The 3rd stage of the world’s favourite motorsport tournament will soon begin in China. Since its inaugural season in 1950, and despite the controversies surrounding the sport, the event has grown to be the most popular single seat auto racing competition in the world.
Shanghai’s International Circuit, designed as the track to celebrate the millennium, made its Grand Prix debut in 2004, and is renowned for its sudden changes in acceleration and deceleration and remarkable architecture involved. Seating up to 29,000 people, an estimated 80% of the track is visible from the stands.
Aesthetics-wise, the track represents the Chinese symbol ‘shang’ (meaning ‘high’). Other architectural references to China’s history include the team buildings being organised to represent China’s Yuyan-Garden. According to architect Peter Wahl: “Here, nature and technology are carefully used to create harmony between the elements.”
China’s track most recently saw Lewis Hamilton steal a narrow win from frustrated fellow Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg in 2015, taking the flag from his teammate by less than a second. With 56 laps, a 5.4km circuit track, and a record time of 1:32:238 set by Michael Schumacher upon its initial unveiling in 2004, the circuit has certainly seen its fair share of action.
The event’s practice laps and final race are set to air live between April 15th and April 17th 2016, and with tensions and excitement running at an all-time high, speculations are flying as to who will take the trophy. Here are some of our main contenders as they stand:
Nico Rosberg
Source: no.wikipedia.org
First entering the F1 competition in 2006, Rosberg’s fame was secured upon defeating seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher between 2010 and 2012. Since then, he has continued to make a name for himself, and has since become particularly notorious for his known rivalry with teammate Lewis Hamilton, to whom he lost the World Championship to in both 2014 and 2015.
Currently, Nico Rosberg is leading the pack in this year’s Grand Prix. He has secured 5 wins in a row following the recent 2016 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, and chances that he claims his sixth victory in China stand at 4/5
Lewis Hamilton
Source: flickr.com
Hamilton established himself as one of the top drivers in the competition since his promotion to F1 in 2007, in which he lost out on the world championship title by just one tantalising point. Since then, he has progressed to become a three-time world champion, securing his name in the hall of fame not only as a hugely skilled driver, but for being the first Briton to win a back-to-back title in the history of the competition.
Since becoming teammate of fellow Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg in 2013, the two have fuelled a passionate rivalry, with Hamilton just pipping Rosberg to the post on various occasions over the years. Last year’s Chinese F1 Grand Prix title went to Hamilton over Rosberg, sparking a media sensation as the disgruntled Rosberg lashed out in the aftermath.
An impressive history sees Hamilton as the favourite to take a fourth World Championship title, with his odds of winning the Chinese Grand Prix at 5/4
Kimi Raikkonen
Source: flickr.com
Debuting in the 2001 F1 season, Raikkonen is best known for his 2007 championship win, in which he beat rivals Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso to secure the title by just one point, after switching to Ferrari that very year. As of this point, he was also known for being the highest paid man in motor sport, earning over $51 million per year.
Raikkonen recently lost out on the Bahrain Grand Prix to Rosberg, though according to officials, this may have been down to a poor start. Despite an excellent display of driving skill, he was beaten by Mercedes’ Rosberg to the chequered flag.
Raikkonen’s odds of winning currently sit at 29/1. While he isn’t the favourite this year, he has definitely demonstrated a dangerous streak which could pose a threat to favourites Hamilton and Rosberg’s campaign to win the championship.
Sebastien Vettel
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Sebastien Vettel is one of the four drivers in the world to have won the F1 world championship four consecutive times, from 2010 to 2013. The German racer’s early career saw him become the youngest ever World Championship runner-up in 2009, and later progressed to become the youngest ever Formula 1 World Champion in 2010, aged just 23 years old.
The German’s chances of taking the title this year stand at a promising 7/1. Currently in 6th place after an early retirement from the Bahrain Grand Prix owing to an engine failure, we predict his appearance in Shanghai may just provide him with the much needed points needed to gradually climb up the table, and increase his chances of taking the 2016 title.