Formula 1 spent this past weekend in Shanghai for the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. There was a little something for everyone: entertaining racing on-track, different winners for the sprint and Grand Prix, some driver and team intrigue, rumors of a potential technical shakeup happening soon, and a bit of an argument that exposes the entertainment side of the sport.
Once out in the countryside, skyscrapers are starting to fill in the backdrop behind the Shanghai International Circuit. One of the mid-2000s crop of race tracks designed by Herman Tilke, it’s characterized by the neverending decreasing radii that are turns 1 and 2, plus the longest straight on the calendar. It was freshly resurfaced for this year, eliminating the bumps and increasing the grip level to fix a botched job performed ahead of last year’s F1 race the process.
China was home to the first sprint weekend of the year, with a 19-lap race on Saturday in place of that morning’s practice session ahead of the 56-lap race on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton, now clad in bright Ferrari red, led from start to finish, showing the kind of ability that has led him to 105 race wins. Hamilton’s last year with Mercedes was better than the winless 2022 and 2023, but his new Ferrari already appears to suit him better.
Source : https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/03/driver-intrigue-v10-rumors-and-a-good-sprint-weekend-f1-in-shanghai/
