Chinese Grand Prix – Mark’s Preview

“There are three teams – Red Bull Racing, Ferrari and McLaren – fighting it out at the front of Formula One at the moment and it’s impossible to say who’s going to walk away with Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.

“I think our RB6 will be competitive because it’s been quick at all three races so far this year, but I wouldn’t say we hold an advantage over the opposition. For us to fight for the podium, we’ll need to have an error-free weekend. That means doing all the necessary homework on Friday, performing well in qualifying and making all the right calls in the race. The long-term forecast is for cold and rain, so we could well have some curved balls to deal with, like we did in Melbourne and Sepang.

“I like the Shanghai International Circuit because it’s been good to me in the past – I finished second there last year – and it has an interesting mix of corners, even if the place lacks atmosphere. The first sector of the lap is unique because of Turn 1: it’s a 270-degree right-hander, which tightens up. You turn into the corner at 310kph and you have to slow the car to 70kph by the apex, which means you’re really leaning on the front left tyre.

“I’m not such a fan of Shanghai, which is another of the world’s huge cities. It’s a busy place and the end result is that the traffic’s terrible. It can take two hours to get back to the hotel in the evening, which gets more and more frustrating as the weekend goes on.”

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