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2006 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix
Race Preview

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Just 2 points separate the 2 Champions!

2 points and 3 races. It is almost like the Championship starts in China. The final 3 races of the season will be thrilling to watch as the older Champion Michael Schumacher wants to exit the sport on a high while the younger Champion Fernando Alonso wants to make it 2 Championships in a row. It is very hard to predict which way it will go. Lets just hope that it will go down to the wire and car reliability, accidents and penalties don't play a role in deciding the Championship.

Lets not forget the fight for the Constructors' Championship as well. Ferrari leads Renault by just 3 points and both Fisichella and Massa need to get the results as well to help their respective teams.

The track in Shanghai (track layout) 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 track surface is smooth so tyre wear is expected to be relatively low. Weather is expected to be warm and dry.

Most teams had two test sessions during the 3 week break since the Italian Grand Prix. Renault were among the fastest but Ferrari were testing at different venues. As always though, test times could be misleading.

Teams and Drivers to watch:

All the attention will be on Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher and their respective teams as they fight for the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships.
It is hard to predict which driver and team will have the edge. Alonso has done well in China in the past while Michael hasn't so perhaps there is a bit of a psychological advantage to Alonso from that regard however Alonso retired in Italy from 3rd after suffering an engine failure so reliability is a concern at the Renault camp.
There is the pressure on both. Which of the two will handle it better ? Michael has more experience but we've seen him make a mistake or two when under pressure. We haven't seen similar signs from Alonso, yet!

How Fisichella and Massa will perform will be crucial to the Constructors' Championship. Both can have good days but we've seen them struggle at times in the past.

It will also be worth watching Kubica to see if he can repeat his performance in Italy, de la Rosa as he tries to impress to keep his drive and Doornbos who replaces Klien at Red Bull.

There is also the fight between BMW Sauber and Toyota for 5th and Red Bull and Williams for 7th.

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