Race preview: Chinese Grand Prix

Find out Albono’s thoughts ahead of his visit to Shanghai

Published

19 MAR 2025

Est. reading time

2 min

Alex’s 2025 campaign got off to a strong start in Australia — and he will be hoping to continue in the same vein at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Our Thai racer recorded a P5 finish in Melbourne last Sunday, which represented his best performance since joining Atlassian Williams Racing back in 2022. It was also Albono’s highest-ever placing in the opening round of a Formula 1 season, boosting optimism for the year ahead. Next up is a trip to Shanghai, as AA23 looks to build on his impressive showing down under.

Alex’s record

Alex secured a point at the Chinese GP in just the second F1 race of his career, when he placed P10 with Toro Rosso back in 2019. The COVID pandemic meant that racing in China was suspended from 2020 to 2023, but Formula 1 returned to Shanghai in Round 5 of last season. Albono finished just two spots outside of the points on that occasion, but will have aspirations of improving on that P12 placing this weekend.

Track talk

The Shanghai International Circuit presents drivers with a unique set of challenges, thanks to its mix of long straights and diverse corners. A 5.451 km (3.388 miles) track features 16 turns, including two particularly challenging corners at Turns 1 and 2 that require precision and careful braking. There are also two long straights that encourage wheel-to-wheel racing — and which will hopefully lead to plenty of excitement across the coming days.

Albono’s thoughts

"Australia was a really strong way to start the year with a great result for the team," Alex said, speaking ahead of Round 2. We need to build on this momentum and pick up where we left off going into China this weekend. It’s the first Sprint weekend of the year so we all need to be on our A game and maximise what we have. Banking as many points as we did so early on in the season is important, so we’ll keep pushing, keep learning and hopefully keep delivering."

And finally…

You can stay up to date with all of Alex’s progress in China via our live blog. Make sure to head to the AA23 website and app while Albono is on track in Shanghai, from Free Practice 1 on Friday to Sunday’s main event. Don’t forget that there’s a Sprint race this weekend, too, taking place at 11am local time (CST) on Saturday.

Enjoy the Chinese Grand Prix action!