Last year’s Chinese Grand Prix was the race that put a serious dent in Lewis Hamilton’s title hopes.
After a great weekend in Japan he took pole in China and, with a 12-point lead going into the race, looked to be the next-best thing to home and dry.
But then he stayed out for a ridiculously long time on a drying track and wore his tyres bald in the process, losing control over the car on lap 30 and beaching himself in the gravel trap as he struggled into the pits. And the scene was set for Raikkonen’s world championship win.
We’d like to think that it couldn’t happen a second time. But, what with Hamilton’s bad start at Fuji and the erratic stewarding that has unfortunately characterised this season, who knows what is coming?
Which means, for once, the weather might prove to be one of the more predictable parts of the weekend.
The BBC five-day forecast is currently predicting sun for the first two days of the race weekend with a chance of showers on race day itself. Check it out for yourself here >>
Or here’s an alternative view:
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