For the first time, the Chinese will have a chance of experiencing Formula 1 and what an experience it will be.
Ferrari and Michael Schumacher may have already won both Championships but that takes nothing away from the thrill and excitement of racing on a brand new track.
In addition to that, there is of course fierce fights behind Ferrari between BAR and Renault, Williams and McLaren and Jaguar and Toyota.

The new track in Shanghai is considered to be a medium to high downforce track. There are two very long straights including the start-finish straight that is over 1 kilometre long).

The track also has a few slow corners which will force the teams into a compromise between low downforce for top speed and high downforce for maximum grip. The circuit is considered to be a difficult one to learn and so we could see a large gap between team-mates.

The Chinese Grand Prix sees the return of two veteran drivers with Ralf Schumacher returning from a 14 week absence due to injuries sustained at the US Grand Prix and Jacques Villeneuve returns to drive for Renault after almost a year.
Sadly though this will be the first and last race that Jaguar Racing will compete in following the company's announcement that the team will withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of the season and the business put up for sale. (Story - Your Say)

All the teams with the exception of Minardi were busy testing last week. Ferrari and Sauber were at Jerez while the rest were are Silverstone. Rubens Barrichello set the best time at Jerez with a 1:16.106 while Kimi Raikkonen set the best time at Silverstone with a 1:16.150.

Here is a team by team review:

Ferrari: Had a stunning 1-2 finish at Monza after struggling badly at the start of the race. They sliced through the field with amazing speed and made up a huge time difference.
They could dominate here but given that this is a new track expect all teams to have one difficulty or another. Still another 1-2 isn't out of question.
Reliability 9.5/10 - Speed 9.5/10 (Team Preview)

Drivers: Michael Schumacher drove a brilliant race at Monza and recovered from a spin at the start of the race to finish second on what is considered a difficult track to overtake on. Michael is very good at quickly learning new tracks and so he will -once again- be the favourite in China.

Rubens Barrichello for once had a brilliant race as well. The change in strategy due to his rear-wing failure at the start of the race at Monza worked.
Despite that, don't expect him to beat Michael again in Shanghai. He usually has one brilliant performance in a season and that was at Monza!.

BAR: Move into second in the Championship fight with Renault. Whilst they performed well, they were helped by their rivals with Alonso spinning out and Trulli circulating at low speed.
The car isn't expected to be as strong in Shanghai. Reliability 8.5/10 - Speed 9.0/10 (Team Preview)

Drivers: Jenson Button remains 3rd in the Championship and will most likely remain there. He drove a good race at Monza and sustained pressure from Alonso until the latter made the mistake. A points finish is likely but not a podium finish.
The contracts board is expected to decide on his drive for next year this week and that could affect his performance here.

Takuma Sato qualified ahead of his team-mate at Monza but ended up behind him. It will be interesting to see the two against each other on this new track. It will close as Sato is a quick learner. Button will probably have the edge on a race distance.

Renault: Lost second place at Monza to BAR and that prompted Flavio Briatore to release Trulli from his contract and replace him with Jacques Villeneuve. The move is long overdue as Trulli showed signs of struggling since the French Grand Prix. Briatore is also counting on the fact that Villeneuve would be motivated to beat the team that dumped him. Whether this translates into points remains to be seen but expect Villeneuve and Alonso to push each other. A podium for either is a possibility.
Reliability 8.0/10 - Speed 9.0/10 (Team Preview)

Drivers: Fernando Alonso made a mistake at Monza while chasing Button who was leading at the time. This mistake cost the team second place in the Championship. He'll learn from it and try to recover from it. He'll be strong in China he needs to be on the limit and not over it.

Jacques Villeneuve returns to Formula 1 after nearly a year's absence. His test at Silverstone last week was a successful one and that is an encouraging sign. It remains to be seen whether he is still quick or not. He is a quick learner and he'll give Alonso a hard time.

Williams: Were spared being overtaken by McLaren after yet another Kimi Raikkonen failure at Monza. They had their own problems with Montoya suffering from gearbox problems and Pizzonia spinning at the start of the race. Both managed to score points though.
The Shanghai track may not favour them and McLaren could get close again.
Reliability 8.5/10 - Speed 8.5/10 (Team Preview)

Drivers: Juan Pablo Montoya was running in 3rd at Monza until a gearbox problem affected his performance. It will be much harder here. Points are likely though.

Ralf Schumacher returns after a 14 week absence. He'll be motivated to do well and he may just have that good race that you'd expect from Ralf every once in a while but that is unlikely. He is more likely to be fighting with David Coulthard for 7th!.

McLaren: They continue to look fast and unreliable under the hands of Kimi while slow and reliable under the hands of David. You'd think they are running different cars!. Expect more of the same in Shanghai.
Reliability 8.0/10 - Speed 9.0/10 (Team Preview)

Drivers: Kimi Raikkonen continues his run of retirements at Monza. 8 retirements so far this season. Statistically he'll have at least one more before the end of the season!. He'll be strong in Shanghai and if his car doesn't fail him, he could be on the podium.

David Coulthard will finish 6th or 7th unless something dramatic happens!.

Sauber: Continue to improve and score points. They are now safely in 6th place in the Championship ahead of two 'works' teams and that must make them happy. They could struggle on a new track though and it is amazing that even on new tracks they don't deploy their test car on Friday which they are entitled to do. Costs I suppose!.
Reliability 8.5/10 - Speed 8.0/10 (Team Preview)

Drivers: Giancarlo Fisichella scored another point for the team at Monza. That will be more difficult on this track.

Felipe Massa had a good race in Monza until he drove into the back of Heidfeld midway through the race and lost his front wing. He still displays some signs of his wild past but he has calmed a lot since his early days in Formula 1. China will be a challenge for him and staying close to Fisichella will be the aim.

Jaguar: They will be racing for the first and last time here (at least under the Jaguar name). No matter what you hear, the team will be distracted and worried about the future. They won't have a good race.
Reliability 7.5/10 - Speed 7.5/10 (Team Preview)

Drivers: Mark Webber would be happy to have signed with Williams. He'll try to put on a good race for the team but the car won't be up to it.

Christian Klien may end up without a drive for next year and that will be worrying him. Racing on a new track gives him an opportunity to prove himself against Webber and that could help him secure a drive next year. Expect him to be close to Webber but points will be nearly impossible.

Toyota: Didn't perform as expected at Monza where they should have had a power advantage over their rivals. They will struggle in Shanghai and will only score those badly needed points if a number of cars ahead retire.
Reliability 7.5/10 - Speed 7.5/10 (Team Preview)

Drivers: Olivier Panis didn't last long at Monza after spinning out as a result of a contact with Pizzonia. The Shanghai race will be his first and last here as he is retiring from racing next season. He'd want to do well here but the car won't be up to it.

Ricardo Zonta struggled at Monza and now that he will be the third driver for the team next season he won't be as motivated to do well. The new track will also prove tricky.

Jordan: Must be worried about the Jaguar/Cosworth announcement and given their very difficult financial position, this is the last thing they needed. They will struggle here.
Reliability 7.5/10 - Speed 7.0/10 (Team Preview)

Drivers: Nick Heidfeld will find it hard to secure a drive for next year given that less seats remain available. That will not help his motivation and will struggle in Shanghai.

Timo Glock replaces Giorgio Pantano. Timo has done a good job in testing for Jordan and drove for the team in Canada where he managed to score 2 points. While his chances are very slim in scoring points here, they are better than Pantano's ever where!

Minardi: They are in a similar situation to Jordan with regards to the Jaguar/Cosworth announcement. They'll be hoping to race with the Jordan's in China but even that will be an achievement.
Reliability 6.5/10 - Speed 6.5/10

Drivers: Zsolt Baumgartner continues to finish races which is a good sign. He may do that again in Shanghai but points will be virtually impossible.

Gianmaria Bruni had a serious incident while re-fuelling at Monza when fire erupted all around him as a result of petrol leaking from the re-fuelling nozzle. Thankfully he is OK. He'll be racing again with his team-mate on this new track. A top 10 finish is unlikely.

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Fan Reviews

Session - Local time	2004		2003
First Friday Practice - 11:00 AM	Results	Report	New Race
Second Friday Practice - 2:00 PM	Results	Report
First Saturday Practice - 9:00 AM	Results
Second Saturday Practice - 10:15 AM	Results	Report
Qualifying P1 1:00 PM, P2 2:00 PM	Results	Report
Race - 2:00 PM	Results	Report
What the teams and drivers said Friday - Saturday - Sunday	Press Conferences (FIA) Thursday - Friday - Saturday - Sunday