Quitting time!
It’s already 9 p.m. in China, and that means this media day here on the ticker comes to an end. I’ll hand over to Kevin Scheuren and Christian Nimmervoll, who are in the big video analysis for Thursday discuss the following topics:
-Painted asphalt?
-Ferrari, McLaren & Mercedes
-Update Alpine
-Update transfer market
-Questions from channel members
The first training session in Shanghai is scheduled for tomorrow at 5:30 a.m., which you can follow in our session ticker. Afterwards we will be back here in the paddock ticker with a new issue for you.
Sprint qualifying will then begin at a more humane time of 09:30 a.m. CEST. Have fun with our analysis and see you then!
Krack: Alonso stands by his word
Fernando Alonso receives special praise from Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack after extending his contract. He emphasizes: “Fernando is a man who keeps his word.”
“He told us that what he communicates externally is the same as what he communicates internally. He said, ‘I have to decide for myself first if I want to continue.'”
“‘And if I want to continue, I want to talk to Aston Martin first.’ And that’s exactly what happened. And we’re very happy that it turned out the way it did,” said Krack.
In return, Alonso also praises Aston Martin’s behavior. “We were just loyal to each other, we kept our word,” said the Spaniard about his team.
Can this possibly be understood as a small tip against ex-employer Alpine? The separation didn’t go quite so harmoniously back then…
Rain in sight?
It was dry in Shanghai today, but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Rain showers have already been announced for tomorrow, Friday, which could then influence the sprint qualifying, for example.
It could still rain on Saturday, at least in the morning, but based on the current situation, the chance of rain on race Sunday is the lowest.
You can find our complete weather forecast here!
Live stream
Don’t forget: At 3:00 p.m. Kevin Scheuren and Christian Nimmervoll will be reporting live on the Formula1.de YouTube channel big video analysis for media day. The following topics are planned:
-Painted asphalt?
-Ferrari, McLaren & Mercedes
-Update Alpine
-Update transfer market
-Questions from channel members
What was done to the asphalt?
We’ve already talked several times today about the asphalt in Shanghai. But what exactly happened? “It looks like the track was painted or something. They did something to the surface,” ponders Daniel Ricciardo, for example.
The event notes from FIA race director Niels Wittich provide no information about this. At least he doesn’t mention anything about the route being freshly asphalted at short notice. And yet the circuit gives the impression that it was renovated before the Formula 1 comeback.
Research by our colleagues on site has now shown that those responsible in Shanghai have already subjected their race track to special treatment last year. Liquid asphalt was spread on the road.
You can read all the background information here!
Hamilton doesn’t expect miracles
With a total of six wins in China, Lewis Hamilton is the clear record winner in Shanghai. No other driver has ever won the race more than twice. But that doesn’t play a big role this year.
“Nothing has changed about our car,” emphasizes Hamilton, who is not harboring any false hopes. But at least there were “improvements” at the last race in Japan, the record world champion makes it clear.
He understands the car a little better now and he hopes that he can find “some performance” this weekend. Under normal circumstances you probably won’t be able to fight for victory.
Because Mercedes hasn’t even made it onto the podium in the first four races of the season.
Gasly: Gotta do my best job possible
The Frenchman’s contract also expires at the end of the year. However, he himself emphasizes that he is currently not worried about his future. “There is not much to say from my side at this point,” he emphasizes.
“My focus is still on doing the best I can for Alpine. It doesn’t matter if we have the slowest car at the moment. I still have to perform and deliver the best for the team,” said Gasly .
He explains that his goal is to be in a competitive car again and makes it clear: “I want this competitive car with Alpine, because that’s what I signed up for two years ago.”
“When I joined the team they were in fourth place [in der WM] with the clear goal of getting closer to the top 3. That was clearly the trigger and a kind of motivation for me,” he emphasizes.
He also knows that the team can make it forward again. The only question is whether he will still be there…
Newey is certain: Formula 1 will move closer together
Adrian Newey believes that the battle at the top of Formula 1 will become significantly closer before the new regulations are introduced in 2026. “It’s definitely getting tighter. And who knows what will happen next year? One of our rivals could easily overtake us,” says the Brit.
Red Bull is still the team to beat in Formula 1. But Newey has no doubt that the competition is getting closer as the world champion finds it more difficult to make progress with his car.
You can read his complete statements here!
Speaking of de Vries fate…
This photo series immediately comes to mind! For Daniel Ricciardo’s sake, let’s hope we don’t have to add his name there any time soon…
Photo series: Formula 1 drivers who were fired during the current season
Ricciardo: Don’t be afraid of de Vries’ fate
We already talked about the fact that Australians have no job guarantee until the end of the year. Nevertheless, he emphasizes that he is not afraid of being expelled early. That’s what happened to Nyck de Vries in 2023.
“Anything can happen,” Ricciardo knows and emphasizes that he is not “naive”. “But I haven’t received any indication of it,” he says with regard to a possible expulsion during the current season.
His starting accident in Suzuka didn’t change that. “It was just one of those incidents at the start,” he shrugs and explains that the accident has nothing to do with his current lack of results.
In any case, he believes that he will have enough time to turn his season around for the better.
Albon: The Williams is good enough for points
We’ve already talked about the fact that Sauber doesn’t have a World Cup point to its credit yet. The other two teams still without points are Williams and Alpine.
Alexander Albon makes it clear in this context: “I think we still have a car that is good enough to score points. We have some clear areas that we need to improve.”
There is still some performance that will certainly be achieved from the car in the coming weeks. “I really feel like we have a car that has a lot more potential on paper,” said Albon.
He makes it clear that the car is “definitely better” than its predecessor. And Williams even came seventh in the World Cup. The problem, however, is that other teams have probably made an even bigger leap forward.
And that’s why Williams hasn’t yet achieved a top 10 result.
Antonelli: Completed 500 kilometers in a Mercedes
During the break between Japan and China, young Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli completed his first laps in the Formula 1 car. He completed a total of 500 kilometers in Spielberg in the W12 from the 2021 season.
“It was an incredible experience. It was really great to feel the power and the downforce,” said the current Formula 2 driver, who emphasized: “I enjoyed every second. It was really a lot of fun, and I want to “Thank you to the whole team for their hard work.”
The 17-year-old is considered a possible candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton next year. It would be a brave decision from Mercedes, as Antonelli competed in the Formula Regional series last year.
This year he is racing in Formula 2 for the first time, where he is in ninth place overall for the first three race weekends.
McLaren: Piastri expects bigger problems
We have already heard from Lando Norris at PK that on paper China is not a good fit for McLaren. Teammate Oscar Piastri also sees it similarly and draws a comparison to Bahrain.
“I think it will be one of the tougher tracks for us,” predicts the Australian, adding: “Bahrain also has a lot of slower corners and we weren’t as competitive as on some of the last tracks.”
“I think it’s going to be a tough weekend for us, to be honest. There are still opportunities for us as it’s a sprint,” he emphasizes, “but if we had to draw a track for McLaren, it probably wouldn’t look like this.”
As a reminder: At the start in Bahrain, McLaren only finished sixth and eighth. In the three races that followed, at least one car always made it into the top 5.
Bottas: I have “options” in Formula 1
If the Finn doesn’t continue at Sauber or Audi in 2025, would that mean the end of his Formula 1 career? At least according to his own statement, that is by no means the case.
“No. There are options,” the Finn clarifies and explicitly emphasizes that these are options in Formula 1 and not in another racing series. Nevertheless, he hopes to sort out his future as quickly as possible.
“I feel like it is [auf dem Fahrermarkt] will start soon,” said Bottas, who recalled that Alonso had already made a start. “Ideally,” his future would also become clear “in the next few weeks.”
“The talks have started. So it should be an interesting few weeks,” said the Finn.
Does China suit Mercedes better?
At least that’s what George Russell hopes, who assumes that his team has recently had such problems because the recent routes didn’t suit the W15’s strengths.
They recently drove on two tracks “that, in my opinion, don’t really suit the characteristics of the car. So I think this will be a really good test this weekend to see where we stand,” said Russell.
In addition, the set-up hasn’t been perfect recently, so there’s still room for improvement in this area. He definitely knows that Mercedes still needs to improve in some areas.
But he also makes it clear: “If the season had started with four other race tracks, we could be in a completely different situation now. Time will tell how we do this weekend.”
Clean: Problems still not solved
Speaking of Audi or Sauber: We could see slow pit stops there again this weekend, as Valtteri Bottas reveals: “There are further modifications [am Equipment] for this weekend”
However, the problem is still not “100 percent” solved. According to the Finn, this will only happen as planned in Imola, who emphasizes: “It’s a difficult situation and we shouldn’t be in this situation.”
“But that’s us, and now we have to get it under control,” says Bottas, who explains: “The problems we had, especially with the pit stops, obscured the actual race result somewhat.”
Because after the first four races of the season, Sauber has not yet scored a point. According to Bottas, however, they certainly had the potential to do so. Let’s see how things go in Shanghai.