The Formula One Chinese Grand Prix, to be held this weekend at the Shanghai international circuit, will show whether the leadership with which Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) started the championship is reaffirmed with a third win or will yield to his teammate Lewis Hamilton or the Ferraris.
Meanwhile, for the Spanish Fernando Alonso (McLaren), who missed the second stage of the championship, in Bahrain, due to his injuries after the violent accident he suffered in Australia with the Mexican Esteban Gutiérrez (Haas), Shanghai could mean his return to the wheel of an MP4-31 from the crash, if the medics allow it.
Alonso suffered a fracture in his ninth left rib, which formed a small air pocket next to his lung, hence two weeks ago the doctors did not dare to let him run, since a blow, with the violent forces of inertia that involve the speeds of Formula 1, they could cause damage to that organ.
In principle, it is expected that it will be tomorrow when the doctors of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), after doing some medical tests, probably with a new tomography, decide if the Asturian can compete from this Friday or will have to wait, perhaps , until Russia at the end of April.
“It was a disappointment to be told that I could not drive in Bahrain, but I fully respect the decision of the FIA medical team,” declared in recent days the two-time Spanish world champion, who has 32 victories in Formula 1 (two of them in Shanghai, in 2005 and 2013), the sixth best brand in the history of the sport.
“Although I hope I can get back behind the wheel on Friday, until the doctors give me the green light to run, whenever they tell me, we can’t take anything for granted,” he acknowledged, “but I’m still preparing for the weekend as I always do.
Meanwhile, at the top of the table, the battle continues, one more year, between the two Mercedes drivers, who theoretically enjoy the best cars in the championship, although with Ferraris that are technically closer to them. , as the Finn Kimi Räikkönen demonstrated by finishing second in Bahrain.
In this way, the German Rosberg, who currently leads the classification after having signed the victory in the first two rounds of the championship with 50 points, could easily extend his leadership in the Chinese round if he repeats on the podium.
However, what remains to be seen is whether his current good moment and his apparent superiority over Hamilton, the current world champion, remain one more test and Rosberg shows that there are not two without three, and that he begins this season with the desire for this It could be your big year, or if you are left in a mirage and the two are much more on par.
For now, the British, also with two podiums in 2016 (second in Australia and third in Bahrain), follows him in the table at 17 points, ahead of Australian Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), at 26, and Räikkönen and the French. Romain Grosjean (Haas), at 32.
Rosberg comes in as a favorite, but the championship is just beginning.
The statistics, in any case, are good for both Mercedes: Hamilton already has six podium finishes in Shanghai (four with victory, in 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2015), while Rosberg sealed the first pole and the first victory of his career in Shanghai there. Formula 1, in 2012.
For its part, Ferrari has also known victory in four of the 12 editions of the Chinese race contested to date: with Alonso in 2013, with Räikkönen in 2007, with German Michael Schumacher in 2006 and with Brazilian Rubens Barrichello in 2004.
For Alonso, who lost his car in Australia, and for his British teammate Jenson Button, who assured that he could have finished fifth or sixth in Bahrain, but had to retire there after suddenly failing his power unit (which could not be repaired and it will be replaced in Shanghai), it is not an easy circuit.
At least not with their current cars, as the cool temperatures and likely wind to be expected in the Chinese metropolis at this time of year make it difficult to warm up the tires, and a hotter climate, such as Bahrain, tends to actually work for them. more favorable.
Also in the fight to score points will be the Brazilian Felipe Massa (Williams), who is seventh overall, at 36 points, and the Spanish Carlos Sainz (son of the two-time world rally champion of the same name), who in his second year in Formula 1 he is twelfth, 48 points behind Rosberg, after adding 2 in Australia and retiring in Bahrain.
The Chinese Grand Prix will be held this Sunday, the 17th, at two in the afternoon local time (8 hours CET, 7 hours GMT), on a 5,451-meter circuit, which will have 56 laps, with a total of 305,256 kilometres.
The Chinese circuit, which has a very wide layout, with tight corners and several of the longest straights in the championship, including the longest, which is 1.17 kilometers long, mimics the shape of the Chinese word “shang” (“to climb” , or “next to”), first part of the name of Shanghai (“By the Sea” in Mandarin). EFE
Shanghai to test Rosberg’s leadership, Alonso hopes to race
