Chinese Grand Prix 2019 — Weekend Preview

Round 3 of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship takes the field to Shanghai, China. Chinese Grand Prix — The Circuit of Sustained Battles. Valtteri Bottas leads the championship with 44 points, 1 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Driver Championship (entering R3):
P1: Valtteri Bottas — 44 pts (1W, 2P)
P2: Lewis Hamilton — 43 pts (1W, 2P)
P3: Max Verstappen — 27 pts (0W, 1P)
P4: Charles Leclerc — 26 pts (0W, 1P)
P5: Sebastian Vettel — 22 pts (0W, 0P)

Constructor Championship:
P1: Mercedes — 87 pts
P2: Ferrari — 48 pts
P3: Red Bull Racing — 31 pts
P4: Alfa Romeo Racing — 10 pts
P5: Haas F1 Team — 8 pts

Shanghai is a balanced challenge.

Recent winners at Shanghai:
- 2026: Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- 2025: Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- 2024: Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
- 2019: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 2018: Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)

5 different winners in the last 5 years — no driver has dominated this circuit recently.

Tyre strategy data will be available after practice sessions provide degradation information.

Battles to watch:

Championship battle: Valtteri Bottas vs Lewis Hamilton — 1 points separate them.

P3 vs P4: Max Verstappen (27) vs Charles Leclerc (26) — just 1 points apart.
P4 vs P5: Charles Leclerc (26) vs Sebastian Vettel (22) — just 4 points apart.
P5 vs P6: Sebastian Vettel (22) vs Kimi Räikkönen (10) — just 12 points apart.