Fri 13 April 2012
Practice 1 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2 14:00 - 15:30
Sat 14 April 2012
Practice 3 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying 14:00
Sun 15 April 2012
Race 15:00
2012 Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix will be held from 13 to 15 April 2012 (local time) at Shanghai International Circuit which is built on a swampland in the Jiading District of Shanghai. Medium and soft compound tyres have been chosen for the race.
The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, a German engineer and auto racer, and the circuit includes his trademark feature: a long back straight followed by a hairpin turn. The long back straight is also the DRS activation zone of the circuit and offers drivers opportunities to overtake their opponents. One lap of the circuit is 5.451 km with sweeping curves, long straights, heavy braking areas and hairpin turns with rising and falling gradients.
The circuit features a total of 16 corners with 9 right-handers and 7 left-handers. Tyre degradation is high due to the track layout. The long right-handers at Turn 1 and Turn 12, 13 will put an enormous strain on the front left tyre. Understeering is very easy to occur if the cars enter these corners too fast. Last year, Hamilton had finished 1st, beating pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button in the race. How well will he perform in the third race in this season in Shanghai?