Daniel Ricciardo’s future one of many compelling storylines ahead of F1 Chinese GP

Let’s take a look at how the world has changed since April 2019, inside and outside of F1.

This week marks the return of the Chinese Grand Prix, which was last held in 2019. There were some familiar names at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings the last time the grid arrived at the Shanghai International Circuit, but given recent developments, perhaps one I wasn’t expecting.

Valtteri Bottas.

Yes, when the grid for the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix arrived, Bottas was at the top of the drivers’ championship, one point ahead of Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

That’s not the only big difference between 2019 F1 and current F1. Sebastian Vettel was still on the grid, driving alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Daniel Ricciardo started his first season at Renault (now Alpine) as Nico Hulkenberg’s teammate. Ricciardo had announced his departure from Red Bull the previous summer, so who would take the spot next to Max Verstappen? Pierre Gasly.

Any other notable facts about that race? Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. were teammates at McLaren, Fernando Alonso was away from McLaren for almost two years, and Kimi Raikkonen was at Alfa Romeo. In the race, the Mercedes front row was locked out and Hamilton finished in front of him. Bottas.

Verstappen finished fourth, chasing his sixth career win. He will compete in the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix with 57 wins.

And very few people had heard of COVID-19.

Here are some of the other major storylines facing F1 as the grid returns to China.

Attractive driver transfer market

F1 played another round of ‘driver musical chairs’ last week.

When the music stopped, Fernando Alonso was sitting in a familiar seat, having completed a move that could have ramifications beyond his current team.

Alonso and Aston Martin announced late last week that they had agreed a new “multi-year” contract that will see the driver stay with Aston Martin beyond 2025. This decision removes one of the most interesting options from the list of free agent drivers for 2025 and also removes Carlos Sainz Jr., who has gotten off to a great start this year with three podiums in three races. (Sainz missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after undergoing an emergency appendectomy).

Following Alonso’s decision, rumors regarding Sainz’s next seat spread rapidly.Lawrence Barrett F1TV It was reported that Sainz is still playing for a seat at Sauber and could potentially return to Red Bull before the team becomes an Audi works team in 2026. But Barrett also mentioned Williams as a landing spot for the current Ferrari driver, who will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in his current seat next year.

And late last week, reports emerged from Italian media that Sainz had been offered a contract by Mercedes to take over Hamilton’s current seat and drive alongside George Russell for at least 2025. There are also reports that Sainz is seeking a two-year contract with Mercedes, while the team is also seeking a “1-plus-1” deal with Sainz, possibly bringing genius Andrea Kimi Antonelli to Mercedes in 2026. It gives you the option to promote.

It remains to be seen whether these reports are true, but the driver transfer window will continue to be a storyline throughout this season, and will probably remain a storyline until next season.

Chou Guanyu’s first F1 race in his hometown

Another difference between the 2019 Chinese GP and this year’s Chinese GP?

That year, Chou Guanyu was competing in F2.

This weekend, Zhou will be racing in front of his home crowd, marking the first home race for the only Chinese driver on the grid.

As you can imagine, he wants to perform well in front of his supporters.

“This year has definitely not started the year as I would have liked, but we will continue to work hard because we know that the situation will improve. I am concentrating on preparing for the Grand Prix in my home country.” Zhou after the Japanese Grand Prix. “The team will be back trackside and at the factory to investigate our issues and work to get a better position. So I will be at home in China to try to score points in the sprint race and race on Saturday. ” on Sunday. “

First sprint race of 2024

This is the perfect segue to this week’s next topic.

First sprint race of the season.

There are six sprint dates scheduled on this year’s F1 calendar, including Miami in early May, the Austrian Grand Prix in late June, the United States Grand Prix in October, the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in November and then the Qatar Grand Prix. That month.

But it all kicks off this weekend with the Chinese Grand Prix.

Additionally, F1 has tweaked the format of its sprint races this season. Last weekend’s sprint race featured one practice session on Friday, followed by qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix later that day. A “Sprint Saturday” format was introduced on Saturday, with a qualifying session dedicated to the sprint race, followed by the sprint race itself.

This year, there will also be a first practice session on Friday, followed by qualifying for the sprint race later that day. Saturday begins with a sprint race, followed by qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Additionally, parc fermé rules have been adjusted this season for sprint weekends. After Friday’s sprint race qualifying, cars will be placed under parc fermé conditions until the end of the sprint race. Teams are then free to make adjustments to qualify for the Grand Prix.

This could help teams avoid the situation that saw Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc miss out on the podium at the US Grand Prix when they were disqualified and missed out on the podium after a post-race inspection found excessive wear on the bottom plates of their cars. do not have.

Why McLaren will be on the back foot this weekend

Unlike last year, McLaren has made a great start to the 2024 season. The team heads to China in third place in the constructors’ championship after four consecutive races in which Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both finished in the points. 35 points difference from 4th place Mercedes.

However, replicating that success in Shanghai may be a difficult task.

The MCL38 continues to perform well from where its predecessor ended the season, with McLaren leading the way in the first four races of the season, but the Chinese Grand Prix could be a ‘damage limitation’ issue for the team. why? It starts with the layout of the Shanghai International Circuit.

The circuit is shown below. F1.com. First, notice the first sector highlighted in red above. These slow corners may be difficult for the MCL38, as slow corners are not McLaren’s strength this year.

While there may be fertile ground in the faster second sector, there are even slower corners in the third sector, highlighted in yellow.

And with this being a sprint race weekend, McLaren won’t have much time to figure things out before the lap times actually count.

“The difficulties in China are definitely related to not being there for a long time.” Team principal Andrea Stella said this at the Japanese Grand Prix.. “Everyone has difficulties, so you can also look at difficulties in terms of opportunities, which means you could have an advantage. What I’m a little more cautious about is China. The thing is, there are so many slow speeds and hairpins that it’s definitely not the best track for us at this stage of the season.”

“So I think China might be a little bit of a damage limitation for us. And after Miami, hopefully we start to have a better stage of this 2024 season and a lot more to come in the second half of the season. I hope so,” said Stella. continuation.

How McLaren copes this weekend and whether they can find a way to pick up points on a track where they don’t play to their strengths will be the big storyline to watch.

Photo provided by: Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images

Daniel Ricciardo under pressure

Will Shanghai be Daniel Ricciardo’s last trip to the Visa Cash App RB F1 Team?

It may sound silly, but Red Bull are not known for being patient with their drivers, even veterans like Ricciardo. Ricciardo will no doubt be looking to get into a better mood, as many drivers in the organization, such as Liam Lawson, are eyeing a spot on the grid and have some decisions to make between this season and next. A driver that requires good performance. His position on the grid.

In fact, the news came out at the end of March. If Ricciardo fails to improve his form in the next two races (Japan and China), Lawson could be given a seat for the Miami Grand Prix. Although subsequent reports denied those rumors, Ricciardo clearly arrived at Suzuka under pressure to improve.

He couldn’t complete a single lap.

Now, all of these reports may be premature, and while they make for compelling reading, they may be wide of the mark. But Lawson is looming in the garage (again, join us for the event) underground F1 “Drink every time the camera cuts to Lawson after Ricardo’s mistake” match (at your own risk), the clock may really be ticking on Ricardo’s time at VCARB.

In other words, he may want to gain an advantage in China.