2019 Chinese Grand Prix, Race: live results and updates. Sebastian and Charles are ready to challenge Mercedes and Red Bull for the win.

An elegant, futuristic and very impressive Formula 1 circuit with world class race viewing opportunities, with sweeping curves, hairpin turns and long straights – elements that make an exciting F1 race. China planned the Grand Prix track in Shanghai as a showcase statement to demonstrate that the country had arrived as a player on the world stage over a decade ago.

Located around 40km from the centre of the world’s most populous city, the Shanghai International Circuit has all sorts of interesting features. The long pit straight and the even longer back straight dominate the first and final sectors and, with slow corners before and after, ensure the Chinese Grand Prix is never short of overtaking opportunities – but the race isn’t a simple, low-drag slipstreaming exercise.

The two ‘snail’ sections – corner complexes that go beyond 180° – and a tight hairpin put a premium on good traction and, combined with the high-speed turns of the middle sector, demand some concessions to downforce. There are also several heavy braking zones. While not a problem for the brakes themselves, the unevenness of the braking zones (a legacy of building on marshland) tends to test out a car’s damping capabilities and force driver errors. The tarmac is also very abrasive with the life of tyres – particularly the softest compounds – sometimes measured in corners rather than laps.

With just one podium finish in the first two races of the 2019 Formula One season, Scuderia Ferrari will be looking for a strong result at the Shanghai International Circuit, in order for the overall difference to Mercedes not to get even bigger. Reliability was an issue for the Maranello team in Bahrain, but Ferrari hopes to have sorted everything out during the two days of testing which took place after the previous race.

Join us for the latest updates and results from the Shanghai International Circuit, as the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix is about to get underway, with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc at the wheel of the SF90, ready to challenge Mercedes and Red Bull for the win.