The new track surface at Shanghai International Circuit has sent lap times through the roof and forced teams into a rethink on their set-ups and strategies.
First-time pole winner Oscar Piastri has a great chance to claim his third grand prix victory but teams will be venturing into the unknown as far as strategy is concerned. Here’s what we know so far.
Weather
There should be no repeat of the treacherous conditions which caught drivers out in Melbourne last week. Another warm day is forecast in Shanghai.
Ambient temperatures should peak at around 27C, which is around 5C hotter than in last year’s race. That plus the resurfaced track means the tyres are going to be under a lot more strain, which is why Pirelli increased the minimum pressures after the first day of practice.
One factor may work in the teams’ favour. Cloud cover is expected to form around an hour before the race’s 5pm, which should lead to a drop in track surface temperatures. This will eventually bring rain with it, but current models indicate that won’t happen until a few hours after the chequered flag falls. So, barring a sudden shift in the forecast between now and then, drivers can look forward to their first dry race of the season.
Start
The run to turn one is similar in length to what drivers encountered last weekend. But the configuration of the first corner is different to Albert Park and, indeed, every track on the calendar. Drivers can easily get ‘hung out’ on the outside of the long, looping right-handers which form turns one and two, as happened to Lando Norris in last year’s sprint race.
Distance from pole position to first braking zone. Source: Mercedes
Sprint race pace
As this is a sprint race weekend we’ve already seen what the teams can do. Lap times rose rapidly across the field, but especially so for those who got into close quarters – Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri’s lap times slowed significantly from lap 14.
Starting grid
Here’s the starting grid for the race. This will be updated here if any penalties are issued before the race begins:
Strategy
Last year most drivers chose to start the race on the medium tyre compound. The softs had few takers, and are likely to be too fragile given the increased cornering speeds this year.
Those starting near the front are unlikely to risk starting on the hards as it will likely mean losing places off the line. But any team with one car near the front and the other near the back could gain useful knowledge about the performance of the hards by starting their lower-placed driver on them. Step forward Liam Lawson.
The drivers have the following sets of dry weather tyres available for the grand prix. No driver has run the hard tyres for as much as a single lap so far this weekend:
| Tyres available for the race | Hard | Medium | Soft | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | New | Used | New | Used | New | Used |
| Lando Norris | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Oscar Piastri | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Charles Leclerc | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Lewis Hamilton | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Max Verstappen | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Liam Lawson | 2 | 2 | 3 | |||
| Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| George Russell | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Lance Stroll | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Fernando Alonso | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Jack Doohan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Pierre Gasly | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Esteban Ocon | 2 | 2 | 3 | |||
| Oliver Bearman | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Isack Hadjar | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Yuki Tsunoda | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Alexander Albon | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Nico Hulkenberg | 2 | 2 | 3 | |||
| Gabriel Bortoleto | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
Verstappen won last year after starting on the mediums, switching to hards after 13 laps, then making a second stop for hard tyres after just 11 more laps. He made his second pit stop early due to a Virtual Safety Car period, which became a full Safety Car.
Other drivers managed to eke out their first set of tyres until the interruption, notably Norris, who was able to split the two-stopping Red Bull drivers and finish second as a result.
Drivers typically lose 24 seconds making a pit stop in Shanghai. While teams would undoubtedly prefer to make just one stop, the high rate of degradation means that’s unlikely, unless the hard tyres turn out to be very durable.
Overtaking
Shanghai was one of the more straightforward circuits for drivers to overtake on last year. This year the DRS zone on the longest straight has been extended by 75 metres, so the question of whether drivers will attempt a move is likely to be more a matter of whether they are willing to put their tyres through the additional strain and potentially risk shortening their stint.
Over to you
How do you expect the Chinese Grand Prix will unfold? Share your predictions for the race in the comments.
Go ad-free for just £1 per month
>> Find out more and sign up
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
2025 Chinese Grand Prix
Browse all 2025 Chinese Grand Prix articles
