Chinese Grand Prix in Stats

F1 Circuit	Chinese Grand Prix Circuit
Circuit Name	Shanghai International Circuit
Country	China
City	Shanghai
Circuit Type	Permanent course
Capacity	200,000
Designer	Hermann Tilke
First Race Held	2004
Number of Races Held	9
Number of Laps	56
Circuit Direction	Clockwise
Total Number of Corners	16
Number of Right Hand Corners	9
Number of Left Hand Corners	7
Maximum G-Force	3.5 G
Circuit length	5.451 km (3.387 mi)
Race length	305.066 km (189.559 mi)
Pit Lane Length	380m
Longest Stretch at Full Throttle	19s (on the pit straight)
Time Spent At Full Throttle	55%
Number of Gear Changes	51
Most Successful Team	Ferrari/McLaren, 3 wins
Most Successful Driver	Lewis Hamilton, 2 wins
Lap Record	1:32.328 - Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004
Lap Record Average Speed	213kph, 132mph
Top Speed Recorded	315 km/h (195 mph)
Wins From Pole	5/55.56%
Time Zone	UTC +8
Coordinates	31° 20′ 20″ N, 121° 13′ 11″ E
Average Temperature	18°C
Average Weather	Possible Showers

CIRCUIT INFO

The new track in China was designed by the ubiquitous Hermann Tilke to be a circuit for the new millennium, with impressive spectator facilities and a media centre which spans the start finish straight - on opening it was billed as the venue all others should aspire to. It features Tilke's trademark long straight followed by a tight hairpin.

When it opened it was the most expensive F1 venue costing around US$459 million, funded by a government-backed joint-venture company. In September 2007, the former manager of the circuit Yu Zhifei was convicted of embezzlement in a corruption scandal which included several senior communist party officials who also lost their jobs.

Its shape is designed to look like the Chinese character 'Shang' which means high or above, and there are also other echoes of traditional Chinese architecture, including the team buildings set on stilts in the lake.

The land it sits on was formally swampland and had to be reclaimed before any building could begin; despite this, it was constructed in just 18 months with a team of 3000 engineers. The inaugural race in 2004 was won by Rubens Barrichello driving a Ferrari, and in 2006 the circuit saw Michael Schumacher's final grand prix victory before his retirement at the end of the season.