F1 Team Form: Chinese Grand Prix

Mercedes have won all but one of the last six races at Shanghai International Circuit, McLaren have scored here only once since 2014 and Ferrari have the most podiums. Here’s everything you need to know about each team’s history at the Chinese Grand Prix!

RED BULL

WINS: 2, POLES: 3, PODIUMS: 7 | 2019 CHINESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: VERSTAPPEN 4th, GASLY 6th

Red Bull claimed their first ever F1 victory at the Shanghai International Circuit in 2009, while Daniel Ricciardo provided them with their second Chinese Grand Prix win in 2018. For the first time since 2015, neither Red Bull driver finished on the podium at the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix.

The team has failed to pick up points from the event only twice, in 2006 and 2008, and have only recorded two DNFs – one for Mark Webber in 2013 and one for Daniil Kvyat in 2015. Those DNFs are the only occasions in the past eleven seasons where Red Bull have failed to finish with both cars in the points at the Chinese Grand Prix.

2010 is the only time Red Bull have locked-out the front row for the Chinese Grand Prix. They’ve taken pole three times here, but since Sebastian Vettel last took pole for the team in 2011, they’ve qualified on the front row only twice – in 2014 and 2016, both times courtesy of Daniel Ricciardo.

In both of the last two Shanghai races, the Red Bull drivers have locked out the third row of the grid in Shanghai. The team have seen both of their cars reach the final part of qualifying on seven occasions in total, but have also suffered four Q2 exits and three Q1 knockouts.

MERCEDES

WINS: 6, POLES: 7, PODIUMS: 12 | 2019 CHINESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: HAMILTON 1st, BOTTAS 2nd

Mercedes have scored more points at the Chinese Grand Prix than any other team. The team have won here six times and there has never been an occasion where they’ve left Shanghai without points.

The team enjoyed their third 1-2 finish in Shanghai in 2019, adding to their 1-2 results in 2014 and 2015. DNFs for Michael Schumacher in 2012 and Nico Rosberg in 2013 are the only two occasions where a Mercedes car has failed to finish within the points here.

2011 is the only time so far that neither Mercedes driver has appeared on the podium since they returned to the sport in 2010.

Mercedes have claimed pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix seven times but have only locked-out the front row twice, in 2015 and 2019. 2018 is the only time in the last eight Shanghai races that neither Mercedes driver has qualified on the front row of the grid.

Michael Schumacher’s Q2 exit in 2011 and Lewis Hamilton’s Q1 exit due to car issues in 2016 are the only times Mercedes’ cars haven’t featured in the final part of qualifying here since 2010.

FERRARI

WINS: 4, POLES: 2, PODIUMS: 13 | 2019 CHINESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: VETTEL 3rd, LECLERC 5th

In every season since 2013, a Ferrari car has finished on the podium at the Chinese Grand Prix. While Fernando Alonso’s victory here in 2013 remains their latest to date in Shanghai, since 2010, Felipe Massa’s twelfth place finish in 2012 is the only occasion where a Ferrari car has finished outside the points.

2005 and 2009 are the only times Ferrari left China having not picked up a point. They’ve only ever recorded three DNFs at the circuit – one for Michael Schumacher in 2005 and two for Felipe Massa, in 2006 and 2009.

Ferrari locked-out the front row at the Chinese Grand Prix for the first time in 2018. They had previously taken pole in 2004, and three front row qualifying results in 2007, 2008 and 2017. Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc locked out the second row of the grid in the 2019 event.

A Ferrari has never been eliminated in Q1 here, but they have had four Q2 exits; most recently with Kimi Raikkonen in 2014. At least one Ferrari has appeared in the final part of qualifying in every season since the knockout system was introduced in 2006.

The team book-ended the grid for the inaugural race here, as Rubens Barrichello started from pole and Michael Schumacher started from the back, having failed to set a qualifying time.

McLAREN

WINS: 3, POLES: 2, PODIUMS: 9 | 2019 CHINESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: SAINZ 14th, NORRIS DNF

McLaren took their Chinese Grand Prix 1-2 result in 2010. Lewis Hamilton won the event for the team again in 2011, while both he and Jenson Button finished on the podium in the following season. Since then, Jenson Button’s fifth place in 2013 and Fernando Alonso’ seventh place in 2018 are the only two occasions where the British team have scored points in Shanghai.

McLaren have had seven DNFs in total here, including a double DNF in 2017 and a retirement for Lando Norris in 2019.

McLaren have taken pole twice for the Chinese Grand Prix, both times with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel in 2007 and 2008. Their only other front row starts at the track came in 2004, courtesy of Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button in 2011 and Hamilton once again in 2012. McLaren have not qualified in the top ten in Shanghai since 2013.

2015 marked McLaren’s only double Q1 exit at the track, while Stoffel Vandoorne’s Q1 exit in 2017 marks the only other time the team has failed to progress to the second part of qualifying. Both cars have been eliminated in Q2 in each of the last two Shanghai races.

ASTON MARTIN

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2019 CHINESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: PEREZ 8th, STROLL 12th

The Silverstone-based team do not have a high points finishing rate at the Chinese Grand Prix. If you take all of their entries under every team name dating back to 2004, the team have scored on only six occasions. With eighth place in 2019, Sergio Perez scored the team’s best result at the track in the last five Shanghai races.

Their best finish here came in 2014, when Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth. 2014 and 2017 are the only seasons where both of the team’s cars have finished in the points. Force India recorded five DNFs at the track, but both cars have made it to the end of all of the last four Chinese Grands Prix.

2016 is the only year in which both Force Indias qualified in the top ten. In total, the team have reached the final part of qualifying seven times, with at least one of their cars progressing to the top ten shootout in three of the last four Shanghai races.

Their streak of Q3 appearances ended in 2019, with Sergio Perez eliminated in Q2 and Lance Stroll out in Q1. 2008 and 2009 are the only occasions where both Force Indias were eliminated in Q1.

ALPINE

WINS: 1*, POLES: 2*, PODIUMS: 4* | 2019 CHINESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: RICCIARDO 7th, HULKENBERG DNF

Until 2019, Renault had a 100% finish rate at the Chinese Grand Prix. But that was ended with a retirement for Nico Hulkenberg. The Enstone-based team recorded two retirements here under their Lotus guise.

The team has won the Chinese Grand Prix once in their history, in 2005 with Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard and his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella also recorded podium finishes at the Shanghai track in the following season, while Kimi Raikkonen recorded a podium finish for the Enstone team in their Lotus guise in 2013. Both of the team’s cars scored at the circuit in 2018 – the first time they had done so since 2013.

Aside from their DNFs, the team’s lowest finish here came from Jolyon Palmer in 2016, who finished last of the whole pack; all 22 of whom reached the end of the race.

Renault locked out the front row in qualifying here twice in 2005 and 2006, but since then Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikonen’s front-row starts in 2009 and 2013 are the only times the team has finished as high up the qualifying order.

2007 and 2016 are the only years where neither of the Enstone team’s cars have featured in the top ten in qualifying, with 2016 marking their only double Q1 exit. In 2018, the team reached the final part of qualifying in China with both cars for the first time since 2013, and they have now reached Q3 with both cars in each of the last two Shanghai races.

Renault’s best qualifying place in their comeback stint was seventh on the grid, achieved by Hulkenberg in 2017 and 2018, and Ricciardo in 2019.

WILLIAMS

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2019 CHINESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: RUSSELL 16th, KUBICA 17th

The last three visits to China have been fruitless for the Williams team. The best finish for a Williams driver in Shanghai is fifth, which Juan Pablo Montoya recorded in 2004 and Felipe Massa repeated in 2015. In the past fourteen seasons, Williams have recorded only two DNFs at the Chinese Grand Prix, one for Kazuki Nakajima in 2009 and one for Lance Stroll in 2017.

For a second consecutive year, both Williams drivers were eliminated in Q1 in 2019. 2018 was the first time since 2013 that neither of the team’s drivers qualified in the top ten at the Chinese Grand Prix. Williams saw both cars reach Q3 in 2014, 2015 and 2017. The team’s best qualifying here came in 2015, when Felipe Massa qualified in fourth place.

VISA CASH APP RB

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2019 CHINESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: ALBON 10th, KVYAT DNF

The former Toro Rosso team have scored at three of the last four Chinese Grands Prix. 2007 is one of only two times that both Toro Rosso cars picked up points from the Chinese Grand Prix, the other occasion being in 2015.

2007 also marked what was then their best ever performance in a race, with Sebastian Vettel finishing in fourth place. 2018 is the only time in the past four years where Toro Rosso have failed to score at the Chinese race, in an event which was derailed by Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley colliding with one another.

2008, 2011 and 2016 are the three seasons where both Toro Rosso drivers have reached the final part of qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix. The team have never qualified in the top six for this race, but have qualified in seventh place twice, thanks to Jaime Alguersuari in 2011 and Daniel Ricciardo in 2013.

Toro Rosso recorded only four Q1 exits at the Shanghai International Circuit – Sebastien Bourdais in 2009, Jean-Eric Vergne in 2012, Brendon Hartley in 2018 and Alex Albon in 2019. Albon crashed out in FP3 in 2019 and was unable to set a time in qualifying.

SAUBER

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2019 CHINESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: RAIKKONEN 9th, GIOVINAZZI 15th

Nick Heidfeld is responsible for the Sauber team’s best finish at the Chinese Grand Prix. He came home fifth in the 2008 race, which is also one of only two occasions on which both Saubers have finished in the points here (the other being in 2015).

The team had a spell of point-less Chinese races since both Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr scored in 2015, but that ended in 2019 as Kimi Raikkonen finished ninth.

A Sauber car has never qualified in the top three at the Chinese Grand Prix, but the team have qualified in fourth twice – with Felipe Massa in 2004 and with Kamui Kobayashi in 2012. In 2018, Sauber recorded their worst qualifying attempt at the track, with both of their cars lining up on the back row in their first double Q1 exit at the circuit.

While Kimi Raikkonen reached Q2 in 2019, Antonio Giovinazzi was out in Q1. 2015 marks their last Q3 appearance in Shanghai, and one of four occasions where both cars have reached the final part of qualifying.

HAAS

WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0 | 2019 CHINESE GRAND PRIX RESULT: GROSJEAN 11th, MAGNUSSEN 13th

Haas are yet to record a retirement at the Chinese Grand Prix. The team has scored here twice, in 2017 and 2018; both times courtesy of Kevin Magnussen, whose best finish for the team at the Shanghai track was eighth in 2017. Romain Grosjean is yet to finish in the points at the circuit with the American team.

In 2019, for the first time, both Haas drivers reached Q3 at the Chinese Grand Prix. Kevin Magnussen qualified in ninth place, and Romain Grosjean qualified tenth. Magnussen was the first Haas driver to qualify in the top ten for the event, doing so in 2018. The team have not recorded a Q1 exit here since 2017.

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