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Mark Gillan, Chief
Operations Engineer:
Having secured our first points of the season in Malaysia with what is a
much improved and competitive car the team are eager to move onto
Shanghai as soon as possible. The fundamental characteristic of the
circuit is that it is aggressive on the tyres and the track will prove a
stern test for the FW34 and will be a good indication of how improved
our tyre management is compared to last season. Pirelli are bringing the
medium (white band) and soft (yellow band) tyres as the prime and option
respectively. Whilst having one of the highest maximum speeds of any
circuit, overall brake severity is low to medium and most other
performance metrics are of a medium severity. The loss through the pit
lane is high and the chance of a safety car is quite high too, with
typically one per race. The weather can be pretty changeable in Shanghai
with large temperature swings and the chance of rain - although
hopefully not so dramatic as that encountered during the last race in
Kuala Lumpur!
Bruno Senna:
The car is performing well and showing strong pace so I am confident
about our chances in China. I have not raced there for two years so I
will have to work hard to re-learn the track, but I have good memories
of the circuit because it has a good mix of high speed and low speed
corners and good overtaking opportunities. I had a good race in Malaysia
and hopefully I can continue that form in Shanghai.
Pastor Maldonado:
Shanghai is one of my favourite circuits in the calendar so I am really
looking forward to the race. The circuit has a nice combination of slow
and medium speed corners and good sequences that are fun to drive. It is
also very challenging because it is difficult to get close to the car in
front to take advantage of the long DRS zone. We have shown good pace in
the first two races and hopefully we can continue to improve here and
pick up some points.
Rémi Taffin, Head of
Renault Sport F1 Track Operations:
Shanghai is quite a different challenge from Sepang, with the long
straight at the back of the circuit and the pit straight raising the
percentage of time spent at full throttle. The slower corners,
particularly the first complex, however mean the engine is used at
relatively lower revs for the rest of the lap. We used the intervening
time between Malaysia and China to thoroughly investigate the engine
failure we had on Pastor’s car in Malaysia and quickly identified it as
a piston failure. As a result we are looking to put in place safeguards
to prevent it happening again to Williams or our other clients.
Paul Hembery, Pirelli
Motorsport Director:
For China, we’re bringing the P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft
tyres, which we think will be well-suited to the circuit. Last year, we
witnessed one of the best races of the season in China, so there is a
tough act to follow. Nonetheless, we’re confident that the choices we’ve
made should put an even greater emphasis on strategy - and will form a
different challenge to Melbourne, when we first used this combination.
Race Data
Friday:
Practice 1: 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2: 14:00 - 15:30
Saturday:
Practice 3: 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying: 14:00 – 15:00
Sunday: Race: 15:00
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