It was Formula 1000 when we went racing in Shanghai 5 years ago. The Formula 1 world looked shockingly different back then. In 2019, Lewis Hamilton still sat on the throne of Formula 1 as a 5x champion. Max Verstappen had as many wins as Hamilton’s titles. Imagine!! Valtteri Bottas was leading the championship and a pole sitter ahead of teammate Hamilton. And Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon both had their appendix.

In 2024, a lot has been happening in Formula 1 on and off track, and it will be an absolute delight to watch the race. Let me remind you that this is the same place where Michael Schumacher scored his 91st and final win in 2006 and it took Lewis Hamilton 14 years to break it. As the paddock arrives for the Chinese GP, it is finally time to return to a place that never disappoints. Let us dive deep into what can we expect from the race in the land of the Red Dragon. And if we take into account the predictions, they aren’t very favorable.

“This will be terrible”: Ex-F1 driver predicts chaos ahead of the Chinese GP

F1 circus hasn’t gone racing in China since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic. Due to this long break, a lot has changed, including the design of the cars and several faces on the grid. Four drivers from the current grid have no track experience with the Shanghai International Circuit. This list of drivers includes Yuki Tsunoda, Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant, and home hero Zhou Guanyu. Weighing in on these circumstances and track conditions, the former F1 driver, Christian Danner, believes it will be “terrible” for the drivers.

Speaking on ‘Sport and Talk from Hangar-7’ for ServusTV, he said: “First and foremost, I expect a very green track that offers hardly any grip. This will be terrible for the drivers until the track finally has a grip.”

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He further explained his shocking prediction, stating the conditions around the track. He said, “There is also a relatively large amount of industry in the area surrounding the racetrack. From the air, you not only see the raindrops but also what is in the clouds. The track will be slippery. That will be a huge topic on Friday–how the route is understood. Not just for the drivers, but also for the engineers. How do I have to tune the car so that tires A, B, or C do what I want them to do? That will be the challenge. Especially since we will have a sprint weekend, i.e. with only one free practice session, then the sprint qualifying will begin. One or two surprises are in store.”

In my opinion, only one free practice session is not ideal for a place that has not seen F1 races for 5 years and has never seen a couple of drivers and cars that were built under 2022 regulations. And the reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, who is expected to be the winner of this fifth round of F1, agrees. He is not supportive of F1’s decision to have a sprint weekend in China.

“not the smartest thing”: Max Verstappen’s warning ahead of Chinese GP

Max Verstappen has never been a fan of Sprint weekends even after acing almost all of them for the past 3 years. The Dutchman, on several occasions, has stated that it will “not be worth it” if F1 keeps experimenting with its format and expanding its calendar. And in 2024, he has echoed similar feelings for the season’s first Sprint race at a place where F1 hasn’t raced in half a decade. Uncertain of what the Shanghai weekend holds for him and the grid, he believes it is not a very smart thing to bring a sprint weekend to China.

“But yeah, purely from a driving perspective, performance perspective of the sport, I think it’s not the smartest thing to do. We’ll see what we get there. I mean, I always loved driving there. So yeah, hopefully, we can hit the ground running as well as we can, and hopefully, we don’t need to fine-tune too many things on the car.”

And while Shanghai can turn out to be a very spicy weekend as everyone goes there in a more leveled manner, it can also be a total disaster. There were various incidents during the 2019 race, including that of Verstappen spinning during the formation lap. This was when the grid had regular experience and 3 practice sessions. God knows what will manifest on the track this year, but it surely will be one of the most looked forward to race weekends.

What are you most looking forward to from the Chinese GP?