Chinese Grand Prix, FLASH Preview: updated weather and times.

Updated Times:

Friday April 18

Free Practice 1: 4pm-00pm (Sky Sport F5 HD – RaiSport 30)
Free Practice 2: 8:00-9:30 (Sky Sport F1 HD – Raisport 2)

Saturday April 19

Free Practice 3: 5pm-00pm (Sky Sport F6 HD – RaiSport 00)
Qualifying: 8pm (Sky Sport F00 HD – Rai 1)

Sunday April 20

Race: 9:00 – 56 laps – 305.066km (Sky Sport F1 HD – Rai 2)

* all times indicated refer to Italy: there is a 6 hour difference between Italy and China.

Updated Weather:

Friday: Temperatures between 13°C and 19°C. Sky: Mostly cloudy. 15% chance of precipitation or rain

Saturday: Temperatures between 14°C and 17°C. Sky: Rain. 98% chance of precipitation or rain

Sunday: Temperatures between 12°C and 18°C. Sky: Partly Cloudy. 40% chance of precipitation or rain

Pole odds:

• HAMILTON LEWIS
• 1,70
• ROSBERG NICO
• 2,70
• VETTEL SEBASTIAN
• 20
• RICCIARDO DANIEL
• 25
• BOTTAS VALTTERI
• 50
• MASS FELIPE
• 50
• ALONSO FERNANDO
• 66
• HULKENBERG NICO
• 66
• BUTTON JENSON
• 80
• MAGNUSSEN KEVIN
• 80
• RAIKKONEN KIMI
• 80
• PEREZ MENDOZA SERGIO
• 80
• OTHER
• 100

Winning Odds:

• HAMILTON LEWIS
• 1,70
• ROSBERG NICO
• 2,70
• VETTEL SEBASTIAN
• 16
• RICCIARDO DANIEL
• 22
• ALONSO FERNANDO
• 28
• MASS FELIPE
• 40
• BOTTAS VALTTERI
• 40
• RAIKKONEN KIMI
• 40
• HULKENBERG NICO
• 50
• BUTTON JENSON
• 66
• PEREZ MENDOZA SERGIO
• 66
• MAGNUSSEN KEVIN
• 80
• VERGNE JEAN ERIC
• 200
• KVYAT DANIIL
• 200
• GROSJEAN ROMAIN
• 250
• MALDONADO PASTOR
• 300
• OTHER
• 300

Thursday statements

Daniel Ricardo: «After the appeal against my disqualification in Australia was rejected I was a bit disappointed, however it was to be expected so I got over it. I think the damage had already been done during the post-GP Sunday evening, I hoped for a rethink from the commission even if I wasn't expecting much after all. That's all. But now we are here, in China, I currently have 12 points in the championship and my goal is to make up as much ground as possible.»

Fernando Alonso: «We are here to fight. There have been changes within the team and we will try to improve the situation a little, to be more competitive than what we showed in the first three races of the championship. What if I'm worried? We have to be honest about the current situation: we are certainly not where we expected to be before the start of the championship, there is a lot of work to do and we can certainly improve on many aspects regarding the car. A long journey awaits us and we know that probably in the first part of this championship we will not be able to catch up with Mercedes and some teams that are ahead of us now, what we have to do now is maximize what we have in our hands and bring home as many points possible and be confident that in the second part of the season we will be more competitive.» Regarding his hand raised at the end of the last Bahrain GP he says: «I raised my arm at the end of the race to greet the mechanics who in turn had leaned over the wall to greet me and Kimi upon arrival. Given the problems we had throughout the weekend with the engine and power unit, the guys worked hard day and night to give us the most competitive car possible even though we weren't sure of anything until midday on Sunday. I just wanted to say hello back, that's all." Fernando finally talks about Stefano Domenicali's resignation: «I think we need to respect what he has done. Most likely he no longer felt like continuing in these conditions and with the knowledge that all her weight was resting on her shoulders. She made a truly difficult and responsible choice, not easy when you are at levels like hers. She did it for the good of Ferrari and because she hopes for its improvement. It's something we won't forget."

Lewis Hamilton: «A rather exciting race in Bahrain, no doubt about it. During the rest week I went home to my family to spend a bit with them and we watched the key scenes of the Grand Prix again. It was great to see the leadership challenge between two teammates. It reminded me a lot of kart racing as a boy and I hope there will be other races like this during the championship. Karts are the purest form, the essence of racing and certain things in Formula One are not seen very often. This is because in the world of karting you don't have problems such as downforce, you only have the mechanical part to take care of and so everything is more exciting. In any case, having different tires on cars that were different from each other even if they belonged to the same team meant that racing in Bahrain was quite unique.»

Esteban Gutierrez: «We find ourselves in a situation we never imagined, it's a tough challenge because we have to improve the car's performance and it's not easy for anyone within the team. Naturally everyone is doing as much as possible to recover the initial disadvantage and be where we planned to arrive at the start of the championship. We have many good people within the team each of whom is doing their utmost to achieve the set goal and we are confident of getting there very soon. Regarding the accident during the race in Bahrain, I was lucky, I didn't suffer any trauma or bruises and the following day I was perfectly able to get back into the car. I had to do further checks but everything went well and that's what matters."

Adrian Sutil: « We took a further step forward with the tests in the days following the Grand Prix, again in Bahrain, the data collected was quite satisfactory even if we still have a lot of work to do. We have to be patient, we know we are quite slow at the moment in terms of lap times, it's just a matter of time and we will see improvements. There have been some changes and I'm eager to see what the car will look like here in China. However, what interests us is having a completely different and competitive single-seater for the Grands Prix that will be held in Europe. We are working on several fronts, especially on the excessive weight of the power unit. In any case, every weekend we take steps that help us improve, so fingers crossed we will soon be at the level of the top teams, which makes me happy.»

Sergio Pérez: «It was a great race not only for me but also for the whole team. Nico finished fifth and we took home many points which allowed us to be the second force in the constructors' championship. From here on we will have to take advantage of every opportunity given to us to maximize results. I had some difficult moments at the beginning of the season, for example in Australia I had to fight with several problems. But then we arrived in Bahrain and did a great job and I think Mercedes offered us a good package. What gave us the greatest advantage compared to other teams with engines like us was the single-seater and this means that we did a good job and I believe that here in China, on a circuit totally different from the one in Bahrain, we will be able to aim even higher by maximizing our efforts, it will be a great challenge for all of us."

 Andrea Villa, Matteo Bramati