Chinese Grand Prix: Who'll win the 1,000th race?

By Abhishek Takle

Formula One celebrates its 1000th world championship race this weekend with the Chinese Grand Prix, but who its landmark winner will be is anybody’s guess.

Lewis Hamilton, with five wins, has enjoyed more success around the 5.4-kilometer long Shanghai International Circuit than any other driver by far.


But, where in past years that would have made him the favourite for the win, this year the Briton will likely have a tougher fight on his hands.

Mercedes have won four of the five races held in China since the dawn of the turbo-hybrid era 2014. The reigning champions have chalked up onetwo finishes in each of the season’s opening two races.

But it was Bottas, cutting a hungrier, more ruthless, figure who won ahead of Hamilton in Australia, despite Ferrari having gone into the weekend as preseason favourites.

In Bahrain, the Briton only inherited the win after engine trouble some 10 laps from the end denied Charles Leclerc an easy maiden win for dominant Ferrari.

So in that sense, Mercedes’ one-two finishes have been far from straightforward. With the form book swinging in the German marque’s favour in Australia and then in Ferrari’s favour in Bahrain, a clear picture of the competitive order is yet to emerge.

“It’s only the third race,” Hamilton told reporters at the Shanghai International Circuit on Thursday. “Obviously we didn’t expect the performance we had at the first race, we didn’t expect to see what we saw at the second race. I don’t really know at the moment,” added the five-time world champion.

Ferrari, after their dominant display in Bahrain, where their advantage lay mainly in their speed down the straights, have to be considered contenders with the main straight at the Shanghai circuit over a kilometer long.

Indeed, after the race at the Sakhir desert track, Toto Wolff tipped them as the favourites. “If they are able to maintain those power levels in Shanghai on a power sensitive circuit like Shanghai, they are the favourites, clearly,” said the Austrian.

“Because the lap time benefit might even be more than in Bahrain.”

For all their speed down the straights Ferrari will also need luck. Red is considered a lucky colour in China and Leclerc will certainly feel he is due some good fortune after his disappointment in the Bahrain desert.

Four-time champion Vettel, who spun and was outpaced by Leclerc all weekend in Bahrain, will also be determined to put to rest any doubts about who the team’s number one is. “It’s the thousandth race in the history of Formula One,” said 21-year-old Leclerc, whose engine problem in Bahrain was put down to an unprecedented shortcircuit. “I hope the car will be as good as it was in Bahrain, so that I can continue to go for the results we deserve.”

Red Bull could also get in the mix with Ferrari and Mercedes. The team took an opportunistic win with Daniel Ricciardo in China last year and also scored their first F1 win at the event 10 years ago. Now powered by Honda, they will be keen to seize upon any opportunity and score the Japanese manufacturer’s first win since their return to the sport in 2015 on Sunday.

“Overall, Shanghai provides you with a lot of opportunities to fight and set up overtakes,” said Max Verstappen, who botched his chances of victory and a possible one-two with scrappy attempts to overtake Hamilton and Vettel last year.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully having an exciting race there.”