2016 Track Preview; Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai

As we head to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend for the third race of the 2016 season, Pirelli have nominated three compounds medium, soft and supersoft P Zero compounds for the weekend.

The imposing Shanghai circuit is wide, fast and flowing, with plenty of overtaking opportunities that frequently make for entertaining races. As a result, graining is sometimes an issue when it's cool especially in the early sessions.

Around 80% of the lap is spent cornering, meaning that lateral loads are a crucial factor. The track is front limited, because of all the turns and high-energy corners. The crucial corners are Turn 1, which is almost a full circle, and Turn 13, which is banked. Drivers also have to avoid wheelspin out of the corners, in order to minimise rear degradation.

Weather conditions at the circuit are nearly always unpredictable, which have a big effect on tyre behaviour. Shanghai is also likely to be quite a cool race, although the nature of the place means that anything is possible, so teams will have to keep an open mind on strategy and carefully correlate the data captured in practice to the eventual race conditions.

Here's my facts and figures as well as my predictions heading into the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend-
Facts and Figures

•Shanghai has hosted the Grand Prix since 2004, even though China had a provisional track and the Grand Prix added to the calendar in 1999.

•Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver to win the Grand Prix with three wins

•Ferrari are the most successful constructor to win the Grand Prix with four wins

•Race distance: 305.06km (189.56 miles)

•Number of turns:16

•Top speed: 317kph

•Lap record: Michael Schumacher- Ferrari (2004)- 1.32.238

Last five winners of the Chinese Grand Prix:-

•2011-Lewis Hamilton
•2012-Nico Rosberg
•2013- Fernando Alonso
•2014- Lewis Hamilton
•2015- Lewis Hamilton

My five things to look out for this weekend:-

1.Qualifying format- With much debate and drama surrounding the return to the 2015 format which remains for this weekend, will we see fans happy that's back? Or will we still be saying that the format is not good enough and change is needed?

2.Tyre performance- With the track going cooler as time goes on during the race on the Shanghai circuit; alongside the new rules that have been implemented this season, it will be interesting to see how that affects tyre usage this year. Will this impact anyone's race on Sunday as a result?

3.Weather- With the weather being unpredictable at the Shanghai event, this could play a crucial role in who wins the race on Sunday. Will the weather once again give us another unpredictable race in China?

4.Performance of Ferrari- With Ferrari at the moment being Mercedes' closest competitor at the moment, all eyes will be upon Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen this weekend to see if they can translate their form they have shown so far this season. Question is; can they win this weekend and take the fight to Mercedes.

5.Performance of the Mercedes team- With Mercedes being the firm favourites heading into the race this weekend, all eyes will be upon them to see if they will still be as competitive as they were last season. But with Ferrari showing good performance and pace in the first two races, has their advantage and stranglehold on the sport been broken?

Sky Sports F1 are showing uninterrupted coverage of every Practice session, Qualifying and race for the Grand Prix (and every race of the season) and the BBC also are showing coverage, details for both are below:-

•*Sky Sports F1*:- Friday (Practice 1 and 2) 2.45am and 6.45am [Replays throughout Friday], Saturday (Practice 3 and Qualifying) 4.45am and 7.00am
[Replays throughout Saturday], Sunday (Race) 5.30am

•*BBC- Saturday* (Qualifying highlights) 1.00pm, Sunday (Race highlights) 2.00pm and 7.00pm

Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa