“The track that worries me the most” - McLaren issue warning for Chinese GP

McLaren boss Andrea Stella has downplayed his team’s chances of a strong weekend on F1’s return to China.

F1 will race in China for the first time since 2019, but the Woking outfit is unsure the Shanghai International Circuit will suit the strengths of this year’s McLaren.

The Shanghai circuit consists of several low-speed hairpins and medium-speed corners - something McLaren have struggled with over the last couple of years.

Unsurprisingly, Stella is worried about McLaren’s competitiveness heading into China this weekend.

"I have to say that of this first part of the season, China is the track that worries me the most from a competitiveness point of view," Stella said. "You have so much low-speed hairpins. Even in corner two, corner three, you spend so long in long corners.

"And I think it's been a theme I've been repeating. So far, we haven't been able to improve the car enough in these low-speed, medium-speed long corners. So from a competitive competitiveness point of view, I would expect a more difficult situation than here in Suzuka, Australia and the first part of the season."

"China may be a bit of damage limitation for us. And then from Miami onwards, hopefully we start kind of a better stage of this 2024 season and more to come in the second part of the season."

F1’s sprint format makes a return this weekend - the first of six events in 2024.

Organisers have tweaked the format slightly with the sprint action taking place immediately, while qualifying keeps his conventional spot on Saturday afternoon.

Given that there will be just one practice session ahead of the sprint shootout on Friday, Stella is confident there will still be opportunities to spring a surprise given the nature of the format.

"Definitely it's going to be a challenging event, from several points of view,” he added. “What is the tarmac situation will we find?

"At the same time, let's not forget that China was one of the most severe tracks for graining. So how will the tyres be able to cope with this?

It's also a tricky track in terms of balance between some very high-speed corners, like entering corner one, and then many low-speed sections.

"Seeing it in isolation, it gives a headache. But once you see it from a competitive point of view, I think you need to think: 'If I do not do a perfect job, but a little bit better job than others, then this could be a big opportunity."