With the Malaysian and Chinese Grands Prix falling on successive weekends, the teams barely have time to catch their breath as they make the move from Sepang to Shanghai. Another of the new generation of circuits, it presents drivers and engineers with some very technical challenges. And as in Kuala Lumpur, the weather can often play in important role in the race’s outcome…

Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus
2010 Qualifying - 21st, 2010 Race - 14th
"I enjoyed my time in Malaysia but now it's about building on the performance there and looking ahead to China. It’ll be cooler than in Malaysia for sure, but for me the heat isn't a problem anywhere we go, and obviously that's the same for the cold! However, pace wise, I think that if we can repeat our performance in the race in Malaysia then it means we can repeat it anywhere in the world. I do enjoy driving in China - it’s similar to Malaysia in that it's a modern circuit, fairly small and it has some pretty heavy braking zones. The DRS will come into play on the main straight and I think it'll be another good race."

Jarno Trulli, Lotus
2010 Qualifying - 20th, 2010 Race - DNF
"China is one of those tracks where I have never been too lucky, so it’s always a bit of a challenge. Despite that, we go there in a good position after getting pretty much the best out of the car in Malaysia. We learnt a lot from Saturday and Sunday there, and that will be very useful for us in Shanghai where obviously it will be a different challenge, but hopefully we can have a better shot at qualifying and let's see what happens on Sunday."

Tony Fernandes, Lotus team principal
“We head to China after taking a good step forward in Malaysia, but we are all focused on the reality of where we are now and know there we have a lot of work ahead of us. The main aim for me now is to improve our reliability and make sure both cars cross the finish line on Sunday. We have shown there is pace in the car, and there will be more to come when we start putting the updates on in Europe, but now we have to make sure we give the drivers the time they need on track to optimise the setup and the only way to do that is to avoid reliability issues."

Mike Gascoyne, Lotus chief technical officer
"In China we have Luiz Razia and Davide Valsecchi driving for us in FP1 and I think Shanghai will be another interesting weekend for us, especially as we have had two races so far in such different conditions. In Melbourne the tyres lasted longer than I think everyone expected and then in Malaysia there was much higher drop-off and multiple stops as a result. In China we will all be in slightly unknown territory with the tyres and the cooler temperatures will mean the most important goal for us will be to maximise our track time on Friday and Saturday morning, getting the cars set up properly for qualifying and bridging the gap to make it into Q2."

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
2010 Qualifying - 6th, 2010 Race - 2nd
“It’s always best to put a disappointing weekend behind you, and, as always, I’ll make a positive of the experience in Malaysia and learn from it. With China only a few days away, it’s the best possible way to move on: I’m already throwing myself into my preparations - I’ll spend a few days training and come back feeling fresh for Shanghai.

“What’s been most encouraging is that our pace is still extremely strong: Jenson drove a fantastic race and was able to narrow the gap to Sebastian during the closing laps, and I think we have the pace to continue taking the battle to Red Bull this weekend.

“In both races, we’ve seen that Red Bull hasn’t been able to achieve its full potential, and I think it’s important that we keep applying the pressure to make sure they can’t afford to make mistakes.

“I’ve also been told by someone on the team that, of all the drivers in Formula One to have only driven for one team, I’m now the driver who’s raced in the most Grands Prix. I’m told that Jim Clark drove 72 races for Lotus, and Malaysia was my 73rd race with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

“And it also makes me feel very humble - I never saw Jim Clark race, but I know that he’ll always be remembered as one of the greats, and as a loyal Lotus driver. Loyalty’s extremely important and I’m proud to be mentioned in the same breath as him. It only gives me even more determination to bounce back stronger than ever.”

Jenson Button, McLaren
2010 Qualifying - 5th, 2010 Race - 1st
“I really love the Shanghai circuit and the city itself. Unfortunately, I’m only visiting for a couple of days, but the city has a great vibe - there are a lot of fantastic restaurants. Although I won’t get to see too much, I’m really looking forward to China.

“As for the track, it’s a good modern circuit with a couple of interesting touches. The first corner is quite unique: you enter it at full-throttle in seventh gear, then come down through the gears as the corner continually tightens. It’s a very long corner - it’s all about being patient - and there’s a little bump right on the entry, which can make it quite tricky too.

“Along the massive back straight, even without DRS, I still think there’ll be plenty of opportunity for overtaking - especially if we see the same sort of close racing as we witnessed in Malaysia. If that’s where they put the DRS zone for the race, then I think we’ll see some spectacular passing - and possibly even re-passing - down that back straight.

“Off the back of two successive podium finishes for the team, we’re not only hopeful of maintaining our finishing record, but of improving it too. We’ve made no secret of our desire to take the fight to Red Bull, and we’re fully aware that stronger opposition will make it harder for them to have a smooth and uninterrupted weekend.

“As we expected, Malaysia showed that the sharp-end of the grid is incredibly competitive, and that there are at least four teams that can expect to fight for the podium this weekend.”

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
“Coming just a week after Malaysia, it’s essential that we maintain the thrust of our development programme in order to further close the gap to the front. To achieve that, we’ll be spending Friday evaluating a number of new components alongside our regular tyre and set-up programmes. We have a number of new parts that we want to evaluate on Friday - either for potential incorporation into our programme for the Shanghai race, or as part of longer-term development strategy. The development race is where this year’s world championship will be won or lost.

“But, equally, we ought to take nothing for granted: I’m extremely pleased that we’ve managed to achieve 100 per cent reliability in both Australia and Malaysia, and that our KERS Hybrid system, engineered so well by everyone at Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines, has worked faultlessly during the first two Grands Prix.

“For this race, we know we have to step up the pressure: we’re looking to hit the ground running on Friday, maintain that momentum through Saturday, and be in with the best possible chance of taking victory on Sunday.”

Adrian Sutil, Force India
2010 Qualifying - 10th, 2010 Race - 11th
“It is quite an interesting, modern circuit with an extensive Paddock. The track has unique corners, with very long right handers where you really have to get everything right to gain an advantage. There are different lines you can take, so there are many ways to approach a lap, and the long straight where you can normally pass quite well. The weather can a little bit tricky with cold and sometimes wet conditions, but in general it is a Grand Prix I like. The metropolitan city is also exciting, with an amazing skyline, shopping and restaurants, it's usually a good weekend and I am happy to go there.”

Paul Di Resta, Force India
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
“I am looking forward to the race in China. It is quite a technical track and one that I am keen to experience more as I had a small taste of it last year. It will be interesting to see how the DRS activation works with the rear wing in Shanghai because if it’s going to work anywhere that's where it will be because it has a very long straight. The corners are very long, with big radiuses. I visited Shanghai city twice last year, and it is huge with an amazing culture and great things to see, so it should be a good weekend.”

Nico Hulkenberg, Force India test and reserve driver
2010 Qualifying - 16th, 2010 Race - 15th
“The Shanghai circuit is a huge progressive facility and there are some nice corners on the track. For me there shall be some evaluation work of the prime tyres in FP1, driving Adrian's car for the first time; which is not a problem as I know all the team and engineers very well. Over a race weekend I also try to assist the engineers, to a certain extent, during our meetings. I listen to feedback from the other drivers for their experience of the track for my future reference and I speak to the engineers afterwards to see what kind of direction they are taking. The meetings also keep me up to date with the current facts of Formula One, so I am prepared to be in the car at any time should I need to be.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India chairman and team principal
“After a difficult winter testing here we are, two races in to the season, with two point's finishes. It's very pleasing to see how we have progressed over the last few weeks, by keeping our heads down and focussing on our game. The teams at Brackley and Silverstone have done a great job with the VJM004 so far, and with upgrades due for the coming races, I am optimistic that we shall be able to continue improving our form and making steps forward to increase our pace. We head to China with our heads held high and in good spirits for another successful race.”

Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber
2010 Qualifying - 15th, 2010 Race - DNF
“For me it is an exciting track and I have always had good results there in whatever I have driven. Last year it was not brilliant as I was the innocent victim in an accident immediately after the start. However, I hope this year we have good performances from qualifying and the race, as this is what we have to do there. China is a very big country and it is close to Japan. I like the food there, so I always enjoy going there and find it interesting. The circuit is very big and it is a shame it is so far away from the centre of Shanghai. I would not be confident to drive on their roads as I a little bit scared of their driving.”

Sergio Perez, Sauber
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
“The Shanghai circuit is quite a challenging one, and I would say similar to Sepang. I know it from two races I competed in. This was an A1GP race back in 2007 and a round of GP2 Asia in 2009. I especially like the very fast straight with its hard braking point at the end. I hope I can do better there in qualifying than I did in Malaysia, but my main goal is to learn and get more experience. I enjoyed my times in Shanghai a lot, I’m looking forward to my third visit there and can’t wait to take the F1 car around that circuit.”

James Key, Sauber technical director
“With the small gap between Malaysia and China we are not planning to bring too many updates to the car, but we will have a few things to try. It is amazing for me going back to China, as it was the first race I had with the team last year, and a year has just flown past. I think, given the nature of the track, at the moment it could be quite good for our car. The track has some interesting challenges. It has a long straight at the back, some quite tricky slow speed corners in the middle of the lap and there are these unwinding and winding in profiles of corners, which are important for traction and braking stability, particularly under lateral load. It will be interesting to see how the tyres cope and the car copes with that, with much depending on how the weather conditions are. I think what we have seen between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur is, with different track temperatures and surfaces, the tyres have behaved in quite a different way to what was expected. It will be interesting to see if that trend continues in China, or whether it will be a bit more predictable. Obviously the hope is we can continue to fight for points and show a decent level of performance.”

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