Pirelli Formula 1 Chief Engineer Simone Berra believes that Shanghai is “like a new circuit” as Formula 1 prepares for its first visit to China since 2019.
The Shanghai International Circuit dropped off of the F1 calendar as a result of the covid pandemic and complications surrounding the global health crisis prevented several attempts to return to the calendar prior to this weekend.
Although F1 raced in China from 2004 through 2019, sweeping changes made in the sport during Shanghai’s five-year absence from the calendar make this weekend’s event an altogether unknown prospect.
Ground effect aero, new tyres, 18-inch wheels and an altered track surface will all have a part to play according to Berra.
“It’s like a new circuit, honestly,” he told Motorsport.com. “Because we have new cars, new tyres.
“The track was really not used in five years, it was just used for one race per year or something like that. So, it will be really green and quite dirty, although obviously, they will clean the track.
“And we need to understand even from tarmac measurement pre-event how it has changed.
“In the past, it was quite rough in terms of both micro and macro roughness. We need to understand how ageing has gone in the last years. So not much data, and even for the teams it will be a big challenge, not just for us, but for the teams even more probably.”
It’s no secret that F1’s ground effect cars are sensitive to bumps which has raised another issue given the Shanghai circuit is built on swampland, meaning bumps and ground movement is a naturally occurring phenomenon.
As a result, Motorsport.com reports that Herman Tilke’s engineering team has been busy grinding down and resealing areas of the track where bumps are a greater cause for concern.
Compounding the steep learning curve F1 teams and drivers will encounter as they tackle Shanghai this weekend will be factoring in the first Sprint of the 2024 season.
Rather than have three practice sessions to get acclimatised to Shanghai’s relatively green track surface, there will be just one practice before Sprint qualifying on Friday.
Teams will then have to contend with the Sprint itself followed by Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday before Sunday’s main event.
It’s an added complication the drivers could do without as Max Verstappen said in Japan it’s “not the smartest thing” to pick China to host the first Sprint of the year.
Still, the plethora of unknowns will whet the appetite of F1 fans who will be keen to see a surprise outcome after the routine Red Bull domination at Suzuka.
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