No one could halt the Brawn GP bandwagon in Malaysia, where Jenson Button kept up his perfect start to the 2009 Formula 1 season with another victory. The British driver will be hoping to make it a hat-trick of wins in the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Chinese GP History
The Shanghai International Circuit is one of the newest venues on the Formula 1 calendar. The first Grand Prix held there was in 2004, with victory going to Rubens Barrichello in a Ferrari. The state of the art facility has seen a variety of winners since then.
Fernando Alonso won the 2005 race for Renault, while Ferrari returned to the top step of the podium in 2006 when Michael Schumacher claimed victory. It proved to be the German's final Formula 1 victory in an extraordinary career. Ferrari won again in 2007, this time with Kimi Raikkonen behind the wheel. Last year's race went to Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren.
2009 Chinese GP Guide
Brawn GP won last time out at Sepang, but other teams have closed the performance gap. Toyota's Timo Glock was a serious candidate for victory in the rain shortened Malaysian GP, while BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld stormed through the field to finish second.
Red Bull's Mark Webber and Sebastien Vettel have shown good speed at both rounds of the Formula 1 World Championship so far, and will be hoping to record the team's first Grand Prix victory. Nico Rosberg has been dominating practice sessions in his Williams but has yet to convert that pace into race results.
The two big teams in Formula 1, McLaren and Ferrari, are struggling badly. After the first two races McLaren have a solitary World Championship point to show for their efforts. while Ferrari have none at all. It would be a surprise to see either team challenging for victory in China. The main contenders for thw win appear to be Brawn GP, Toyota, Red Bull, BMW Sauber and Williams.
Chinese GP Stastistics
Race date: Sunday 19th April, 2009
Race distance: 56 laps
Circuit length: 3.387 miles (5.451 km)
Lap record: 1 minute, 32.238 seconds (Michael Schumacher, 2004 - Ferrari)
Weather forecast: Friday, grey and overcast. Saturday, cloudy with sunny spells. Heavy rain predicted for Sunday.
Shanghai International Circuit
The venue for the Chinese Grand Prix is the brainchild of Formula 1's preferred circuit designer Hermann Tilke. The track features a first corner similar to the one found at Sepang, which after a high speed entry progressively tightens. There are some excellent overtaking opportunities around the circuit, most notably at turns six and 14. Turn 14 is at the end of an extremely long straight. Tickets for the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix can be obtained from the official Formula 1 website.
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