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Revving up for fierce Formula One

By Fei Lai | March 30, 2009, Monday | Print Edition

THE Shanghai International Circuit in Jiading District is revving up for the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix on April 17-19, the third race of the season and an earlier-than-ever contest in China.

This is the first time the Chinese Grand Prix will be held in the first half of the year. For the past five years, it has been held in September or October.

The season opened with the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne's Albert Park yesterday. The second leg will be held in Malaysia on April 3-5.

Lower ticket prices and new promotions cater to Chinese F1 enthusiasts.

The three-day ticket for the H and K stands will cost 1,980 yuan (US$290), down from 2,580 yuan last year. Tickets for the B stands on the first turn cost 1,280 yuan or 980 yuan, down from 1,880 yuan. The daily ticket for the K stand is as low as 260 yuan.

Four stands, B5-B8, are only for race fans and feature the steepest discount, nearly 50 percent.

These stands will be the base camps for four popular racers, Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso Diaz and Kimi Matias Raikkonen. Fans who buy tickets for those stands will also receive a scarf from the racers.

The old ticket promotion will still be carried on. Those who buy tickets in the first sales phases get a discount of 10 percent.

The shortened calendar has made preparations hectic for the Chinese Grand Prix.

"In the past, I always went to my hometown during Spring Festival, but I didn't go home this year," says Cheng Nan, a marketing employee at Shanghai International Circuit.

They started working on the third day of the Chinese Lunar New Year and haven't yet had a chance to rest.

"The schedule is changed and the time for organization is shortened, especially for those racing teams were still taking their holidays during December and February," says Wu Zhongjie, deputy manager in the circuit's administrative department.

"Staying up all night is nothing new to us. We have to work late into the night if we need to negotiate online or on the telephone, because of the time-zone difference between China and other countries."

Wu, who has an infant son, lives downtown and must drive to the International Circuit; he thinks he's lucky because many colleagues don't own cars.

They have to get up early and take shuttle buses at 6:30am. "There is no set time to get off work. All the staffs are striving to bring a perfect race to everyone," Wu says.

In the new season, all the F1 teams will be confronted with more challenges due to the launch of new rules and the global financial downturn.

To cope with the economic crisis, even the financially powerful teams like Ferrari and McLaren have to control the budget, which makes the racing even more fierce and the final championship full of suspension.

Besides the "Big Four" - Ferrari, McLaren, Renault and the BMW Sauber - Red Bull and the newly established Brawn GP are also very ambitious.

Although Brawn GP is a newcomer on the Formula One map, the capability of its team manager, legendary Ross Brown, can never be despised.

Under his leadership, Michael Schumacher has created the record of six champions. He's also the man behind the huge successes of Mischa Barton and Rubens Barrichello.

With so many competitors, the final championship will definitely not be restricted to only Ferrari and McLaren.

Jiading


 

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