What are the 5 most memorable Chinese Grand Prix in history?

2005 Chinese Grand Prix: Renault's first championship title

PHOTO: GILLES LEVENT / DPPI

The 2005 Chinese Grand Prix saw the 19^e and final test of the season Formula 1. It is on this occasion that Renault and the British manufacturer McLaren-Mercedes have decided the Constructors' World Championship title. In a fight throughout the season – particularly through the duel Fernando Alonso/Kimi Raikkonen won by the Iberian crowned in Brazil – the French manufacturer arrives in China with only two meager points ahead of its direct competitor. Ferrari? Forgotten. The hegemony of the Team and Michael Schumacher stopped, a victim of a regulation that prohibits tire changes during the race. A major blow for the Prancing Horse's supplier Bridgestone, which is struggling with this new rule, and a tour de force for the Clermont-Ferrand-based supplier Michelin, partly responsible for the success of the teams at the front.

From Saturday, Renault is on top. The insatiable Alonso places his pretty car yellow and blue on pole while his teammate, the Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, moved into second position. With the front row locked, the McLaren-Mercedes of Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya qualified 3rd and 5th. In qualifying as well as in the race, the Spaniard, only 24 years old, dominated and stunned the competition while Montoya's McLaren retired on lap 24. Not the victim of a reliability problem as usual during the 2005 season, the Colombian's car suffered damage caused by a poorly fixed water drainage plate at turn 10. The second McLaren driver, Kimi Räikkönen, was unable to catch the new world champion's R25. For his part, Fisichella saw his chances of a podium slip away following a penalty by the pits for obstructing driving during the intervention of the safety car. Weak as a result for the diamond brand, the mass is said by the triumph of the young prodigy Alonso.

The victory is absolute, Renault secures its first Constructors' title. Cock-a-doodle-doo once. Cock-a-doo twice, since Michelin's role in this success is significant. Note the impressive accident suffered by Indian Narain Karthikeyan in his Jordan EJ15 on lap 29.

2006 Chinese Grand Prix: Schumacher's last F1 victory

PHOTO: ERIC VARGIOLU / DPPI

The world easily remembers the first of Michael Schumacher's 91 victories. On August 30, 1992, a year after his debut in the premier class, the prodigy won in Belgium at the wheel of a Benetton. But his 91^e ? The German's final victorious demonstration? It took place in China, 16^e meeting of the season, the 1st^er October 2006, 14 years after his first Formula 1 victory. While rain dominated the Middle Kingdom – favoring the teams using Michelin tires and therefore Renault – Michael Schumacher persisted in making his tires work and took 6th place^e position during the qualifying session. First feat achieved, as the only Bridgestone driver in the first 12 places on the grid, it was nevertheless on Sunday that the German showed his genius to beat the Renault drivers, Alonso and Fisichella, 1 and 2 at the start.

On a drying track, Renault, in agreement with Michelin, faltered and lost its strategy, causing the young champion Fernando Alonso to stop several times. During the second stop, the R26's front right wheel nut jammed, wasting the Spaniard ten precious seconds. For his part, Schumacher found his rhythm and got rid of the Hondas of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button before taking advantage of Kimi Räikkönen's technical problems. On lap 40, the German driver stopped. Fisischella, in the lead, did the same a lap later to cover the Italian strategy. Despite being in front at the pit exit, the Renault driver suffered the German lightning strike as the Red Baron, aware that his rival's fresh tires were slippery, threw himself into the trap and headed towards his swan song.

This victory on Chinese soil fueled hopes of an eighth title for the Kaiser. Leading the championship on equal points with Fernando Alonso, his quest was cut short by an engine failure at the Japanese Grand Prix the following week, a Grand Prix he was leading. Fernando Alonso snatched his second world crown and gave Renault its second constructors' championship. This was the final season for the seven-time champion with Scuderia Ferrari, as he had announced his retirement following his victory at Monza on September 10, 2006.

2007 Chinese Grand Prix: Hamilton crashes into the gravel trap

PHOTO: THIERRY BOVY / DPPI

In the history of Formula 1, with the exception of Giuseppe Farina in 1950, for whom the situation is special given that it was the first edition of the championship, no driver has ever managed to become champion during his first participation in the premier class. Runner-up behind Damon Hill, the Canadian Jacques Villeneuve came close to the feat in 1996 before being crowned the following year. The second to have come close was a young McLaren driver, who came very close to winning the title on his first participation in 2007. He is a certain Lewis HamiltonThe story was perhaps too good to be true. The first black driver in history, in his first Formula 1 season, facing his teammate and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, the young Briton is astounding and doesn't give up: he's in contention to win the championship.

In China, the sixteenth and penultimate race of the World Championship, on October 7, 2007, Hamilton arrived in Shanghai with a 12-point lead over his teammate and a 17-point lead over the new Ferrari driver, Kimi Räikkönen. The cushion is substantial; if the Englishman wins, he becomes world champion.

During qualifying, Hamilton seemed hardly distracted by his potential victory. Unperturbed, he (already) secured his 6th^e Pole position. He was ahead of Kimi Räikkönen, second, and Fernando Alonso, fourth. However, everything went wrong on race day. From the start of the race, Mother Weather decided to turn on the rain, forcing the drivers to use intermediate tires. In the lead, the title was getting closer for the 22-year-old Briton before fate struck him hard. Very hard. The rain valve was cut off, the track dried out, and Räikkönen pitted for slicks. Faced with this change in circumstances, McLaren decided not to cover and left the potential champion on track with worn tires. A few laps later, the strategy proved catastrophic, as The Iceman overtook the Silver Arrow on eggshells. Called to the pits on lap 31, Hamilton arrived too fast, his destroyed tires causing him to drift into the gravel trap, where he was forced to retire.

On the Celestial Empire circuit, the sky fell on the Briton's head. The image is now etched in my memory: Lewis Hamilton begging the Stewarts for help to push his car and free him from this mistake. Nothing worked; retirement was inevitable.

Winner of the Chinese Grand Prix, the Finn, relaunched in the quest for the world championship, won the following race in Brazil and snatched his only Formula 1 world championship title. Fans of the Stevenage-born prodigy mourned that cursed pit lane, especially since he was not the first victim: Felipe Massa crashed in the same way during the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix.

Fortunately for Lewis Hamilton, things have been more accommodating. The most successful Formula 1 driver in history, he's embarking on a new adventure in 2025, joining the legendary Italian team: Scuderia Ferrari.

2009 Chinese Grand Prix: A first for Red Bull

PHOTO: GILLES LEVENT / DPPI

If the year 2009 remains etched in history for the unexpected coronation of Brawn GP, ​​born from the ashes of Honda, it also marks the beginnings of the success of the Austrian team Red Bull Racing. Having entered Formula 1 in 2005 under the leadership of Dietrich Mateschitz, the energy drink team was slow to shine. It was not until the introduction of new aerodynamic regulations in 2009 that Red Bull, guided by the genius aerodynamicist Adrian Newey and the prodigious driver Sebastian Vettel, finally releases the muscles.

On April 19, Formula 1 arrived in China for the third round of the championship. Brawn GP dominated the early part of the season with Jenson Button, victorious in the first two Grands Prix. It was in the Middle Kingdom that the yellow and white Brawn finally found itself challenged by the superb Austrian RB5. In qualifying, in the pouring rain, Sebastian Vettel took pole position, the first in Red Bull's history, ahead of Fernando Alonso and his teammate Mark Webber, while the dominant Brawn cars were only 4th and 5th.

Pouring rain on Saturday, it intensified again on Sunday, and the first eight laps of the race took place under a Safety Car. With almost zero visibility, the race became a matter of survival, and it was the young Vettel, unflappable in these conditions, who best controlled the situation and widened the gap between himself and his rivals. His skills in the rain, already demonstrated during his triumph at Monza in 2008 with Torro Rosso, carried the young German to victory in a race marked by numerous incidents. Meanwhile, Mark Webber, second, secured a historic one-two finish for the Austrian team, winning Formula 1 for the first time.

This triumph in China represents the beginnings of a future total domination of Red Bull Racing in the world of Formula 1. From the following year and for four consecutive seasons, Sebastian Vettel swept all the titles at the wheel of rockets designed by Adrian Newey, the most eminent engineer in the history of the discipline.

2018 Chinese Grand Prix: Ricciardo in charge

PHOTO: ANONIN VINCENT / DPPI

Daniel Ricciardo has made an impression on Formula 1 fans for his late braking, his specialty. At the 2018 Chinese GP, this ability allowed him to clinch victory ahead of the favorites Ferrari and Mercedes.

In qualifying, Ferrari locked out the front row, Mercedes second and Red Bull third. Behind their young teammate Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo only qualified in sixth place.

The race started without incident, Ricciardo maintained his initial position. On lap 30, Pierre Gasly causes a safety car in his Torro Rosso following a too daring overtaking attempt on his teammate Brendon Hartley. A decisive turning point in the race, the Red Bulls took advantage of the incident to put on new soft tires while Mercedes decided to leave Lewis Hamilton on the track to maintain his position. A winning strategy for the Austrian team, Ricciardo increased the pace and performed daring maneuvers, notably on Hamilton and Räikkönen, before a masterful dive on Bottas then leading the race on lap 45. A sumptuous divebomb, he took first place and flew towards his sixth victory in Formula 1.

After this exceptional performance, the Red Bull driver continued his iconic "shoey" celebration, which consisted of drinking the champagne reserved for the top three finishers from a shoe he wore during the race. The two Finns, Bottas and Räikkönen, completed the podium.

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