China last hosted an F1 race in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic stopped it.
F1 now goes back to the Shanghai International Circuit after four years away. Teams aren’t sure how the new cars will do there.
Also, the circuit has new asphalt, so old data isn’t helpful. This makes it harder for teams to get ready.
To make things tougher, China is the first of six sprint race places this year. Teams only get one hour to practice.
Verstappen thinks having a sprint race in Shanghai is not a good idea. He said, “It’s not smart to do that because when you haven’t been to a track for a while, you don’t know what you’ll face. It would be better to have a normal race weekend.”
The sprint races this year have a new format. Practice and sprint qualifying happen on Friday, and the sprint race on Saturday. Qualifying for the grand prix is on Saturday, followed by the grand prix on Sunday.
This change means teams can make adjustments to their cars after the sprint race. Before, they couldn’t do that.
But having just one practice session is still hard. Sainz thinks it’s too much for China. He said, “It’s a great track, but going straight to qualifying after one practice isn’t a good idea. The cars are tricky, and a small mistake can cause big problems. We shouldn’t take risks.”
