Chinese Grand Prix, Preview, 2025 -- Mercedes-Benz

The second race of the 2025 F1 season takes place at the Shanghai International Circuit in China, incorporating the first Sprint weekend of the year. 

• Toto talks China
• Fact File: Chinese Grand Prix
• Stat Sheet: Chinese Grand Prix

Toto Talks China

We leave Australia with many positives but also a healthy dose of realism as to where we stand in the pecking order. The W16 provided a stable platform for the drivers, was less prone to swings in performance relative to the conditions than its predecessor, and at moments, showed strong enough pace to challenge at the front. It’s clear we have taken a good step forward over the winter. Our focus is now on unlocking more potential and adding performance. We are excited for that challenge.

The race itself was well-executed. We made the right decisions at the right time to claim our first podium of the season. George drove a flawless race, pushing when he needed to, managing his pace to capitalise on the podium and taking advantage of the opportunities when they presented themselves. A top performance and just underlies his speed, maturity and intelligence.

For Kimi, he could not have asked for a more difficult task on his Grand Prix debut: starting out of position, facing extremely difficult conditions and, at times, a treacherous track.

Nevertheless, he handled everything that was thrown at him with a maturity beyond his years. His speed when in free air was impressive and his confidence and decisiveness when overtaking were superb. There will be challenging moments for him across the season, but we are pleased with the trajectory we are seeing from him already. P4 was a just reward.

We now head to Shanghai and look forward to returning to China after what was a remarkable Grand Prix last year. You could sense the passion and energy from the fans as F1 returned to the country for the first time in five years. As the world's largest automotive market, and one of the world's biggest economies, China is crucial to the sport's global footprint. I am sure this year will see another great event.

Fact File: Chinese Grand Prix

• The Chinese Grand Prix returned to the calendar for the first time since 2019 in 2024, having first appeared on the F1 calendar in 2004.
• The 2019 race was also F1000, the 1000^th Grand Prix since the official inception of the sport in 1950.
• The 5.451km layout features 16 turns (nine right, seven left). The racing lap record from the first race in 2004 still stands today, set by Michael Schumacher.
• Shanghai International Circuit holds special memories for our team too, having been the site of our first win since returning to the sport when Nico Rosberg triumphed in 2012.
• Our first F1 pole in the modern era also came at the track in 2012.
• In 2005, the circuit hosted the season finale for the one and only time.
• Having originally taken place towards the end of the F1 calendar, the race moved to a more permanent slot in the early stages of the season from 2009.
• In 2024, the Chinese Grand Prix saw more non-DRS-assisted overtakes (25) than any other race on the calendar, with the hairpin at the end of the long back straight a popular overtaking spot.
• The first seven Chinese Grand Prix were all won by different drivers.
• Mercedes claimed six consecutive pole positions at the track between 2012 and 2017
• Like 2024, Shanghai will also host the first F1 Sprint race weekend of the season.
• The circuit has been fully resurfaced ahead of this year’s event.
• With a podium finish on Sunday, the team can claim Mercedes-Benz’s 300^th top three finish in F1 history.
• For 2025, China will host the first round of the F1 ACADEMY season. Mercedes Junior Driver Doriane Pin will represent the team in the series for a second campaign this season.