2012 UBS Chinese GP Chat and Predictions Thread

Given the three-week gap from Malaysia, someone should have done this earlier.

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The Shanghai International Circuit hosts the ninth Chinese Grand Prix on 15 April. The 5.4 kilometre racing track is shaped like the Chinese character 'shang', which stands for 'up' or 'above'. Other symbols represented in the architecture originate from Chinese history, such as the team buildings arranged like pavilions in a lake to resemble the ancient Yuyan-Garden in Shanghai. Here, nature and technology are carefully used to create harmony between the elements. Not only is the course remarkable for its change of acceleration and deceleration within different winding turns, making high demands on the driver as well as the car, but also for its high-speed straights.

2011 Pole Time: 1:33.706 (Vettel)
2011 Fastest Lap: 1:38.993 (Webber)
2011 Race Edit

A lap in the company of Jenson Button:

[video=dailymotion;xpapfm]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpapfm_f1-2011-chinese-gp-jenson-button_auto[/video]

Former Winners:
2004 Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)
2005 Fernando Alonso (Renault)
2006 Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
2007 Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari)
2008 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2010 Jenson Button (McLaren)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)​

Event Schedule:

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Practice sessions are live on the BBC red button and the Sky Sports F1 channel.
Streams:
FirstRow Sports
VIPbox
SportLemon
Qualifying and the race are live on BBC and Sky.

FIA stewards are:
Emanuele Pirro
Garry Connelly
Vincenzo Spano​

Weather Forecast (as of 12:00 Sun 8 Apr):

For updates check here.

Dry tyre allocations:

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Prediction Results:
[table="width: 320, align: center"]
[tr]
[td]Forum Member[/td]
[td]Points[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]genjigonzales[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Julius Caesar[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Mifune[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Paco Montoya[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Roadrunner[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Samurai[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Sportydan[/td]
[td]1[/td]
[/tr][/table]

 

First vote.

Went for Vettel even though I think a McLaren will win.

 

I dont have any magical prediction this race, so i went for the safe Button.

 

Subject to it not being a lottery type race I've gone for Button on the basis that he seemed to have to the consistent race pace over his team mate on Oz - which is the only thing we have really got to go by! Any Mclaren would do for me though!

 

Anyone else think the "shang" character looks like a man doing the splits, or is it just me?

 

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Ish. I thought it looked like someone leaping. The 'xia' character for 'down' looks like someone standing on his hands with his legs splayed:

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I do now you've said it. A woman though not a man, just because of the massive rack.

 

I've gone for Lewis, not had the best 2 races, but has solidly scored points without getting into trouble, the McLaren is the best car (or was) and I think it's about time he shone.

 

Where you see the rack is where I see the head. Turns 1/2/3/4 and 5/6/7 are the hands/arms raised above the head.

In any case I've gone for Raikkonen. He's looking strong the car is working very well. If he can get a normal weekend he'll be sitting pretty I think.

 

I see turns 1/2/3 as the head, and 4/5/6/7 as both arms outstretched together. They should do the commentary as if the corners were named after body parts. "Schumacher activates DRS as he approaches the groin", "coming up to the shoulder where Lewis Hamilton passed Vettel for the lead last year" "and Felipe Massa runs wide at the boob". Circuits have more character when the corners are named.

 

Really wish the rain would just back off until we know the true pecking order in dry conditions. Anyone could win this one, gone for Jenson just because of the unpredictability of the weekend weather wise.

 

+ Rep

 

I want rain and if it does come, Alonso to finish on the podium and possibly win. I doubt it will though, so I've voted for Hamilton.


This is an important race -- EVERYONE must watch on the BBC.

 

Eddie Jordan is meant to be with them in China according to Jake Humphrey. It'll be his first Chinese GP since the BBC got F1 back. I suspect visa issues have prevented him attending previously but there was the Eyjafjallajökull problem in 2010.

Here's Pirelli's view of the Chinese GP:

• Pirelli will bring the same tyre combination as was nominated for Australia, the P Zero White medium and the P Zero Yellow soft, but this time they face a very different challenge.
• The circuit layout in China tends to be more demanding than Albert Park, with a braking area at the end of the main straight for example where the cars go from 320kph to 68kph in less than 130 metres: a deceleration of 6G, which is one of the heaviest that the tyres face all year.
• The lateral forces on the tyres, in the flowing mid-section of the lap, are the equivalent of 3G.
• The heavy braking that is a characteristic of China tends to put more strain on the front tyres than the rears. The fronts are also worked during turn one – which is almost a full circle – as the cars are relying purely on mechanical rather than aerodynamic grip.
• The surface is medium-grip but less aggressive than Malaysia. The banking on turn 13 increases the strain on the tyre structure, as the contact patch can increase to three times its normal size.
• Lewis Hamilton is the only two-time winner in China. Apart from him, there has been a different winner every year since the inaugural race in 2004, underlining the varied challenges of the Shanghai circuit.
• Last year, Sebastian Vettel set the fast-ever lap in qualifying at the Shanghai circuit: 1m33.706s, using the 2011 P Zero Yellow soft tyre.

 

@EternalMCS
First time you voted for Schumacher since I joined this forum I think(I didn't notice it before anyway). Nice to see you have come to your senses (or possibly just lost them for the first time lol)

I am voting Schumacher as usual. I am too afraid that If I don't vote on him I will miss the time he actually do win. After MCS, I wouldn't mind if any of Button, Räikkönen, Senna, Alonso, Webber won as I always cheer a little extra for them too. And really REALLY hope for Massa to have a strong race too as I think it will make the entire F1 community a nicer place with less talk about him being replaced.

Lets hope for a dry race to get a better understanding of all the cars relative pace.

 

And the track looks like a zombie with sacky boobs on skies

 

Haha - it's 'saggy' and 'skis' but I get your drift. I was hoping for a discussion on interpretation of Chinese pictograms but, alas...

Schumacher has only half the points he had going into the Chinese GP last year.

 

And yet he has Mercedes only point.

 

I think it's something else...

 

Oh dear, that's terrible errors even for me. Thanks though!

And lol those pictograms, the first one looks even more like a zombie on skis. The second one looks like the same zombie on skis standing on his head whilst peeing

Sorry. Can I blame my weird humour on lack of sleep or something(pulled an 'all nighter' yesterday)?