F1 Academy Arrives in Shanghai for Round 1 - All you Need to Know
Whether it's your first time or simply need a refresher, here's your bite sized breakdown on what you need to know about the Shanghai International Circuit.
In April 2003, a marshland area in the Jiading District of Shanghai was earmarked for a future in Formula 1. Eighteen months later, at a cost of roughly $450 million, the state-of-the-art Shanghai International Circuit was completed. Formula 1 was about to make its debut in China.
The Chinese Grand Prix has thus been on the calendar since 2004. Rubens Barrichello won the inaugural race at the Shanghai International Circuit on that occasion for Ferrari, with Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen finishing alongside him on the podium. Since then, we’ve had a further seventeen Grand Prix held at this venue, including Formula 1’s 1000th Grand Prix back in 2019.
But F1 Academy only made its debut in China for the first time last year. It was the first race of the series’ third season. Maya Weug claimed Pole Position for Sunday’s Race by half a second from season long rival, Doriane Pin. Meanwhile, then rookie, Nina Gademan took Reverse Grid Pole for the first race, which would be held on Saturday.
The races themselves were dramatic and the action even began before the racing got underway, courtesy of a significant crash in practice between Ferreira and Block. Collisions continued into the first race as Block and Nobels made contact on Lap 5 while Chong and Havrda came together five laps later. Gademan did a brilliant job to maintain the lead of the race, despite having to successfully navigate the challenge of three Safety Car race restarts. But a gut-wrenching issue with the car on the penultimate lap took the win away from her and instead saw fellow rookie Alisha Palmowski take her maiden win.
In the second race, Pin overtook Pole sitter Weug at the very start. But the Mercedes-backed driver wasn’t able to gain much of a lead. The Safety Car bunched up the pack when it came out because of a collision between Gademan and Hausmann. Nobels and Havrda were again involved in an incident, this time with each other, while Chong made contact with rookie Ciconte as she attempted to avoid this incident. Pin would go on to win the race though, with Weug keeping her honest in P2 and Chloe Chambers rounding out the podium in third.
This year, F1 Academy returns to kick off its brand new season. The Shanghai International Circuit is 5.451km long with sixteen corners, including the famous twisty opening three corners and the long back straight that leads drivers from T13 to T14.
Being held in March, the climate should be mild and comfortable, but prone to change. Shanghai usually has an average annual temperature of 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) and with rain occurring 111 days each year, there is a chance that we may see some for the opening round of the F1 Academy Season.
If you’re reading this and you’re also trackside in Shanghai, check out the Fan Stage if you want to see the drivers themselves from F1 Academy making an appearance this weekend.