Hello, maniacs! I’ve been a bit busy last week and I haven’t been able to post the classic Hotlap video for the Sepang Malaysia Grand Prix F1 2015. What a race! I’m sorry for what happened again to Kimi, sure too much bad luck for the Iceman. Anyway, here we’re heading the 3rd race of this 2015 F1 season in Shanghai China. The Shangai International Circuit is another circuit designed by Hermann Tilke. Tilke is one of the Fia designers and has designed many circuits now for Formula one such as Sepang International Circuit, Bahrain International Circuit, Istanbul Park Racing Circuit, Valencia Street Circuit, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Yas Marina Circuit, Korea International Circuit and the Buddh International Circuit in India. Tilke has also designed the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, where F1 made its return to the United States in 2012, and the Sochi Circuit in Russia.
The Shanghai International Circuit track layout was inspired by the Chinese character Shang (上) the first character in the name of the city Shanghai, meaning “above” or “ascend”. One lap lasts 5.5 kilometers (3.4 mi). The whole circuit plus seating areas and other areas for spectators covers a total area of 5.3 km².
I like this track it reminds me a bit of Malaysia Sepang. Turn one it last forever, you need to be patient, turn 2 need to be gentle on the throttle for not lose traction, turn 3 and 4 a good exit is needed to gain speed down the following straight and through turn 5. Turn 6 is second gear, right-handed hairpin with plentiful run-off. Turns 7 and 8 make up a high-speed chicane. Turns 9 and 10 immediately follow – two slow left-handers which require a good exit to gain speed down the next straight. Turns 11 and 12 effectively make up a slow left-right chicane where the use of curbs is important but traction is low. Turn 13 is a very long right-hander which becomes less and less tight, and a very good exit is important as the longest straight currently in Formula One follows. At 1170m, it is the equivalent to 11 football pitches laid end to end, or the same length as three and a half of the world’s biggest aircraft carrier. Turn 14 is a hairpin at the end of the straight – the second gear corner is a prime overtaking spot as DRS is available in the run up to the corner. Turn 16 is the last corner – a fourth-gear left-hander which requires a quick tap on the brakes – braking early can be more effective as you can then carry more speed through the corner and then down the pit straight. The Pirelli choice for this one is Soft and Medium.
Here you can watch my virtual lap in the simulator here. Is Shanghai a track you like guys ? what do you think? For sure we’re gonna see a great race next sunday ! Comment, subscribe to my youtube channel, join my Facebook page here !see you in the next episode !