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The Chinese Grand Prix is the 3rd race in the Formula One World Championship season. This year, it is the third race in the F1 calendar after the Australian Grand Prix and the Bahrain Grand Prix. This year’s race will be held on Sunday, April 14, 2019 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China.
The Shanghai International Circuit is one of the most expensive and trickiest race tracks in the world. Upon its completion in 2004, it was the most expensive Formula One Circuit facility at $240M. That record was broken in 2009 when Abu Dhabi was completed at $6B. The 5.451 km long circuit has one of the trickiest corners combination in all of Formula 1, with the ever tightening Turns 1 and 2 which are 270 degree, right handed corner combinations.
Here is the race schedule for the Heineken Chinese Grand Prix 2019:
| Date | Activity | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, April 12th | Practice 1 | 3:00-4:30 |
| Friday, April 12th | Practice 2 | 8:00-8:30 |
| Saturday, April 13 | Practice 3 | 4:00-5:00 |
| Saturday, April 13 | Qualifying | 7:00-8:00 |
| Sunday April 2 | F1 Race | Startgrid 7:10 GMT |
With Race 2 still on March 31st, let’s take a look at the Drivers’ standings after one round as current form is important when picking a winner for a race:
| Rank | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) | 26 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) | 18 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) | 15 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) | 12 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) | 10 |
| 6 | Kevin Magnussen (Haas) | 8 |
| 7 | Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) | 6 |
| 8 | Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) | 4 |
| 9 | Lance Stroll (Racing Point) | 2 |
| 10 | Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) | 0 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly (Red Bull) | 0 |
| 12 | Lando Norris (McLaren) | 0 |
| 13 | Sergio Perez (Racing Point) | 0 |
| 14 | Alex Albon (Toro Rosso) 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Antonio Giovanazzi (Alfa Romeo) | 0 |
| 16 | George Russell (Williams) | 0 |
| 17 | Robert Kubica (Williams) | 0 |
| 18 | Romain Grosjean (Haas) | 0 |
| 19 | Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) | 0 |
| 20 | Carlos Sainz Jnr (McLaren) | 0 |
Last year, Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari won Pole Position but it was Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who won the race at 1:35:36.380. Finishing second at +8.894 was Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes while Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen completed the podium at +9.637 in third place.
This year, Ricciardo will try to be the first back to back winner since Lewis Hamilton in 2014 and 2015. Among the former winners of this race since its inception in 2004, only Ricciardo, Hamilton and Vettel are currently active. Hamilton holds the most wins with five while retired F1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg have two each.
The Favorites
The odds aren’t out for this race yet as the Bahrain Grand Prix is still going to be disputed on March 31st but you can bet that the Mercedes drivers should be high on the oddsboard after their 1-2 finish in Australia and the fact that they have won four out of the last five races in China.
Lewis Hamilton is perhaps the man most equipped to win. The Silver Arrows star has won this race five teams before including three times in the last five year and back to back in 2014 and 2015. Hamilton finished second to Valtteri Bottas in Australia and was the odds-on-favorite in the Chinese Grand Prix last year. Valtteri Bottas is coming off an impressive victory in Round 1 and should be among the favorites here too, especially after finishing second to Ricciardo in this race last year and finishing 3rd in 2017.
Daniel Ricciardo is coming off a disappointing Australian Grand Prix but after setting the fastest lap here last year and placing on top of the podium after the race. Ricciardo was also 5th here in 2017 and 4th in 2016.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was second in the Chinese Grand Prix in 2016 and 2017 before coming up 8th last year. Vettel finished fourth behind Bottas, Hamilton and Verstappen in Australia. You know he doesn’t want to get behind in the points standings as well, so yeah, Vettel should be among the favorites as well.
Who Wins?
I would have preferred to wait until the conclusion of the Bahrain Grand Prix to pick a winner here. But based on the form these drivers showed in the Australian Grand Prix , I won’t be surprised to see another 1-2 finish for Mercedes, only this time around it’s Lewis Hamilton first and Valtteri Bottas second. I am also expecting Sebastian Vettel to up his game here and he should be the top threat to Mercedes. Also, don’t count out the highly touted Charles LeClerc here.
