Chinese Grand Prix - Previews and practice

Friday's press conference - China

TEAM PRINCIPALS: Norbert HAUG (Mercedes), Christian HORNER (Red Bull), Mario THEISSEN (BMW Sauber). PRESS CONFERENCE Q. A question to you all. The diffuser saga has come to an end in many ways and a decision has been made. How does it affect you now that the decision has been made? How long will it take you to catch up? What sort of effort is required and when do you feel you will be on a par with everybody else on the same technology? Christian, perhaps you would like to start. Christian HORNER: I think obviously after the appeal hearing the situation is now closed in that the diffuser is obviously allowed. For us it has a significant impact because obviously we designed the car around the regulations how we believed should be interpreted and obviously came up with a very good car. The benefit that diffuser offers is significant and obviously if you haven't incorporated it into the car design from inception it is something that is difficult just to bolt on, particularly in our case, and as an independent team for us it almost represents a B-spec car, so it is a significant change to the rear end of the chassis in order to try and optimise it and integrate it into our design solutions. The guys, led by Adrian (Newey), have done a fantastic job this winter and the decision to release the car late was the right thing to optimise the time in the wind tunnel but now to be faced with an upgrade with the quantum of this one is going to be a significant challenge and difficult to put an exact date on when we will be able to introduce our own solution but it will be one of the early European races. Q. Does it include a gearbox redesign? CH: It impacts on the whole rear end of the car in our solutions. It is significant and obviously the only hole it has left us is in our budget. It is a significant amount of cost in not a great climate but the performance you can see today, six of the cars in the top eight are running that solution, so we have to do it in order to maintain our competitiveness. On the positive side is looking at the performance of our car so far this year. Without it we have been pretty competitive. The only car in the top eight today with if you like a standard solution, so hopefully what we can look forward to is a further step in competitiveness when we do introduce it. Q. Mario, how does it affect BMW Sauber? Mario THEISSEN: Well, apparently in a similar way. It is definitely not sufficient and not possible to just exchange the diffuser and come with a new solution at the rear underbody. We have to redesign the aero package, at least the aero package. I wouldn't go as far as Christian and to say that it is a completely new rear end with our car but the aero package will be totally different. Apparently we have started to work on it and we will have an aero update for Barcelona. But I cannot tell you today if the diffuser will be included or not. It is part of a lot of ideas and a lot of developments we are following and the final package is not decided on yet and if there is such a two stage diffuser included it will definitely not be the full exploitation of the potential. Q. Would you expect that to come later? MT: Apparently we have to push towards this direction and find more and more in the course of the season, so we will definitely not be finished with the Barcelona aero package. Q. Norbert? Norbert HAUG: Very much the same. We have to realise that everybody will improve significantly in Barcelona, so the guys that are upfront, like a second quicker, they will improve and they are in a better position to do so. But it is what it is, that is the decision, and we need to develop quicker than the guys in front which is not easy. I know it from the past that it was the other way around and to catch up in the course of the season is always a significant challenge, no doubt. But lots of people say it is good for the sport, not so good for us these days. But of course there are different colours in front of the field and I am at least pleased that the Brawn guys are using our engines. That helps a little bit. Or helps very much. I have to say they do a good job. To comment on it, would it have been necessary this interpretation, A or B, is history right now. We need to catch up. And of course what Mario and Christian said, it is a cost issue as well but we need to put our heads down, work hard and come up with a better solution than we currently have. Q. Does it involve a gearbox redesign? NH: It depends. As Mario pointed out on which car you have and which design you have but let's say that the worst case scenario is a complete redesign including suspension, gearbox housing, whatever. But it depends. It may be on the one car like that and on the other car a little bit different. It is not like you develop a double diffuser in your wind tunnel, put in on your car and here we go. It takes time. The best ones of them have invested months and months, more than half a year, three quarters of the year, and as stated before what other people who are intelligent and good people achieve in nine months is difficult to achieve in nine weeks. We are in that process but we just need to push and need to work harder. Q. Another subject, KERS. Christian you are not using it yet at Red Bull Racing. Do you hope to and do you see the value of it? CH: KERS we obviously haven't run so far this year. Our evaluation prior to the start of the year was that it was more of a strategic tool than a performance tool, so we can see that there is performance off the start line and certainly if you are defending a position a KERS car, a KERS quick car, is very difficult to overtake as we saw with Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso at the last race in Malaysia. For us it hasn't earned its place on our car yet. We are using an identical system to Renault. We have tested it extensively during the winter and we have come up with a very good solution that has run reliably. But in terms of ultimate performance we don't feel it has earned its place on our car yet but that's not to say it will not do in the future. We retain a very open mind about KERS but at the moment there is no fixed date at which to introduce it. Q. But you see the value of it when you have come up against it? CH: Yeah, I think it is about 10 metres off an average start to the first corner which is about one row, so you look at some of the KERS starts from the first couple of races and you can see the cars that are equipped with them. Thankfully there are less of them here, so obviously other teams are coming to a similar conclusion to that of our own. From a strategic point of view, from a racing point of view, Fernando (Alonso) in Malaysia did an excellent job in keeping a trail of cars behind him for a lengthy period of time and I think the fact he had a KERS system to use obviously helped him to achieve that. Q. Mario, you have run it with one car and then with two here? MT: Yes, Robert has been using KERS today for the first time. For him it is right on the edge. With Nick and Nick's weight it is an advantage with our car. With Robert it is about plus minus zero, so the strategic advantage remains. So far in the first two races we were not convinced it would help him but now we have a full day with KERS to review and then we will take a decision. We are able to put it in or out within a few hours and we have both options. We will see what we do now. Q. Norbert, it is interesting that the McLarens use it but the others don't? NH: With the others you mean the customer teams? Yeah, this maybe is an option during the course of the season but it is not finally decided and as my colleagues pointed out it is still a decision. Coming to the positives we saw some very entertaining racing. It was probably a little bit coloured with other issues but the race track showed great manoeuvres. As a race fan if you look at it you just have to say it was fantastic and it could have been a longer race obviously in Malaysia. But also the race in Australia was very good and, of course, like Christian pointed out, KERS played some role in overtaking and we saw some manoeuvres, overtaking, re-overtaking, and some of you guys in the press room jumped up during the course of the race which is positive. We have to mention these positive things as well. On the other side the quick cars do not have KERS at the moment but they have other advantages. I have to say I think for us it is more of a help. We have a very compact light system. I think our guys did a good job in that respect, so we can use it and if you look at the sector times in Malaysia, for example the first sector very clearly illustrates who can use KERS in a straight line. It is very similar to here. In the race it is a different story as well if you can use it at the right time. Of course you have to come out quick enough from the corner to be in a position to overtake. But it hopefully helps, like it did in the first two races to overtake, and this should be a track where KERS helps more and I assume this is why Mario convinced Robert to use it here as strategically it can be an absolute plus. Q. And you can see one or two circuits where you won't have it? NH: Not necessarily. It can be a discussion obviously with Monaco and so on. But still there if your balance is right and if you can afford it weight-wise it should be okay. Q. What is the commitment from Mercedes to supply three teams? Is it a huge effort or just taking up the capacity that is there? NH: We are not running. The interesting thing is we really are earning money from it. We have leasing contracts with both Force India and Brawn GP and this is working very well. I have to say a big thanks to Mercedes Benz High Performance Engines in Brixworth and the guys in Stuttgart. They did a good job over the course of the winter. Capacity-wise we are building as many engines as we did two years ago for example and the difference is we are leasing them and we are earning money with the two customer teams. This is quite remarkable. Capacity-wise we can afford it and we seem to have quite a good standard but, knock on wood, you never know. If you are fabricating all these engines something can happen. What happened last time to BMW can happen to us, can happen to anybody. Everybody who is serious will admit that and the more engines you produce the more mistakes you can make. But on the other hand you get a lot of testing before the season. You have a lot of dyno runs. You learn a lot, which we did. I think we have quite a good standard now and it is a positive for us and I hope it is a positive for Formula One. As long as Brawn wins and it is powered by Mercedes Benz, I mean more and more people are realising that. Would they win with a different engine, probably they would win as well. But I think they are happy and if the customer is happy that is always good for a car manufacturer.

Q. Mario, what are your feelings about the new tyre regulations we have had so far and the tyres here for example? MT: Generally speaking we found out that with the new set of aero regulations and the new tyres you need a very much forward weight distribution, even more than expected. We have a very strong front end with a powerful front wing and relatively wide front tyres and a weak rear end with a small rear wing and not big enough tyres, so you need to put weight on the front axle. This is exactly the reason why we are discussing the use of KERS with Robert's car. The target is to achieve the desired weight distribution, the desired front weight and this is the limiting factor right now. I know there are discussions ongoing for next season to cure that problem which is good because now a big driver is penalised and that should not be the case. This weekend we don't have a clear picture yet. It looks like the soft tyre is really soft, similar to Melbourne, but we will need a bit more running tomorrow to have the full picture. Q. Christian, you obviously have a new driver in Sebastian Vettel; he outqualified Mark (Webber) in the first two races, although Mark had the better results. What are your feelings about your two drivers at this early stage? CH: He's obviously been part of the Red Bull family for some time now but he's been very, very impressive for somebody of such a young age. He's got a very mature head on his shoulders, obviously very quick. He was desperately unlucky in Melbourne; three laps... MT: He decided to be unlucky! CH: &ldots; but thankfully he told the truth&ldots; NH: I think it was OK. CH: &ldots;he told the truth in front of the stewards and got a ten place penalty. He was unlucky in Melbourne, a racing accident. When he started with a penalty in Malaysia it was always going to be a difficult weekend for him but he raced well, the conditions were obviously desperately bad and he was unlucky to go off just before the race was stopped. He's only going to get better, he's still very young. He's pushing the team very hard and he's also getting the best out of Mark as well, who has come back after a hideous accident over the winter. Obviously in November he was wondering if he still had a Grand Prix future with a metal rod in his leg. He then got back to the UK in early January and forgot to mention that he'd also broken his shoulder. The recovery that he's made is testament to his determination and commitment and the fact that he's back in the car so quickly and competitively is great from a team point of view. The guys get on very well and I think they will push each other all season long and from a team perspective that's great because we've got two guys that are really driving the wheels off the car. I think it's a really positive aspect for Red Bull. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Q. (Chinese media) Mr Haug, using the same engine, Brawn GP is much faster than McLaren. Do you think that is totally due to the new diffuser or how much has the diffuser played its role in such a situation? NH: It is the whole package. It would be too easy to say 'put a perfect diffuser on a car and then you are there.' It's not that easy, it's the whole package, but I think we all have to realise is that this car was built over a very long period of time. Other people were still fighting for the current World Championship. This is not an excuse but it should be an explanation and the sooner you could concentrate on this year's car, the more you could invest in it aerodynamically and so on. These guys did a good job. I think they had really good equipment, good people and it's the whole package at the end of the day. Q. (Chinese media) To all of you, still on the issue of the diffuser, the situation could be different at Barcelona or other races in Europe. However, there is no in-season testing this year, so do you think there will still be dramatic differences? MT: Well, my view is that there will still be an advantage. As you mentioned, there is no in-season testing. You can do something on the computer, you can do something in the wind tunnel but your aero package especially should be tested on the track before you race it. So this is definitely a handicap. On the other hand, the teams who have the two stage diffuser are not sitting there leaning back, they are developing like us, so I don't expect us to be up to the mark at one stroke in Barcelona. CH: I agree with Mario. It's a big challenge to develop a car without any testing, so it really stretches the team and obviously if you take a component to the track, you've got to take four of them because you've got to supply both cars and also have spares as well. I've never seen as much hand luggage as I did when I came through the airport into Shanghai yesterday. I think McLaren had about 18 boxes; we weren't far behind and I think that will be a trend for the rest&ldots; NH: Red Bull 19. CH: &ldots;I think that will be a trend for the rest of the year. We've got components arriving today to run tomorrow and it's going to be a real challenge to develop the cars through the season without testing but simulation tools, whether they be wind tunnels or cfd seem to be getting closer and closer in correlation to the track which means that you can hit the circuit with a large percentage of items that you can bolt on and know that you are going to get some performance out of. NH: It's right that Fridays are even more important, this is the only way you can run. OK, you can do some straightline testing but this is just a basic back-to-back test, how your aerodynamic work is correlating, but the reality is that Fridays are getting more important and you will see more and more running on Fridays, I would say, because as Christian pointed out, you will bring your new parts to the race track and then test them or do a back-to-back. CH: Did you get your cases? NH: Well, I count yours and you count ours and then we see. Q. (Jerrome Bourret - L'Equipe guy) Mr Haug, may we have your opinion on what happened to your team over the last few weeks? From Dave Ryan's and Ron Dennis's departures to the invitation to the World Council? NH: Well, I ask for your understanding: this is an open issue. We will have the World Motor Sport Council on April 29 and I will not comment before then. I think lots of things have been said, have been written. I think Lewis and the team have been very open to admit that something was not correct and now we will see what the outcome will be. Q. (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) Christian, obviously Adrian Newey and his design team looked at the double diffuser; did they consider it so illegal that they didn't even bother to talk to the FIA? Did they talk to the FIA and ask ‘is this a loophole we can exploit?' CH: It's no coincidence that seven teams didn't go down the double diffuser route. Obviously a lot of work was done in the Overtaking Working Group and within the regulations there is obviously a spirit or essence of what the regulations are set to achieve. Certainly the precedent of holes in the floor, from our perspective, was deemed to be illegal, so that's why we chose the route that we did to protest the cars together with our colleagues at the first opportunity which wasn't after the cars had run, it was before they had run in Australia, to really get clarity. Obviously the stewards and the FIA made their position known there and then the option to us was obviously to appeal that. We feel that we had a fair appeal hearing, where the facts were presented from either side and I think the bottom line is that there was a lot of ambiguity within the regulations and you can call it a clever interpretation, if you like, that the three teams have taken. I think it was certainly against the spirit of what was set out within the Overtaking Working Group. However, the court found that these diffusers are permitted. As I say, we felt we had a fair hearing, we presented our case which was listened to carefully but now we're in a situation where, as they are permitted, we had no choice but to develop our own solution which is obviously time and money and a big development channel that becomes open, because the underbody of the car is obviously the most powerful aerodynamic device on the car and so lap times will continue to tumble significantly as the solutions are developed. Q. (Mike Doodson) My question is about evening races. The drivers were not happy about racing and the difficult lighting conditions in Australia - I think I heard the word dangerous used - and then in Malaysia where the rain stopped the race early and deprived spectators around the world of an hour's racing. It's known that rain tends to fall at that time of day in Malaysia, so I wonder if you gentlemen are as enthusiastic about twilight races as Bernie appears to be? MT: We are not excited about twilight races. I think this issue has been more or less overlooked when we came to Melbourne and the drivers pointed out that this could be dangerous, so it's something which has to be respected and to be looked into when race times are decided in the future. Malaysia; it's true, the later you race the higher the risk not just of rain but any delay would mean it gets dark and then there is no chance of continuing the race, as we have seen two weeks ago. So it would be wise to pull it (the start time) forward again. CH: I think it's a shame in one respect, certainly from Australia's point of view, because the viewing figures were up massively, certainly across Europe because of the time of day that the race was held at. But I think you have to listen to the drivers when they're saying it's very difficult with the sun through the trees in their eyes at certain points on the circuit. So I think it's something that needs to be looked into, whether there's lighting needed or screens or whatever, but I think it needs to be carefully considered. I think Malaysia was difficult, again. If we had run the race at two o'clock, it was raining then. But the only option available to you at that point is that you're not controlled by daylight hours whereas I think we effectively just ran out of daylight in Malaysia. I think probably the time of year that we were in Malaysia – being that little bit later – probably more into their rainy season as well, was a contributing factor. NH: Well, I think it was a general issue, basically. As Christian said, if we had started at two o'clock – I think the GP2 race was at two o'clock and it didn't start for an hour or whatever but the chances that you would have hit rain earlier in the day, that still was very, very high. Not to start a race and delay it - the only positive is that you get more daylight for the remainder. But it's a difficult one really. We have had races which were not affected by rain, we have had races – the very first or second one was a great monsoon as well, this very often happens there. On the positive side, I know from England that the BBC and RTL in Germany had fifty percent more viewers, certainly due to the fact that it was started at 11 a.m., partly due to the fact, but there were more spectators and of course it would have been nice if the race could have been restarted. But I think it's important to know that if we had started earlier, as usual, we would have had troubles as well, a little bit the other way round, probably delayed at the beginning but I think that it was the case either way. Q. (Joris Fioriti – AFP) BMW was claiming at the beginning of the year that it was going to compete for the title. It's only the third race now but you seem to be pretty far from it. What are your comments? MT: Yeah, you're right, it's becoming extremely difficult now with the situation we have but we are pushing hard, we will see what we can do now, but indeed the current situation, with the diffuser cars, makes it much more difficult than expected. Q. (Jerome Bourret – L'Equipe) To Mr Horner and Mr Haug: yesterday Mr Theissen said that the diffuser controversy is a big test for FOTA; do you agree with him? CH: Yes, in summary it is. Obviously we've got a situation where lots has gone on over the last couple of weeks. The teams obviously were in dispute with each other but I think it's important that FOTA sits down in the near future and discusses the issues but for sure it's our biggest test in its infancy. But I think it's important that these issues are discussed behind closed doors and solutions are found. NH: Yeah, very much the same. I would probably not say test but for sure during the course of the season you will have controversial issues and I think we need to be careful to differentiate and to see what the positives are to be united and what the negatives are in such a discussion and find good solutions. I think there is only one solution at the end of the day.

Friday practice - BMW Sauber

Nick Heidfeld, P1 - 1:38.456, 16th; P2 - 1:37.544, 18th “As is normal for us on Fridays we focused on tyre evaluation for the race. They do not really work as we would like them to. We now have to try to improve the balance of the car.” Robert Kubica, P1 - 1:38.463, 18th; P2 - 1:37.491, 17th “We completed our standard Friday programme and tried to learn more about the nature of the track and to understand the tyre compounds. While the option tyres are quite fragile, it is difficult to make the prime tyre work. Additionally, this was the first time I was running KERS at a Grand Prix weekend. There were a lot of tests to do. Now we have to check and evaluate the data.” Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering: “Our concentration today, as usual, was on race preparation and, as expected, we completed the full programme. At the moment we are not satisfied with the results. For the first time both our drivers used the KERS. The positive side was we did not have any technical problems.”

Friday practice - Ferrari

Felipe Massa “We are in a difficult situation on the technical front, but when one thinks of what happened to those who we are close to and in the daily life of the people of Abruzzo, everything else takes on a different perspective. I hope that having the “Abruzzo nel cuore” message on the cars, as requested by President Montezemolo, might help to make these people feel less alone." "As for the track, I can say our fight for the championship is ever more compromised. Here we are also running without KERS and as a result, we are losing even more performance, in addition to not having as much aerodynamic downforce as the best cars. We must try and push as hard as possible on the development of the car, but we know it will be very hard to catch up. The only recipe for getting out of this difficulty is to work.” Kimi Raikkonen “The balance of the car isn’t bad and one doesn’t feel the lack of KERS. The point is that we are too slow compared to the teams currently at the top of the order. We must try and improve the car: at the moment, we are not able to fight for the title." "We must not give up the fight because, with the whole team working hard, we can get back into a winning position. It’s not an easy time, but our group is strong and we know what needs to be done to get out of this situation. The softer tyre seems to work better than it did in Australia.” Chris Dyer “We worked mainly on evaluating the two types of tyre made available to us here by Bridgestone, in terms of Sunday’s race. Here, the softer tyre seems to work better to what we saw in Australia, while the harder one has performed as we had expected. We had no technical problems during the three hours of practice and we were able to evaluate new aerodynamic solutions, that, today, were fitted to Felipe’s car. Tomorrow, they will be used on both cars.” Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal “It turned out much as we had expected. We will have to run a few races on the defensive and try and do the best we can. Clearly, without KERS, we lose a bit of performance and initial indications are that we are not seeing any improvement in the balance of a car that, let’s not forget, was designed to carry this system. We are in a difficult situation and we must try and stay calm and work hard on all fronts.” “President Montezemolo was keen to give a sign of support for everyone who lived through this tragedy and we are proud for our cars to carry the name of a region of Italy which is very close to our hearts, especially at a time like this.”

Friday practice - Renault

Fernando Alonso “Although we are at the bottom of the timesheets, I don’t think we should be too worried as we concentrated more on race configuration today. Tomorrow morning in the third free practice session we will be preparing for qualifying and so I think we can remain optimistic for the rest of the weekend. We need to try to reach Q3, as we did in Malaysia, and aim to score as many points as possible. I think overall today we struggled to find the right set-up, but even looking at the times, we still have high hopes for this weekend.” Nelson Piquet “The track conditions were quite poor early on but later in the day things were a bit better. We improved the car between the two sessions, but we still need to find more performance and I’m still not totally happy with the set-up. So we still have a lot of work to do tomorrow morning to make sure we get the most from qualifying.” Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering "The track was a bit dusty this morning to start with, but it soon picked up. The car has a little bit of oversteer, but we worked on the balance of the car and made some improvements. The super-soft tyre is performing better than we expected. The medium tyre still remains the better race tyre. Clearly there is work to do but we have more improvements to fit to the car tomorrow. So we are hopeful of moving up the order."

Friday practice - Brawn GP

Brawn GP’s Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello were in action at the Shanghai International Circuit today in the first of the practice sessions ahead of Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix. After completing early installation laps, the first practice session really got underway for the team after thirty minutes with Jenson and Rubens beginning their respective Friday programmes. For the remaining hour of the session, the pair worked on the balance of their BGP 001 cars and fine-tuning the set-up to the demands of the 5.451km track. In second practice this afternoon, the team concentrated on evaluating the super soft and medium Bridgestone Potenza tyre compounds available for this weekend. Jenson and Rubens each completed 35 laps over longer runs to end the day with Jenson at the top of the timesheets and Rubens in third position just two-tenths behind. RESULTS Drivers Car No. Chassis No. Free Practice 1 Free Practice 2 Jenson Button 22 BGP 001-02 18 laps 01:37.450 P2 35 laps 01:35.679 P1 Rubens Barrichello 23 BGP 001-01 19 laps 01:37.566 P3 35 laps 01:35.881 P3 Weather Sunny Temperatures Air: 16-20°C Track: 26-34°C JENSON BUTTON “The balance of the car really improved over the last couple of runs today after we had been struggling a little to find the right set-up early on. We completed a great deal of work with the two very different tyre compounds to establish what condition they would be in after longer runs. There seemed to be a lot of traffic on track today so my main concern was finding some clear air. It was a useful first day of running but we still have some work to do tomorrow to be happy with the balance for qualifying.” RUBENS BARRICHELLO “Another positive Friday and we achieved some good work today which will set us up well going into the weekend. Our main focus was on the tyres and evaluating the best way of looking after the softer option tyre and it was very useful to find out what the tyres are capable of. We tried various things but I did struggle for grip with my last set of tyres this afternoon. There are a lot of marbles on the track at the moment but it should clean up going into the weekend.” ROSS BRAWN “We have had a productive day which has enabled us to complete a thorough evaluation of the prime and option tyres ahead of the weekend. Our main focus was on the softer option tyre and establishing the best way to work with this compound in qualifying and the race. Although we are not quite satisfied with the balance yet, the car worked well in the cooler temperatures than we are experiencing this weekend with the race taking place six months earlier than usual.”

Friday practice - Force India

Adrian Sutil, P1 - 1:38.319, 14th; P2 - 1:36.829, 11th “It is a change to be here at this time of year. We are used to having around 30 degrees here so with the cooler temperatures it's much easier to drive although the tyres take a bit longer to warm up. The medium tyres are okay over the longer run, but very hard over a single lap. The supersoft on the other hand is fine for one lap but not as bad as we expected over the longer runs. Overall it went okay, we completed our work and the general balance is good. I'm pleased with the position so I think it was a good start.” Giancarlo Fisichella, P1 - 1:38.460, 17th; P2 - 1:37.750, 20th “I'm not particularly happy with how today went. I am struggling with the car balance at the moment. It's not consistent just yet and I don't feel entirely comfortable. At the moment we don't have a problem with the tyres - in these temperatures we are pretty much okay. We have some ideas of what we can do so I think we will improve for tomorrow.” Dominic Harlow, Force India chief race engineer: “This weekend is going to be all about how we use the dry tyres and our Friday programme reflected this. We tried a lot of different things in a structured test and the VJM02 has been reliable and responsive to changes so far. The track was quite green today and hence low grip but it will evolve over the next two days and that will be something we have to account for as we approach qualifying and the race. It will be another tight qualifying session tomorrow.”

Friday practice - Toro Rosso

Sebastien Bourdais, P1 - 1:38.195, 10th; P2 - 1:36.800, 10th “Our weekend seems to have started off quite well. We have made progress in terms of understanding the car and using it to its best. There is still some work to do, specifically in terms of making better use of the option tyre. Actually I was quite surprised to see how well they are holding up and they definitely have more than one lap in them. I’m not saying we’ll run them for 30 laps, but it’s much better than expected. We can definitely see that the small updates we have on the car since Malaysia are working well.” Sebastien Buemi, P1 - 1:38.307, 13th; P2 - 1:37.219, 15th “It’s my first time here and beforehand I spent a lot of time on the Red Bull technology simulator and it was definitely a big help and I plan to use it more in the future. It is difficult to quantify, but for sure it helps. I had a technical problem in the morning which cost me some time, but everything was back to normal this afternoon and we were able to make a step forward. We look more competitive than in Malaysia and we are definitely improving. I didn’t get a perfect lap today, so I think I can do a lot better tomorrow. I like the track; it’s very big, very new, very everything!”

Friday practice - Red Bul

Mark Webber, P1 - 1:37.752, 5th; P2 - 1:36.105, 4th “We did the normal tyre comparisons today, which are important ahead of Sunday as they might be quite a challenge here. The guys did a great job and the car ran faultlessly, which is always a benefit on a Friday. We’ve dried out from Malaysia and, instead, we had perfect driving conditions today, so we’ll see how we go tomorrow. I enjoyed it out there.” Sebastian Vettel, P1 - 1:38.274, 12th; P2 - 1:36.167, 5th “Overall, it was a quite good day. Unfortunately, in the second practice we had a problem with the rear suspension, it was going to take too much time to fix so we had to stop earlier than planned. Nevertheless, we got some useful information from the car. The main task here for all the teams and drivers is to manage the different tyre compounds. As you can see, graining is the main issue, but thankfully I have my helmet and visor, which protects my eyes as the rubber is coming off!”

Friday practice - Toyota

Jarno Trulli, P1 - 1:37.764, 6th; P2 - 1:36.217, 6th "That was a busy Friday for me. This morning we had an electrical problem which cost us a bit of track time but we recovered to complete our programme of work on set-up and tyres. The track surface wasn't in fantastic condition this morning but it improved during the day. In general I'm still not happy with the car's balance and pace so I hope we can analyse the data tonight and aim for better tomorrow. Then we can target another strong result on Sunday." Timo Glock, P1 - 1:37.894, 8th; P2 - 1:36.548, 8th "So far things are going okay for us. The track was quite tricky this morning because there wasn't much grip. I was sliding around on the green track and had to find a way to get the car together. But over the course of the day we sorted out a lot in terms of the set-up. The second free practice session was better and the car felt more together. So we have more work to do to get the car in the right direction for tomorrow. But overall this has not been a bad start to the weekend." Dieter Gass, Toyota chief engineer race and test: "We made it through our programme without major issues on the car so that was a solid start to the weekend. Jarno did have a slow in-lap this morning with an electrical problem but it didn't unduly affect our programme. That included a test of some new aerodynamic and suspension development parts which we completed successfully. The consistency of the tyres doesn't seem to be as much of a drama as we were expecting, so that is good news for the race on Sunday. The lap times seem to confirm our good form from the first two races so we are confident for the rest of the weekend."

Friday practice - Williams

Nico Rosberg, P1 - 1:37.860, 7th; P2 - 1:35.704, 2nd “It’s been an interesting day for us. We’ve learnt a lot, particularly about the tyres and how to get the best out of them here. The one major thing for us at the moment though is that this season we have consistency from one track to another. We’re now going to a race and not getting any big surprises as we seem to have learnt from our mistakes from last year.” Kazuki Nakajima, P1 - 1:38.730, 19th; P2 - 1:36.377, 7th “It was a bit difficult out there for me today. The tyres were behaving strangely this morning but they did improve a little this afternoon. I was also struggling to find a good balance. I now need to see where I can improve for qualifying tomorrow. We’ll see how we go.”

Friday - Practice 2

Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps 1 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 1:35.679 2 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:35.704 0.025 3 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:35.881 0.202 4 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:36.105 0.426 5 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:36.167 0.488 6 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:36.217 0.538 7 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:36.377 0.698 8 10 Timo Glock Toyota 1:36.548 0.869 9 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.674 0.995 10 11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 1:36.800 1.121 11 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:36.829 1.150 12 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:36.847 1.168 13 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.941 1.262 14 4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:37.054 1.375 15 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:37.219 1.540 16 8 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1:37.273 1.594 17 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:37.491 1.812 18 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:37.544 1.865 19 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:37.638 1.959 20 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:37.750 2.071

Friday - Practice 1

Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps 1 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.334 22 2 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 1:37.450 0.116 18 3 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:37.566 0.232 19 4 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.672 0.338 23 5 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:37.752 0.418 20 6 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:37.764 0.430 19 7 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:37.860 0.526 24 8 10 Timo Glock Toyota 1:37.894 0.560 21 9 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:38.089 0.755 19 10 11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 1:38.195 0.861 24 11 4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:38.223 0.889 23 12 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:38.274 0.940 20 13 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:38.307 0.973 26 14 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:38.319 0.985 18 15 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:38.418 1.084 20 16 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:38.456 1.122 21 17 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:38.460 1.126 19 18 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:38.463 1.129 18 19 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:38.730 1.396 25 20 8 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1:38.825 1.491 20

BRAWN GP CONFIRMS PARTNERSHIP WITH M I G INVESTMENTS Brawn GP is pleased to announce a new three-year partnership with successful foreign exchange trading company, M I G Investments. Based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, M I G Investments is a leading Swiss Forex broker founded and managed by the Mansour family. The company has experienced strong growth since its foundation in 2003, with 70 employees providing specialised FX services to clients in over 120 countries. In December 2008, M I G Investments submitted its application for a Swiss banking license. M I G Investments’ branding will appear from today on the front wing and nose of Brawn GP’s championship-leading BGP 001 car as it takes to the track for the first of the practice sessions ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix which takes place this weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit. The M I G Investments logo will feature on the racesuits of drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, and on the overalls of the Brawn GP race team, from the Spanish Grand Prix in May. Ross Brawn, Team Principal at Brawn GP said: “We are delighted to welcome M I G Investments to Formula One and to the Brawn GP team. Our team has had a great start to the 2009 Formula One season and we are very pleased to have secured our third new partnership. In a difficult economic climate, it is a positive sign that the appeal of Formula One continues to attract new companies to invest in our sport. We look forward to working closely with M I G Investments to help drive global awareness of their brand through the powerful communications platform of Formula One.” Hisham Mansour, CEO of M I G Investments commented: “We are extremely proud to be joining ranks with Formula One’s newest sensation, the Brawn GP team. This collaboration marks an important synergy between two young, innovative and ambitious teams, both leaders in our respective fields. We share parallel formulas for success and believe strongly in the power of innovation, teamwork and dedication. Our partnership with Brawn GP is further testimony to our strong industry position and confidence. We look forward to a fruitful and rewarding relationship together.”

Thursday's press conference - China

DRIVERS: Rubens BARRICHELLO (Brawn GP), Heikki KOVALAINEN (McLaren Mercedes), Kazuki NAKAJIMA (Williams), Jarno TRULLI (Toyota), Mark WEBBER (Red Bull). Q. Heikki, what are your feelings about the start of the season? It would be nice to do a lap, I suspect. How are you going to overcome that? What are your feelings about it? Heikki KOVALAINEN: Well, I think there are many positives from these races apart from the actual race day. It has been pretty poor both race days. Like you said, I have not been able to complete a race lap yet. But otherwise I feel I am getting more out of the team. I work better throughout the whole weekend with the team and, in fact, the base has been pretty promising. I am over those disappointments now and I just move on and try to complete the weekend with a good Sunday as well. Q. The team as a whole has also had a hard time. What is the mood within the team now? HK: It is very positive. If you look at the circumstances it could be a kind of time to bring the team down but I think everyone has kept the focus, kept digging deep, kept working hard. We have got another upgrade for the car this weekend, so I think this is the attitude that we need at this difficult time, just keep our heads up. That is what the whole team has done including myself. I am just trying to put as much effort in as I can. We just try to power through these difficult times. Q. With those upgrades will you expect an improvement in terms of position? HK: Hopefully, yes. Obviously, that is why we are pushing very hard to move up the grid. We are not trying to stay around 10th place or so. We are always aiming to eventually arrive in pole position and be winning races again. Clearly this is our target. I think for this weekend it would be unrealistic to say we will be fighting for pole position but I think can have another good step forward and hopefully we can start the challenge to get into the top 10 in qualifying, into Q3. That is the next step and then obviously always trying to fight for the victory if possible but just keep improving throughout these weekends. That is the main key at the moment. Q. Mark, so far there seems to have been a lot of promise if not the result. What are your feelings about the first couple of races? Mark WEBBER: I agree with that. We had a pretty good run in Melbourne until the first corner. I think Heikki hit Rubens. I haven't spoken to Heikki about that yet but Rubens and I said we are going to bash him up later on. Yeah, that happens. HK: You guys brake so early for the first corner. Next time I will run over you even more. MW: Then Malaysia was obviously an exceptional race with the weather in the end and that could have gone either way for many people obviously with people who were pitting or weren't pitting for different tyres. We are in a reasonable situation pace wise. We're not right at the front but not going too bad, so we are coming here very optimistic again to try and fight for a podium if we can. It is not easy. Jarno has done a good job so far and Nico (Rosberg) as well with the Williams. So it is tough out there as usual and we will do our best. Q. Obviously Sebastian (Vettel) was running fairly light in qualifying in Malaysia. That must have been quite a promising and encouraging position on the grid for him though? MW: Yeah, it was a reasonable job as you say with the fuel load. And Kubica's pace, he also could have been third. Jarno did a very good job. Q3 is a very important session, we know that, and the fuel load is quite powerful for lap time, always has been. Like I said we will try and do the same here and get up at the front if we can. Q. Heikki was talking about upgrades. When are you expecting new bits and pieces? When are you expecting the magic diffuser? MW: Early in Europe we will get the diffuser and we have a pretty good upgrade for Barcelona, so not a lot going on for the next two races but I think for Barcelona we will be in better shape and then a few races after that we might see the introduction of a different rear to the car. Q. Kazuki, I hear you were at Suzuka the other day. Can you tell us about the day and also about the modifications to the circuit? Kazuki NAKAJIMA: I have been to the Suzuka circuit for the opening event and it was really impressive as the whole circuit, apart from the track lay out, has been renewed completely. All the pit buildings, garages, grandstands. It was pretty impressive if you know what it was before. It is completely different, so it was quite nice. Q. Did you do any laps? I hear your father was there as well. KN: Yeah, he was there. I think he did a lap with an old F1 car but I didn't manage to do any laps. It was a shame. I was there but I didn't manage to drive anything. I am sure that the layout of the track has not been changed but they have resurfaced the track. Q. How was the reaction to you as a grand prix driver as obviously you are gaining in status? KN: It has been since, I think 2005, that I have been to Suzuka and the reaction of the fans was massive and I struggled to walk though the paddock. It was maybe a bit too much for me but it is always nice to come back, especially as a grand prix driver and I am really looking forward to going back in October. Q. And your feelings about the season so far as the car looks very competitive? KN: Yeah, there are a lot of positives. The car is quite competitive and Nico (Rosberg) had a great start in Malaysia and he was leading the race. It is quite clear that we have a very competitive car and I didn't make the most of it for some reason. At the moment we have a good car and we just need to keep it good. From now I think it is going to be a massive development race, so we just need to keep up with this. Q. Jarno, a massive development race. First of all your feelings about the car. Is it better or worse than you expected? Jarno TRULLI: I think that the car has been developed pretty well over the winter time, so the first race went pretty well scoring lots of points. But there is still a lot of work to do. Our car is competitive but we still have to catch up with Brawn GP as at the moment they are more competitive than us. There is work to do and we are focussed on that job. Q. When are you expecting upgrades? JT: We have got some upgrades here, front wing and rear end of the car as well. We are consistently working on it. The team so far has done a good job. Obviously after so much noise about the rear diffuser we are a little bit undecided about what is going on but on the other hand we were quite confident that we would win the race and in the end I am pleased with it. Q. This circuit has not been good for you. JT: No matter. I will just get on with my job and with my team to do the best for this weekend. Hopefully it will be a good weekend as I have an important reason to get a good result. As you can see on my overall I am wearing a message for my new charity campaign, Abruzzo in the Heart. You all probably have heard about the dramatic situation in the region after the earthquake. I want to support the people and to do that I gave up one of my sponsors to give visibility and raise money. I am going to ask GPDA drivers, teams, everyone, to join me. This is not just asking about the money. I am raising money but I want to ask people to donate not just money but items. Q. Rubens, this is a really circuit for you. You have finished all five races and you won in 2004. Do you know who was second in 2004? Rubens BARRICHELLO: Jenson (Button). Q. So it is looking pretty good, isn't it? RB: Yeah, I like the track very much. It is a track on which I've always gone quite well. The weather is going to be dodgy, maybe just because we changed the date of the race. It could play into good hands. I think the first two races have been quite good for the spectators to see the racing plus the wet has brought more of a show, so I think this one will be no different. Q. Two months ago, you probably didn't have a Grand Prix seat. Tell us about your emotions regarding the start of this season? RB: As I've mentioned before, I've always been very, very positive about myself racing. But in all honesty, I think only myself and probably my two kids knew that I was going to race. It was fun to watch them, in the way that they look at it: 'he's having a longer holiday but he's going to go sometime soon.' Not even my wife knew if I was going to race, or the whole of Brazil. So it was nice to see that. I knew the car was going to be good, I didn't know how good. We knew the engine was very, very strong, as it is, so it was just a dream when they phoned me and said I was going to drive. After four laps in the car, I could see it was very competitive. Q. What are you feelings about the tyre choices for this race? Different temperatures here too; it seems to be all over the place. RB: It is. Myself, I still need to understand what is the reason why we bring such different tyres, if it's for the show itself or... I think we have a very good tyre for here and a softer tyre which all the teams might struggle with. That may make the race itself very nice because someone might be struggling, you have overtaking and that's quite nice, but I'm sure we're capable of bringing - out of the four types of tyre that we have – we can bring different tyres that can be better for us drivers. In Australia, the tyres were already graining after five laps and it will be the same here, possibly even more because the track itself is more abrasive, and if it's cold the tyres are going to be a bad effect. If this is for the show itself, I don't think it's dangerous for us – danger in the way that you could be driving five seconds slower and another car is catching up quite quickly, but it's lovely for the show itself. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Q. (Beniamino Natale – ANSA) I would like to ask Jarno if he has anything more to say about his help for Abruzzo, his home region where there was this dramatic earthquake? JT: We have probably all seen what happened there and being part of Abruzzo I wanted to do something special. It took a few days before really realising what was going on, because honestly it is a dramatic situation there. Nearly three hundred people died which is not so many compared to what really happened. We don't have a city or villages anymore; everything has gone, blown away. More than one hundred thousand people have been left with nothing: no houses, no jobs, families. It must be really hard. I didn't go back yet because I haven't had time because of the travelling and work. I will go back just after these two flyaway races. At the same time, I was trying to think what to do and I believe that as I am from Abruzzo and this is an Italian business but everyone around the world knows about the earthquake and because I work around the world, I just wanted to show to everyone or let everyone know what's going on there. There isn't much difference between the tsunami and the earthquake in Abruzzo, it's a dramatic situation and I want to make my contribution. Eventually, the final target will be to raise money first of all and then at the end of the season see how much we have and try to go there and rebuild schools – everything basically has to be rebuilt. I just want to try really hard. For once in my life, I will probably go and knock on everyone's door to raise some money. Q. (Luis Fernando Ramos – Racing Magazine) Mark, we saw you working amongst the drivers in Malaysia during the interruption, discussing the conditions. I want to hear how the GPDA is now and how do you see yourself in the role as GPDA leader? MW: The GPDA is very strong at the moment. We have a full grid of active members within the association with the exception of Kimi. So we have come quite a good way. It's always been very, very important that the GPDA is constantly counselling each other on different issues that come across our sport. My role was not that difficult in Malaysia. All the drivers were concerned about the conditions and I was just really asking the guys what they thought, because there could have been a situation where the race might have been turned round quite quickly, i.e. they could have started the race quite fast again, in their eyes, but in our eyes obviously it was totally different. So I thought it was worth asking a few guys towards the front and guys with experience, and I also asked Lewis being the World Champion and all the responses were the same. So when we communicate a lot better off the track it makes it easier for the guys to have more respect for each other when we are under off-course pressure from the teams or under pressure from ourselves to get the results. The organisation is going fine. Q. Jarno, in Sepang you managed to qualify second and the team got on the podium, so are you confident that Toyota is able to catch Brawn GP? JT: We cannot take the Malaysian result as all the other races because first of all it has been cut short. A lot of events affected the race, so it would be unfair but the first two races definitely showed that looking at the performance, Toyota is not far away from Brawn and for sure it's in the top three teams. On the other hand, there is some work to do in order to beat Brawn GP but I'm confident because my engineers worked really hard, they have a good idea of what to do in the future and it's better to start being second in the championship rather than being fourth or fifth as we were in the past. I think we have a pretty good car, a good base and now it's just a matter of developing it. Q. (Carole Capitaine – L'Equipe) Can you tell us about the decision of the court of appeal? HK: I think we have a clear direction now. Everyone can go and develop things accordingly. For me as a driver it doesn't make any difference. I drive the car and hopefully there is more grip now. MW: (Thumbs up) KN: Well, it doesn't affect me. I'm pleased and as a team we are pleased that it's clearly allowed now. As I said, it's just going to be a development race from now. It doesn't make a big difference to us. JT: Well, obviously no difference. I'm just happy about it. RB: I like the decision a lot! Q. (Adam Hay-Nicholls – Metro) Question for all of you: have you stayed out in Asia and what have you been up to if you have? HK: I went back to England after the last race, spent four days in Woking working with the engineers with a bit of simulation as well and then got back on Saturday, went to Singapore for a few days, found a nice golf course. Then when I lost all the balls I turned up here! MW: Yeah, I went back to the UK as well and I got here as late as possible and I leave as quickly as possible. KN: I was in Japan and I had a full week off in Japan – well, not a full week off but then I went to Suzuka for one day. JT: Just after the last race I flew back to Europe. I went to the factory, did some work and then spent some days at home with the kids and obviously Easter with the family. I just managed to lose my voice on the flight coming here to China. I'm here since Tuesday morning; I haven't done much, to be honest because there isn't much to do, and I will fly out on Sunday night. RB: I've been back to Brazil, so I've been flying for four days already. Q. I have a question for Rubens: Lewis Hamilton said yesterday that this is only the start after the decision. Brawn GP is leading (the Constructors) at the moment but usually in the middle of the season more competitive drivers emerge and Brawn GP won't have as much advantage as they have now. What do you think about this opinion? RB: I hope he's wrong.

McLaren restructures Group to create independent McLaren Automotive company

At a press conference held this morning at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey (UK), McLaren Group Chairman Ron Dennis announced a major restructuring of the McLaren Group. McLaren has for more than two years been engaged in a programme to develop a range of pure McLaren sports cars that will build on the great successes of the McLaren F1 and Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. As part of this plan, it is intended that McLaren Automotive, currently one of a number of companies within the McLaren Group, will become an independent company later this year. The launch date for the first model in the new range of McLaren sports cars will be in 2011. McLaren Automotive is intending to raise fresh equity in addition to the existing investment in the business to complete the development of the planned vehicle programmes. It has appointed Credit Suisse as its financial advisor, to facilitate this process. Ron Dennis said: "With planned additional investment in the company of £250 million, proposals in place for a new McLaren car production facility in the UK, and the potential for up to 800 skilled jobs, McLaren Automotive's expansion will represent a significant investment in the UK automotive industry." A number of organisational changes have also been announced today, which are designed to facilitate the next stage of McLaren's corporate development: - As Executive Chairman of McLaren Automotive, Ron Dennis will lead the growth of the new sports car business. As of today, Ron Dennis has handed his responsibility as Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Racing to Martin Whitmarsh, who will be responsible to the board for the activities of McLaren Racing in addition to his role of Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. - On June 1st 2009 Richard Lapthorne will be appointed Non Executive Chairman of the McLaren Group and a Non Executive Director of McLaren Automotive. Richard Lapthorne said: "This is a very exciting time to be joining the McLaren Group and to be working closely with Ron and his team on McLaren Automotive's expansion into the sports car market. It's a rare opportunity to be involved at a key stage in the development of a British sports car company of an entirely new sort, especially one that has such a great racing pedigree and such a world-class reputation as McLaren." Reflecting on his life in Formula 1, Ron Dennis concluded by saying: "I passed the role of Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to Martin Whitmarsh on January 16th, the day of the launch of our new Formula 1 car. That day I was asked many times whether I would attend the 2009 Australian Grand Prix. My answer was "yes". I duly attended it - albeit not as the person in charge of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. It was, I admit, a strange feeling. "The next race, the Malaysian Grand Prix, I watched on TV in the UK - an activity I found surprisingly easy. I'd expected to be more emotional about it, after an unbroken run of attending so many grands prix for so many years. "I admit I'm not always easy to get on with. I admit I've always fought hard for McLaren in Formula 1. I doubt if Max Mosley or Bernie Ecclestone will be displeased by my decision. But no-one asked me to do it. It was my decision. "Equally, I was the architect of today's restructure of the McLaren Group. Again, no-one asked me to do it. It was my decision. "I feel enormously enthused about the prospects for the McLaren Group and for McLaren Automotive, and have no qualms about leaving Martin to report to the board regarding matters connected with Formula 1." - The McLaren Group comprises McLaren Automotive, McLaren Racing, McLaren Marketing, McLaren Electronic Systems, McLaren Applied Technologies and Absolute Taste. The shareholding of the McLaren Group is as follows: Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) 40%; Bahraini Mumtalakat Holding Company 30%; Tag Group (Mansour Ojjeh) 15%; Ron Dennis 15% - From 1993 until 1998, McLaren Cars (the forerunner to McLaren Automotive) designed and manufactured the iconic McLaren F1 super sports car. McLaren Automotive has successfully designed and manufactured the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren range of premium sports cars over the past six years, and will continue to do so until the end of 2009. - Richard Lapthorne is Chairman of Cable and Wireless plc. Recently he was also Chairman of Morse plc and of the private equity owned fashion retailer New Look. His career started with Unilever where in 18 years he worked in the UK, Paris, Holland and Africa. He then moved to Courtaulds plc as Group Financial Controller, becoming Finance Director in 1986 as well as Chairman of the US Group. He joined British Aerospace plc in July 1992 and was a key member of the management team responsible for transforming the company into Europe's leading aerospace and defence company. He retired as Vice Chairman in 1999. He started his non-executive career with Amersham International plc in 1989, becoming Chairman from 1996 until 2003. He has held a number of other directorships including Robert Fleming, the merchant bank, Oasis International Leasing in Abu Dhabi, Chairman of Avecia (spun off from Astra Zeneca), Chairman of TI Automotive (spun off from Smiths Group), Chairman of Tunstall and Chairman of Arlington Securities. Between 1999 and 2004 he served on the Navy Board. He led the Working Age project in 2000. He is a current member of the HMRC large business advisory board. He is the Queen's Trustee at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. - Ron Dennis has been a pioneering force within motorsport since he began his career 42 years ago. In 1966 he joined the Cooper Racing Car Company and progressed to join the Brabham Racing team where in 1968 he was appointed to the position of Chief Mechanic to Sir Jack Brabham. Three years later Ron launched his own company, Rondel Racing, which won races in the Formula 2 Championship. During the 1970s he ran a number of highly successful teams, mainly concentrating on Formula 2 but also competing with distinction in the Procar Championship. In 1980 Ron's most recent company, Project Four, merged with Team McLaren Ltd to form McLaren Racing. This was to be the catalyst for the great success and diversification that McLaren has enjoyed to date. Since 1980, McLaren has won seven Constructors' World Championships and ten Drivers' World Championships. In 1989 Ron co-founded McLaren Cars, which designed and manufactured the revolutionary F1 road car of 1994; now renamed McLaren Automotive, the company produces the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren sports car on behalf of Daimler. Ron's entrepreneurial skills have seen the McLaren Group grow and diversify. It currently encompasses McLaren Automotive, McLaren Electronic Systems, McLaren Applied Technologies, McLaren Marketing and Absolute Taste, all in addition to the flagship, McLaren Racing and its Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team. During the year 2000 Ron was honoured with a CBE for services to motorsport. In 2001 he was presented with a BRDC Gold Medal in recognition for his contribution to motorsport. He was also awarded an Hon DTech from De Montfort University in 1996, an Hon DSc from City University (London) in 1997 and, in 2000, an Hon DSc from the University of Surrey. In January 2009 Ron announced that he would pass the role of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team Principal to Martin Whitmarsh.

Renault

Fernando Alonso, Renault 2008 Qualifying - 4th, 2008 Race - 4th “Shanghai is definitely a circuit that I enjoy and it's quite similar to Sepang with some quick corners, long straights and low-speed sections. You therefore have to find a compromise with the set-up to make sure you have enough downforce for the high-speed sections, but also good straight-line speed. I won the race there in 2005 when Renault also won the constructors' championship so it's a track with good memories for the team. I also enjoy being in China and the fans are really enthusiastic about Formula One.” Nelson Piquet, Renault 2008 Qualifying - 10th, 2008 Race - 8th “The team is very motivated and determined to do a good job in China. We improved the car between Australia and Malaysia and we need to continue in this direction to try and get more from our package in China. I know the guys back at the factory are working really hard to prepare upgrades for later in the year and I'm sure we will continue to get stronger and stronger throughout the season. “After two races we've seen how close all the teams are, but I will still aim for the points this weekend. I need to make sure I improve my performance in qualifying so that I can reach Q2 or Q3 and have a good strategy for the race. We also need to see how the different tyres perform because Shanghai is quite a tough circuit for the tyres and we will need to do a lot of evaluation on Friday to make sure we are well prepared for the race.” Bob Bell, Renault technical director "Shanghai is a modern circuit that's quite smooth with a mix of high and low-speed sections: long straights, tight chicanes and fast, sweeping corners. Any circuit like that presents a challenge for the engineers to find a set-up that works well across a wide range of corners and speeds. It's not a particularly demanding circuit on the brakes, but it can be quite hard on the tyres, especially the first corner with its constantly tightening radius. In terms of aero levels, we will run a fairly standard package, but the priority is to find a good balance between a low and high-speed set-up.”

Force India

2008 Qualifying - 20th, 2008 Race - 17th “The main goal this weekend is to have a clean event without any mistakes, qualify well and to finish the race. I think it’s too early to start hoping for points yet, but we need to keep the momentum going and get as much information as possible so when we introduce new parts we can really see an improvement.” Adrian Sutil, Force India 2008 Qualifying - 19th, 2008 Race - DNF “China can be a tough race as the humidity is high and it can get very hot in the car. There are some long straights though so you can recover a bit. The pit straight is not too long but it goes into T1 that is very quick on entry and then tightens up quite a lot. It seems like a neverending corner as it gets tighter and tighter, changing down the gears until you get down to second. Then we go into a tight right and tight left that is very difficult to accelerate from as it’s a long turn and the car tends to oversteer. From there, there is a little straight up to sixth gear then a hairpin you take in first or second gear depending on whether you are qualifying or racing. Following this there is quite a good section that flows really well before a tricky right hander. You get a lot of understeer in the mid corner and there are a few bumps that give a tendency to understeer. One of the most difficult turns is from T11 through to the longest straight. That straight seems to last forever: you reach 310kph before a very tight second gear hairpin that you need to brake very late for. The last corner before the pit straight is a nice kink, very simple but blind, with a bump. The key point is to take it easy in the exit as you can overcook it and run wide. If you have a perfect lap you can lose everything there. “The aims for Shanghai, as for the previous races, is to be reliable and get to the finish. This year I’ve got a 100 percent finish record so far, and I want to keep this up. We’ve seen that some of the other teams are having problems with KERS and the order is not so fixed at the moment so if you get to the finish there’s a good chance you could do well. I think this should be our goal for now - but when we get back to Europe I want to be racing on merit, not just waiting for something to happen to another driver.” Dominic Harlow, Force India chief race engineer “China is the reference modern track with long straights followed by hairpins and some challenging corners, for example the turn one complex. We use a compromise set-up to allow speed down the straights but maintain grip levels and balance in the corners. The drivers brake quite late and deep into the corners so stability is important, but conversely graining of the tyres can also be a problem. We’ve raced in China quite recently at the end of 2008, and to come back after a few months with the 2009 cars will be an interesting experience. A factor that can have a bearing on the strategy is Shanghai’s climate that can range from high humidity and heavy rain to blistering temperatures. It can change very quickly - as we saw in 2007 - so engineers will have to be on top form to deal with any potential changes and safety car periods.”

Brawn GP

With the Shanghai circuit’s stunning architecture, winding turns and high-speed straights, it’s easy to see why the teams endure the city's traffic to enjoy racing in China. Here senior team personnel and the drivers contemplate their hopes for next weekend, and explain why they count this track as one of their favourites&ldots; Jenson Button, Brawn GP 2008 Qualifying - 18th, 2008 Race - 16th "After the excitement of the first two races, it has been great to have the chance to relax and reflect for a few days since the dramatic race in Malaysia. I am understandably delighted with how our season has begun however we are only two races in and everyone at the team is aware that our competitors will not stand still. We fully expect a tough fight from here if we want to continue our early successes. Looking ahead, the Shanghai International Circuit is an enjoyable one for the drivers and a good technical challenge to find the right set-up. I particularly enjoy the high-speed sections and the overtaking opportunities going into the tight right-hander at turn five and at the end of the back straight." Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP 2008 Qualifying - 13th, 2008 Race - 11th "It seems strange to be returning to China already but I'm looking forward to the weekend as Shanghai is an impressive facility and the circuit provides an interesting challenge for the drivers. The track holds some good memories for me as I won the first race here in 2004. With the car that we have this year, it is so exciting to be able to return with the opportunity to compete at the front again. The BGP 001 has gone well at the two very different race tracks in Australia and Malaysia so it will be interesting to see how the car performs in Shanghai which is quite a unique circuit. You need to have a very good aerodynamic balance combined with a stable car and good straightline speed to take advantage of the long straights." Ross Brawn, Brawn GP team principal "It has been an incredible five weeks for the Brawn GP team which began with the first running of our new car at Silverstone on 6 March and concluded with the two successive victories in Australia and Malaysia. Without doubt it has been an intense and hard-working period for everyone involved with the team and they deserve all credit for their commitment. The short break between the two sets of back-to-back flyaway races has been a welcome opportunity for the team to regroup at the factory in Brackley, to assess our performance and to plan ahead for the forthcoming races. Whilst there have been no developments to the car, we have taken the opportunity to address a few small issues which arose over the first two races and we are in good shape for the next race in China. We are expecting temperatures will be cooler and less humid this year with the race taking place six months earlier. Therefore as was the case in Malaysia, we will need to be prepared for the unexpected as rain has played its part in recent races at the Shanghai International Circuit."

Williams

Shanghai International Circuit in a nutshell A standard two-stop race, although Timo Glock proved last season that a one-stop strategy can be converted into a points finish. Long stints demand a great deal of finesse because certain parts of the track, notably turn two which doubles back on itself, place tremendous lateral loads on the left-hand tyres. The race traditionally takes place during the European autumn but unfamiliar weather might be a factor this year because it has been brought forward to April. Talking Technical Car dynamics Average turn angle indicates the average angle of a circuit’s corners expressed in degrees. The higher the average turn angle, the more acute the corners in the circuit’s configuration and the greater propensity for understeer to compromise lap time. At Shanghai, the average turn angle is 133.690, against a season average of 1100, ranking it as the circuit with the second highest average turn angle across the Championship. As a consequence of the circuit’s physical layout, an understeering car balance will have a high punitive effect on lap time. The end of straight (EOS) speed at Shanghai was 306kp/h in 2008. Shanghai ranks as having the 7th fastest EOS speed on the 2009 calendar, and this is one indicator of the wing level typically selected to optimise the downforce/drag ratio. As the average speed around Shanghai is the 13th fastest of any of the tracks, a compromise is required. Pitlane & refuelling strategy The pitlane length and profile (i.e. corners in the pitlane entry) contribute to the determination of the optimum fuel strategy. The pitlane loss at Shanghai is approximately 23 seconds, the 6th most penalising pitlane in the Championship. To complete a normalised distance of 5km around the Shanghai circuit requires 2.55kg of fuel against an average of 2.42kg per 5km across all circuits this season, making the circuit the 4th least demanding track of the year in terms of fuel consumption. Safety car Another key contributor to the determination of race strategy is the likelihood of safety car deployments, which are influenced by weather considerations, the availability of clear run-off areas that allow racing to continue while recovery takes place and the circuit profile, especially the character of the entry and exit into turn one at the start of the race. Since the race debuted on the calendar in 2004, there have been 2 safety car deployments in China, both in 2005, making it statistically unlikely that the circuit’s character will induce safety car periods. The first two races of this season have already seen 3 safety car periods, however, so anything is possible! Temperature, pressure & humidity It is a long observed tradition that drivers arriving at Interlagos complain about a lack of grip and an absence of engine power. Having become acquainted with a baseline of engine and aerodynamic performance during the season, the climb to 750 metres above sea level for one of the final races can, courtesy of the reduction in air density, rob a Formula One car of engine power, aerodynamic performance and cooling. The losses can come close to double digit percentages and thus have a very real impact on car performance. Air density is a factor of the prevailing ambient temperature, which varies most significantly by season, air pressure which is closely linked to altitude and, to a much smaller degree, by humidity. Thus if races are run at the same time each year, the factor that tends to have the greatest bearing on air density is elevation. Like half the races on the calendar, Shanghai is close to sea level, just 10m above, and has an average pressure (1,014 mbar), so engine power will be good. A change for 2009 is that the race has been moved from October to April. Ambient temperatures are therefore expected to be cooler which will have an influence on the tyres. What the Drivers Say Standing back from Sepang – Reflections from a rain-drenched Malaysia Nico “We may not have finished where we would’ve like, but it was another strong weekend for us. We qualified well and then taking the lead at the start was great. It was just a shame circumstances didn't go our way as I was looking good for another podium.” Kazuki “Even though I qualified out of the top ten, I was looking to make some progress through the field as I was on a good strategy. Unfortunately, the rain completely compromised that. Starting the race lower down the grid, I was alongside a lot of the KERS car who are able to make better starts so my aim is to improve my qualifying position in China.” On the Shanghai track Kazuki “Shanghai is definitely a challenging circuit, but at least I’ve now had some experience of it so it’s not new for me anymore. Last year, we struggled on tracks like China, but now our car is looking quite strong. It’s well balanced in the high and low speed corners so I’m hoping we’ll go much better there this year and I can score my first points of the season.” Nico “Shanghai’s a driver’s track. There’s a great mix of corners and then there are those two long straights so plenty of overtaking opportunities around the lap which will be good for the racing. Sepang showed that the team seem to have fixed the problem we had last year on these types of circuits so it’s now looking like we have consistency. I’m confident that we’ll have another competitive weekend in China. Top eight for sure.” On China Nico “I enjoy visiting Shanghai. Experiencing a different culture is always very interesting and there are some great places to go, like the malls for shopping or the restaurants and bars in the evenings. The fans are also very enthusiastic which is nice!” Kazuki “Like Nico, I like this part of the world and for me it’s close to home so I get to enjoy something similar to my own culture for a little longer.” On the break between Sepang and Shanghai Kazuki “First I have a PR day at Suzuka for Toyota. I love Suzuka. It’s such an iconic track so to go back is special for me. I won’t get to drive it though. If I want to go round it, it will have to be on foot! I haven’t been home for four months now so I’m then going to my parents’ to spend a week with my family before flying to China.” Nico “I went to Bali last year and loved it so I’m heading back there with my girlfriend and trainer. I’m lucky in that this job allows me to do things like that. I’ll obviously be keeping up my training, but we will be spending time in the mountains so it’ll be a cultural trip too. My camera will be making the trip and I hope to add to my portfolio with some shots of the locals, the rice fields and the great views! Among other things, I will be mountain-biking near the top of one of the volcanoes which will be cool!”

Toyota

Jarno Trulli, Toyota 2008 Qualifying - 7th, 2008 Race - DNF "I am really optimistic about the Chinese Grand Prix because we have started the season very strongly. It shows how much progress we have made since last season that in Malaysia I was a little disappointed with fourth because I wanted to finish on the podium and fight for the win. Last year in Malaysia I finished fourth and that was more than we expected. We are second in the constructors' championship so it's clear we are one of the top teams and both Timo and I have consistently been fighting at the front which is great. So the goal for me in China is to fight for the podium again and I think we have a really good chance. China is one of those circuits where I have never had much luck and it was the same last year when I was hit from behind at the first corner, so I'm determined to have a better weekend this time." Timo Glock, Toyota 2008 Qualifying - 12th, 2008 Race - 7th "Malaysia was a crazy race but it was a great result for the team and it gives us a lot of confidence for the Chinese Grand Prix. We were really competitive in all conditions which is a good sign because it confirms we were right to be optimistic before the season started. We have had both cars finish in the top four in both races so far this season so we are definitely aiming to challenge for the podium again, but of course it's pretty close so we will have to do another good weekend. It seems strange to be going to China in April because it has always been later in the season; the weather looks like it could be a bit cooler than usual. I quite enjoy racing at Shanghai because it's an interesting track. Last year I went well there and scored points, but I'm hoping to get more than seventh place this weekend, that's for sure." Pascal Vasselon, Toyota senior general manager, chassis "Shanghai is a track which offers a very wide range of cornering speeds so you cannot optimise the car just for high-speed or low-speed corners; you have to find a good balance. The unique aspect to the Shanghai track is its very long corners; turn one and turn 13. It is extremely important to get the balance of the car right in turn 13 because it comes out on to the main straight and you want to exit at the highest possible speed. These two corners and the specific lay-out in general are also demanding on tyres so overall Shanghai is quite severe in terms of tyre wear. If you have a compound which is too soft it is likely to have graining issue. So it will be interesting to see how the super soft and medium compound tyres behave this weekend." Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of motorsport tyre development "Shanghai International Circuit is severe on tyres. There are very high lateral forces and we expect to see graining on the front left tyres, especially caused by the increasing radius Turn Two and the banked Turn 13. We could also see graining on the rear tyres here too. The circuit layout means that a medium downforce set-up will be used, as there are two long straights, but a large percentage of the track is also very twisty and technical. For the teams and drivers, finding the correct set-up to make the best use of their tyres will be a big challenge. "In Australia there was a particular challenge of graining on the super soft tyre, however this graining varied across the teams between the front and the rear, which means that the correct compromise set- up for these new cars is still being found. For this reason we would expect less graining in China as the teams now have better understanding of their cars than at the first race. Also, Shanghai is a permanent race track so the track surface should be better."

Ferrari

The involvement of major car manufacturers – China is one of Ferrari's fastest growing markets - and other global companies in Formula 1 has seen the sport embrace new venues in its quest to become a true "World" championship. Inevitably therefore, the world's most populous country could not be ignored and China staged its first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2004. The Shanghai International Circuit is another track from the pen of Hermann Tilke. Located 30 kilometres from the city centre, it is the biggest race track facility in the world and cost almost 250 million US dollars to build. Everything about the circuit is on the grand scale: the paddock is vast, with team offices mounted on stilts over a small lake, while the control tower is nine stories high, with two "airship" structures straddling the main straight, one containing the media centre, the other, hospitality units. The track itself has nine right hand and seven left hand turns, with the first three corners running together to form one of the most challenging combinations on the calendar. The massive grandstands have a capacity to accommodate 200,000 spectators, but filling the seats has proved difficult, with ticket costs somewhat prohibitive for the majority of the local populace. Indeed, the event has run at a loss since its inception and towards the end of 2008, the race organisation admitted it was considering the future of the race and a decision would be made in 2009. In 2010, the venue will also be used for Expo 2010, when a railway link from the city to the circuit should be complete. This would solve one of the venue's biggest problems, in that for team personnel, getting to the circuit and back to the hotels in downtown Shanghai represents the longest journeys of the season, further complicated by the fact foreigners are not allowed to drive, without undergoing a Chinese driving test. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has won three of the five races held at Shanghai, with the honour of the first ever victory on Chinese soil going to Rubens Barrichello in 2004. The 2006 race marked another important event, as it was Michael Schumacher's last ever win before he retired at the end of that season. A year later, victory for Kimi Raikkonen and a third place for Felipe Massa set the Finn up with a fighting chance of taking the title at the final round in Brazil. In 2008, having started second and third on the grid, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen finished second and third at the end of the 56 lap race, with the Brazilian passing the Finn seven laps from the chequered flag. Additional There are have been five Chinese Grands Prix to date and Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro can claim to have a good record in this relatively new fixture, as it has won three of them. These victories have undoubtedly contributed to the Prancing Horse's reputation in China, which is an important market for Ferrari and even in these difficult economic times, the Maranello marquee is expanding here, with a growth in sales of 20% last year. Rubens Barrichello won the inaugural race in 2004, Michael Schumacher was victorious in 2006, followed a year later by Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn having made two previous visits to the Shanghai podium with third place in 2004 and a second in 2005. Felipe Massa finished third in 2007 and second last year, so it would be a logical progression if he made it to the top step of the podium this weekend. While this success means that walking into the Shanghai International Circuit brings back happy memories for the team, it is clear that there is no room for sentiment in Formula 1 and this year's form book is currently radically different to anything we have seen in the recent past. Apart from the form book, the other element that has changed for China this year is its position on the calendar. In the past, it has always been held towards the end of the season and while this is of little significance, more importantly, the new date means the race no longer takes place at the end of summer and one can expect cooler temperatures this weekend, which means that data concerning track conditions and their effect on the car package, could be slightly wide of the mark. However, current forecasts are for the temperatures to rise through the week, peaking in the low 20s on Sunday. If it is cooler this will impact on the tyres and here in Shanghai, Bridgestone is supplying the teams with the same specifications seen in Melbourne; the super-soft and the mediums. While this combination and specifically the super-softs, caught the majority of teams by surprise in Australia, this time they will be used on a track surface offering far more grip. It is possible that it will be the medium specification that might be harder to manage if lower temperatures mean it struggles to reach optimum operating temperatures. The circuit itself presents a tough challenge for the cars, with a very long straight and a mix of fast and slow corners, with the very long banked turn leading onto the back straight, putting a lot of stress onto the left hand side tyres, while the opening two corners are very tricky slow tightening turns that can lose a driver a lot of time and can be the deciding factor in setting a quick qualifying lap. The circuit is also demanding on brakes, with heavy braking required at the approach to the first two and last two turns. Using the adjustable front wing flap might well come into its own, rebalancing the car to deal with these slow turns. Additionally, those cars fitted with KERS should be able to defend themselves well from coming under attack at the end of the straights. Although there has been a break since the Malaysian race and what was a difficult start to the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, there has been no testing. Nevertheless, the team has worked hard to address the problems it encountered, particularly the reliability issues. The problem with the KERS in Sepang has been fully understood and in terms of performance, putting to one side the diffuser issue, Ferrari accelerated its development programme on the F60, with test driver Marc Gene carrying out an aero test at Vairano last week, evaluating some new components. This means there will be some aero updates on the car for the third round of the championship, including modifications to the front wing, the front wheel flanges and the turning vanes. In order to achieve this accelerated development, Ferrari has set up a specific task force back at the factory, coordinated by Aldo Costa with a major contribution coming from Luca Baldisserri, who provides the link between the race track and the design office. While remaining in the role of team manager, for the time being, Baldisserri will work out of Maranello and his responsibilities at the races will be taken on by Chris Dyer, Head of Race Engineering. Assessing the tyres will be the main target for this new task force during Friday's practice.

Talking KERS with Renault

KERS is the new buzzword of Formula 1. We know that it's supposed to encourage overtaking and lead the sport towards a greener future, but just how does it work and how effective is this new technology? The ING Renault F1 Team is here to explain... The basics: what exactly is KERS? Let's start with a definition: KERS stands for Kinetic Energy Recovery System and was introduced by the FIA to direct the Formula 1 engineering community towards developing greener technologies. Kinetic energy is energy stored in motion and can be thought of as the energy that is required to stop that motion. For example, stopping a bicycle, a car or a train is all about removing its kinetic energy. Most commonly kinetic energy is removed using friction brakes, turning the kinetic energy into heat energy that goes towards warming up our planet that little bit more. With KERS, that energy is not lost but stored somewhere to be used to drive the car -- that somewhere could be in a battery (chemical energy) in a flywheel (mechanical), in an accumulator (hydraulic) and in many others ways too. This stored energy can then be reused to give extra power to the engine with the regulations allowing maximum KERS power of 60kW and energy release of 400kJ in any one lap. In simple terms this means 60kW for a little over 6 seconds to 'boost' the car each lap. Why did Renault choose the battery option? When the KERS project began, the first priority was to study all possible energy store solutions. It was a tough call deciding between batteries and a pure mechanical flywheel, but the battery solution was more promising and offers the potential for adapting this technology for road cars over the next ten years. Renault's KERS device therefore uses chemical storage in a Lithium-ion battery provided by SAFT, a French company with a track record of providing cutting-edge battery solutions. What comes next? KERS needs more than just energy storage to be a complete system -- it needs devices to 'translate' the energy between its various forms of kinetic, electrical and chemical. This energy 'translation' comes from an electric motor-generator unit (MGU) which can turn the kinetic energy of the car into electrical energy and vice versa. However, such translation devices normally weigh in the region of 50kg and require a lot of space: two things which Formula 1 teams go to great lengths to avoid. It was therefore paramount that the MGU weighed as little as possible, which is where the involvement of Magneti Marelli came in and by working together we have been able to produce a compact, lightweight solution to meet our particular needs. The resulting MGU is very small as it is active only during braking and for six or so seconds of acceleration, while for the rest of the lap it can relax and dissipate the heat generated in the active moments. The more efficient the KERS system is, the lower the heat losses, with the Renault F1 system achieving over 70% round-trip efficiency from capturing energy at the rear axle, converting it to electricity, storing it in the battery, pulling it out of the battery and then finally converting it to energy at the rear axle again. What does KERS mean for the fans? Well, the additional 60kW boost (which equates to 80HP), limited to 400kJ per lap, will reduce lap times by between 0.2-0.3 seconds and, as demonstrated by Fernando Alonso's and Nelson Piquet's starts in the Malaysian Grand Prix (gaining six and four places respectively), there are clear benefits in using the system from a standing start. But to get the most from KERS, the whole system needs to be as lightweight and compact as possible; otherwise this advantage can quickly disappear. The weight of each team's solution is therefore a closely guarded secret, but when you consider that every 10kg of unnecessary weight can cost 0.35 seconds per lap, it's no wonder so many cars have been on diets over the winter. In reality, though, there are other more subtle effects that get in the way of achieving the theoretical 0.2-0.3 second lap time reduction, such as weight distribution, not just longitudinally (front to rear) but also vertically. It would be easy to lose all of the KERS lap time potential if these points are not well considered. But, provided you can settle upon the ideal solution and get the gearing of your car right, the 60kW boost to the engine should aid overtaking, at least between KERS cars and non-KERS cars. Of course, it's still in the earliest stages of development and as the teams learn how to optimise KERS as a racing tool, the advantages are likely to become more apparent as the year unfolds.

Bridgestone

The highly technical and challenging Shanghai International Circuit hosts the third round of the FIA Formula One World Championship where Bridgestone tyres will once more be seen in action after just a week's break from the last race. Changes to the calendar mean that the Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix takes place just six months after the last event here. That race was won by Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton using a hard-hard-medium tyre strategy. This season the move to slick tyres means new tyre allocations for races, so China will see the medium and super soft tyres allocated - the same tyres as used in the Australian Grand Prix - giving the teams and drivers a tough challenge for tyre management. Shanghai has two long straights and sixteen corners of varying types over its 5.45 km. Heavy braking, extreme lateral loads and high demands on traction are just some of the factors that Bridgestone's medium and super soft compound Potenza tyres will encounter. Turns 2 and 7 are likely to induce tyre graining, whilst the high lateral G-force generated through the sequence of turns 7-8 will place strong demands on the tyres' construction and heat durability. A two stop pit strategy has been the favoured option in the past, as running with a heavy car as required for a one-stop strategy is likely to be very detrimental to lap times and cause heavier wear to the tyres. There is an element of gradient changes over the course of a lap as well as an element of banking in turn 13. Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, said: What are the challenges of Shanghai? "Shanghai International Circuit is severe on tyres. There are very high lateral forces and we expect to see graining on the front left tyres, especially caused by the increasing radius turn two and the banked turn thirteen. We could also see graining on the rear tyres here too. The circuit layout means that a medium downforce set-up will be used, as there are two long straights, but a large percentage of the track is also very twisty and technical. For the teams and drivers, finding the correct set-up to make the best use of their tyres will be a big challenge." We will see the super soft compound in use again, how difficult will tyre management be? "In Australia there was a particular challenge of graining on the super soft tyre, however this graining varied across the teams between the front and the rear, which means that the correct compromise set-up for these new cars is still being found. For this reason we would expect less graining in China as the teams now have better understanding of their cars than at the first race. Also, Shanghai is a permanent race track so the track surface should be better." Stats & Facts Number & Spec of tyres brought to China 1800 (Medium & super soft dry. intermediate/wets) Pole position time 2008: 1min 36.303secs (Hamilton) Fastest race lap 2008: 1min 36.325secs (Hamilton) Top three 2008: Hamilton, Massa, Raikkonen

McLaren

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren 2008 Qualifying - 1st, 2008 Race - 1st “I really enjoy racing in Shanghai - the track is a good blend of fast and slow stuff and it throws up a few nice challenges for the drivers. Finding the right set-up is important, you need speed and balance through the high-speed corners but decent mechanical grip for the hairpins. We got it spot-on last year, and while I don’t expect us to enjoy that sort of performance advantage this season, I think we’re all looking forward to a good showing. Hopefully, some of the upgrades we’ve added to MP4-24 for this race will have a benefit: it would be very encouraging if we could qualify a little further up the grid and be regularly challenging for points.” Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren 2008 Qualifying - 5th, 2008 Race - DNF “The best corners on the Shanghai International Circuit are Turns Six and Seven - the fast, sweeping left- and right-handers. The left is almost flat in sixth before you shift down a gear and change direction at very high speed. It’s difficult to find the ideal set-up because of the variety of different corners: there’s some heavy braking, fast esses and high-speed changes of direction, which require a good aero package, and some slower corners where mechanical grip is important. It’s all about compromise - it’s a real challenge for the drivers and the engineers. But at least you can overtake - mainly into Turns Four, 10 and 13 - so I hope we’ll see some great racing this weekend.” Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal “We have reasons to be both disappointed and optimistic about our performance in the opening races of the 2009 season: disappointed because we do not yet possess the necessary technical package to enable us to fight with the leaders, but optimistic that our rate of progress is sufficiently rapid that we should be able to fight for points finishes on a regular basis. This weekend’s race will see a number of new components introduced to MP4-24, and while we do not expect them to radically transform the car’s potential, they should move us a little closer to the front than we saw in the opening two races.” Norbert Haug, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport vice-president “Last year, Lewis drove an excellent race on this challenging circuit and won. For this year’s Chinese Grand Prix, it has to be our target to start further up the grid than was the case in the first two grands prix. Those two races showed that points-finishes or even podiums were possible, even when the basic speed was not good enough. The team has developed further technical and aerodynamic improvements which should enable us to make another small step forward.” Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of motorsport tyre development "Shanghai International Circuit is severe on tyres. There are very high lateral forces and we expect to see graining on the front left tyres, especially caused by the increasing radius Turn Two and the banked Turn 13. We could also see graining on the rear tyres here too. The circuit layout means that a medium downforce set-up will be used, as there are two long straights, but a large percentage of the track is also very twisty and technical. For the teams and drivers, finding the correct set-up to make the best use of their tyres will be a big challenge. "In Australia there was a particular challenge of graining on the super soft tyre, however this graining varied across the teams between the front and the rear, which means that the correct compromise set- up for these new cars is still being found. For this reason we would expect less graining in China as the teams now have better understanding of their cars than at the first race. Also, Shanghai is a permanent race track so the track surface should be better."

BMW Sauber

Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber 2008 Qualifying - 9th, 2008 Race - 5th “This year’s race is scheduled much earlier than before, so we can probably expect considerably lower temperatures. That will make a difference to the tyres in particular, but it will also bring with it a different atmosphere. We’ve seen some good races in Shanghai, and I hope that will be the case in 2009 as well. The first corner is the highlight of the circuit. You go into it at high speed, and to begin with you stay on the throttle, but then it keeps tightening up and you have to drop down to second gear. “The city of Shanghai is just as exciting. We’ve been racing there since 2004 and you can really observe how the city is changing from year to year. On the one hand there are extremely poor districts, while on the other you get smart restaurants along the Bund with a great view of the Pearl Tower and the Shanghai skyline. The traffic is unpleasant, and we’re not allowed to drive ourselves here. Last year my driver had an accident on the motorway on Saturday night. You quite often get cars unexpectedly stranded on the road, and obviously it was too late for him to brake. Fortunately it wasn’t serious.” Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber 2008 Qualifying - 11th, 2008 Race - 6th “It’s the first time we’re going to Shanghai at this time of year, when there is a high chance of rain. That can have a major impact on the whole weekend, of course. The circuit is very challenging with long straights and hard braking. Plus there are several high-speed corners, for example the slightly banked right-hander you take at almost full throttle and that leads onto the back straight. It’s one of the longest straights on the whole race calendar. And, of course, the combination of turn one and two with the blind apex and the long braking is a real challenge. So far Shanghai hasn’t brought me any luck, but I’m hoping that will change this time round.” Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director “After a short Easter break, we look forward to the second back-to-back of the season. Shanghai is a booming city of millions, and the sheer scale of the race track and its facilities are unsurpassed. From the point of view of BMW as a car manufacturer and all our partners, the Chinese Grand Prix is of significant commercial interest. This region has enormous growth potential. Unlike last year, this year’s race takes place early on in the season. In Shanghai we hope to continue on from our successful result in Kuala Lumpur.” Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering “The Shanghai circuit has several fast corners that demand a great deal of downforce and high vehicle stability. Due to the restrictions on aerodynamics introduced this season, we will probably be running with maximum downforce. But there are also long straights where maximum speed is of the essence. Because the track is very wide and the run-off areas are mostly tarred, a bit of a slide doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of the race. That’s an incentive for the drivers to overtake, so we can look forward to quite a spectacular race. Good car balance is important, particularly in the first turn combination. The drivers go into it at very high speed and brake deep into the corner. This section is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the season in terms of testing driving skills. All in all, Shanghai is a very challenging circuit.”