Next Stop: Shanghai

Off the back of our great result in Fuji I am looking forward to getting back into the car in China. I know the track in Shanghai very well from my days in F1 and it’s a great circuit. The course has different winding turns and two long straights.

The first corner is very unique and fast on the way in with a tight apex. Then it’s downhill into turn two, where it’s crucial to position the car right in order to set yourself up for the middle sector. I like turn 5 and 6, it’s a nice and flowing section and it’s very important to get the technique right there. It’s also very fast through there and pretty physical on the driver. The long back straight is over 1 km which will give the driver a bit of a breather and the 919 the chance to stretch its legs.

There are some grandstands in the breaking zone for the hairpin, and it will be great for fans to watch some overtaking.

Looking back, 2011 is probably my most memorable race there. I had a very poor qualifying as we suffered from electrical problems and I qualified 18th. On Sunday we made the right decisions and had the perfect strategy. I came through the field and on the last lap I managed to overtake Jenson and finished third which was a great result. Shanghai has been pretty good to me in my F1 years and I am curious to see how the 919 hybrid will behave around there.

I also look forward to going back to one of the restaurants, the Din Tai Fung Shanghai, which I’ve been to a couple of times with my F1 mechanics. They do great soup dumplings, a Shanghai specialty apparently…

Ends//

4 Comments

• 

  Mark j

  on October 27, 2014 Reply

  Good luck Mark ! Will be cheering you on from the uk ! Get on the top step

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  Xenia

  on October 28, 2014 Reply

  Hola Mark !!!!Me gustaría mucho que algún día me escribieras y pudiéramos estar en contacto ,me pareces un tíoi muy guay ,porfavor lo vas a intentar….Un beso enorme

• 

  Petra

  on October 30, 2014 Reply

  Hi Mark, I like the way you describe the track , and the past years even though it wasn’t a happy ending there! Was so excited to learn you’re coming back with Porsche at WEC in a Hybrid . Now the day has come ….but I am in Stuttgart and not able to get back to China for the race due to a minor surgery on my leg yesterday. I am fine now.. Wishing you the best of luck for the race weekend! Sad not to be able to cheer you on together with my Shanghai Mark Webber fans ! Cheers from Germany

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  Clive Davies

  on October 30, 2014 Reply

  Good luck Mark. You deserve it.