The last race at the Shanghai circuit was held in 2019, before COVID-19 triggered an extended absence from the country. Since then, the F1 technical regulations have changed substantially, including a switch to 18-inch tyres. Inevitably the track surface will also have altered over the intervening years, but unusually Pirelli has not been able to send engineers to assess it in advance, which would normally be the case with brand new venues or one that have not been used for a while. Given that... Read this story
