Going to the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit
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Discussion area for people going to the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix – the 1,000th round of the world championship. What do you want to know about going to this race?
If you’ve been to this race before then please share your experiences here: Where did you watch? Where did you stay and how did you get to the track? Can you share any other tips on attending this race?
If you went to last year’s race you can leave your feedback here:
I’m actually seriously considering this and would welcome any advice; both on travelling to/around China and attending the Grand Prix.
My wife will be in Singapore for work and I’m due to meet her for a holiday on April 16th (only paying for one flight etc…). This makes perfect timing to “drop in” to Shanghai on the way for the 1000th Grand Prix!
While I’m not fluent in any language; I can make a good crack at Italian/French/Spanish etc… I’m afraid that Chinese/Mandarin will elude me. Will not speaking the language be a problem? Is it easy enough to get around? Any recommendations on where to stay for 3 nights to get the most out of the racing and the city?
Any other words of wisdom would be brilliant.
I’ve now booked this – flights and tickets! Very excited, though currently a party of one… if anyone else is going and needs a friend, let me know!
Perhaps I can help a little! I was there in 2017.
It’s really easy to get to the track by public transport. I was staying in a hostel outside of the city centre and as I recall it took about half an hour on the metro to reach the track, which has its own station. Though on race day it was a lot busier and took a bit longer, and if you wanted to stay in the city centre it would take a bit longer, but still quite doable I reckon. Language wasn’t a problem, I don’t think, there is lots of English signage and a few English speaking locals if you really need them.
I bought a ticket for the main grandstand, and since the stewards weren’t inspecting tickets for each specific part of the stand, I was able to roam along its length on both tiers, so you can get a pretty good range of views. Virtually the only corner you wouldn’t be able to see from any point in that stand, though, is the hairpin where all the action takes place- it has its own grandstands.
However, there was very little going on besides the F1, so be prepared for lots of sitting about watching empty tarmac. We had Asian Sportscars, and the drivers played ping pong before the race- that was about it! Though perhaps they’ve added to the programme since then.
Thanks @ned-flanders, really helpful. The language part was my biggest concern, though not such a big problem with smart phones etc. Great to know that the metro goes directly there.
I’ve bought a ticket for the grandstand at the main hairpin. I’ve heard there was little other than the F1 happening, but that’s not a huge issue for me – I bought grandstand tickets so that I don’t have to reserve my spot early and get bored! Perhaps with it being the 1,000th Grand Prix there will be a little more going on.
Again, thanks for the advice. Really looking forward to it, having only been to Silverstone, Spa and Monza before.
I received a nice surprise this morning whilst at the Chinese Embassy in the UK to pick up my Visa (a real ordeal by the way, for anyone considering doing this!). The entire McLaren F1 team were doing exactly the same, including Lando Norris. I didn’t go and bother them as it was stressful enough already, but it brought this F1 nerd a smile on a miserable morning!
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