold. it is sold out this year but is that because of the novelty or is it because of zhou effect. these are some of the damning pictures from bottas pole lap, where what was grandstands turned into advertisement & at the hairpin has half full stands

but it is 5 years since we last went to chinese gp after the global pandemic removed it from 2020 calendar & we never went back until 2024. but alot has changed since 2019 chinese gp

• hulkenberg raced for renault, left F1 & returned in 2023 for Haas
• Riccardio was 3 races into renault deal left in 2021, signed for McLaren was dumped & re-signed halfway through 2023
• Magnussen left F1 & Rejoined F1
• Vettel & Raikkonen Retired
• 2 Drivers have had the appendix removed
• Robert Kubica raced For Williams
• Carlos Sainz Drove For McLaren
• Pierre Gasly was Verstappen teammate at senior Red bull team
• AlphaTauri, Nicolas Latifi Nyck De Vries, Mick Schumacher have come & gone
• Albon scored a point in the junior red bull, called toro rosso
• Giovinazzi has left F1 & won le mans for Ferrari
• Oscar piastri was in renault eurocup (F4 Level)
• Logan Sargeant & Yuki Sargeant just starting out in F3
• & finally Alonso has been embarrassingly bumped from 2019 indy 500, gone back to finish 21st in 2020. won le mans, finished dakar rally, come out of retirement to rejoin & leave alpine

on the weekend it's self its a sprint weekend extremely controversial with the drivers, many are with just 1 practice after such an absence . the format has been rejigged. Last year, Sprint Qualifying was held on a Saturday morning with qualifying for the Grand Prix on a Friday before the Sprint itself on a Saturday afternoon. For 2024, Sprint Qualifying has moved to Friday, following FP1, with the Sprint taking place on Saturday Morning ahead of qualifying for the Grand Prix ih its traditional place of saturday afternoon, The Grand Prix itself will remain on Sunday.

For those in asia they'll be delighted to watch a Sprint weekend live for once. for european fans a nightmare, as i dont see a huge figures for the sprint at 4am

 

[The Artist.....]

Well done Lando

 

[F1Brits_90]

glad for norris as he's a great guy & what a lap he set, 1.3 secs just incredible. he reminded me of russia 2021 when in similar conditions he found the grip to put it on pole. even if it was a farce at the end with laps reinstated. which was probably the correct decision as he wouldve lost time going over the gravel

but i was looking forward to an Hamilton / Alonso front row & i believe wouldve been the oldest front row for a race beating ceasers Palace 1981 reutemann 39/ jones 35 & hungary 1992 patrese 38 & Mansell 40

SQ3 was incredible, best entertainment since singapore, you couldnt take your eyes of it, drivers having to work hard & show thats the cars need less downforce not more

 

[The Artist.....]

glad for norris as he's a great guy & what a lap he set, 1.3 secs just incredible. he reminded me of russia 2021 when in similar conditions he found the grip to put it on pole. even if it was a farce at the end with laps reinstated. which was probably the correct decision as he wouldve lost time going over the gravel

but i was looking forward to an Hamilton / Alonso front row & i believe wouldve been the oldest front row for a race beating ceasers Palace 1981 reutemann 39/ jones 35 & hungary 1992 patrese 38 & Mansell 40

SQ3 was incredible, best entertainment since singapore, you couldnt take your eyes of it, drivers having to work hard & show thats the cars need less downforce not more

I remember about 25 years ago, that a discussion was ongoing about the best way to improve the racing - at the time, the received wisdom was that higher downforce led to worse racing.

However, a technician pointed out that he best racing was when it rained, and teams cranked on the maximum possible downforce, because mechanical grip was reduced.

There is a very strong argument that F1 should get rid of the grippy tyres, and introduce tyres with less grip, and most critically, grip that is (slightly) unpredictable - so that drivers with the best feel can see when the mechanical grip is going to give up, and push right up to that point.

However, F1 has moved in completely the opposite direction.

 

[F1Brits_90]

I remember about 25 years ago, that a discussion was ongoing about the best way to improve the racing - at the time, the received wisdom was that higher downforce led to worse racing.

However, a technician pointed out that he best racing was when it rained, and teams cranked on the maximum possible downforce, because mechanical grip was reduced.

There is a very strong argument that F1 should get rid of the grippy tyres, and introduce tyres with less grip, and most critically, grip that is (slightly) unpredictable - so that drivers with the best feel can see when the mechanical grip is going to give up, and push right up to that point.

However, F1 has moved in completely the opposite direction.

i agree on that, reminds me of 2017. everyone wanted lower downforce & we ended up with the highest downforce we've ever had & dirty air was as bad as iy ever had been

 

[Johnny Carwash]

Williams new upgrade, so both drivers can race this weekend.

 

[F1Brits_90]

of course its the internet so youve got f1 fans heavily biased. who think these decisions are a personal vendetta against there favourite driver not singling out 1 because there all got there nutter

i thought reinstating norris lap made sense at the time & that as much as we are critical alot of stewarding decisions they deserve praise for going with common sense & not following the rulebook to the letter & getting done quickly & efficencly so there was no change 4 hours later .

glad they took the common sense route because there will be expections. i get in canada if you exceed track limits at final chicane then current & next lap will be deleted. but on this occasion surely it made sense because starting the lap by going through the gravel is a hindrance & there you cant delete a lap "gaining an advantage" when he couldve been on pole by 1.6 - 1.7 secs not 1.3

https://twitter.com/x/status/1781363416784896019

 

[Il_leone]

I wonder if Red Bull were denied pole if Horner would be moaning about track limits

 

[F1Brits_90]

& Through goes Hamilton Perez

 

[F1Brits_90]

dark lord excluding. whose just ridiculous the traction he has far exceeds anyone, i really enjoyed the sprint, great entertainment, i think the fact that grid wasnt set & wasnt just the 1st stint of the race 24 hrs early made it better as a stand alone. the Alonso Sainz Perez Leclerc Norris battle was fantastic,

Hamilton driving well, everyone saying hes finished, ferrari will regret there decision & show his talent again. on front row on a ice rink & then finished 2nd exceeding all expections. but during the 1st 8 laps with 39yr old leading a 43yr old. i thought we are bring the wrong kimi into F1. never mind antotelli, bring back raikkonen

 

[Il_leone]

Norris fluffed it

 

[F1Brits_90]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1781676658283429954

 

[Il_leone]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1781676658283429954

Imagine that was Hamilton or Verstappen to get conspiracy theorists going

 

[The Artist.....]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1781676658283429954

Translation... We've been doing this wrong for a long time, and so, even though it's now been pointed out that we've been doing this wrong, we're not going to change things, because that might mean that we need to do the right thing from now on.

That being said, I think it's absolutely bizarre that:

• A driver can crash, causing a red flag
• The red flag then causes another driver to lose a set of soft tyres (Russell had to abandon his lap)
• The driver who crashed can then rejoin the session, and
• The driver who crashed can outqualify the driver who they inconvenienced.

At the very least, Ferrari cannot have known (for certain) that Sainz's car was completely undamaged. Had the car broken at high speed, this could have had major consequences. If Ferrari are allowed to change any parts on Sainz's car in parc-ferme, then questions will need to be answered.

Finally, were I setting the rules, I'd have a very clear rule:

1. If you cause a red flag, then you will not be allowed to take any further part in the qualifying session, and you will need to start the race from the pitlane, following a microscopic check of all parts.
2. If you cause a yellow flag, causing another driver to lose a lap, your fastest two laps from qualifying will be deleted.

 

[F1Brits_90]

Translation... We've been doing this wrong for a long time, and so, even though it's now been pointed out that we've been doing this wrong, we're not going to change things, because that might mean that we need to do the right thing from now on.

That being said, I think it's absolutely bizarre that:

• A driver can crash, causing a red flag
• The red flag then causes another driver to lose a set of soft tyres (Russell had to abandon his lap)
• The driver who crashed can then rejoin the session, and
• The driver who crashed can outqualify the driver who they inconvenienced.

At the very least, Ferrari cannot have known (for certain) that Sainz's car was completely undamaged. Had the car broken at high speed, this could have had major consequences. If Ferrari are allowed to change any parts on Sainz's car in parc-ferme, then questions will need to be answered.

Finally, were I setting the rules, I'd have a very clear rule:

1. If you cause a red flag, then you will not be allowed to take any further part in the qualifying session, and you will need to start the race from the pitlane, following a microscopic check of all parts.
2. If you cause a yellow flag, causing another driver to lose a lap, your fastest two laps from qualifying will be deleted.

got to say i was quite shocked sainz was allowed to carry on, what aston martin did was common sense. because id be asking the same question as well as in most other motorsport series that ive seen. if you bring out a red flag & even more stopped on track after a crash. you are allowed to continue. that shouldve ended his session

 

[F1Brits_90]

I'm hoping the race behind will be as good as the sprint race was, because otherwise, we'll witness Verstappen cantering unchallenged to another victory. seems like a joy

the traction out of the slow corners red bull had was terrifying it was like it was like the red bull was in a different category

 

[F1Brits_90]

Congratulations to max on the victory

 

[F1Brits_90]

if that is true, & sainz didnt pit for new tyres during the 1st VSC & SC spell. welcome back the ferrari statergy cock ups. it was unnerving how good they were in japan. as pitting under SC is basics

feel for riccardio if he didn't have bad luck he wouldnt have any luck. i don't know who caused the accordion effect that bunched everyone up

 

[The Artist.....]

feel for riccardio if he didn't have bad luck he wouldnt have any luck. i don't know who caused the accordion effect that bunched everyone up

Alonso. It's always Alonso. Stroll should have been disqualified for that though - he just steamed into the corner, as if he didn't expect anyone else to be there.

 

[The Artist.....]

The question of which location is the most soulless on the F1 circuit often arises. under the current contracts. & i know many say abu dhabi. but i would argue that it is the venue next on the calendar, because almost every race we are there because that country / city wants to be in F1 more. I would say that in this case, F1 is more eager to be in China than China is to be in F1, because it represents a vast market for manufacturers with its 1.4 billion population & status as the largest car market.. shown by stats i heard on the 5 live F1 podcast. that back in 2019 only 40% of the tickets were sold. it is sold out this year but is that because of the novelty or is it because of zhou effect. these are some of the damning pictures from bottas pole lap, where what was grandstands turned into advertisement & at the hairpin has half full stands

I don’t think this is entirely fair. I was in Shanghai at the same time as the 2019 race (and saw Lewis Hamilton in a hotel) - everywhere you went in the city, you were reminded about the F1 race.

The circuit is in an out of town location (just next to the airport and high speed rail hub), but this is still a better location than Paul Ricard, Magny Cours, or even (say it quietly) Silverstone.