The Chinese Grand Prix is a round of the Formula One World Championship. It is currently held at the Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, designed by Hermann Tilke. When completed in 2004, it was the most expensive Formula One circuit facility, costing $240 million. The track is 5.451 km long and features one of the trickiest corners combinations on the Formula One calendar, comparable to that of Istanbul Park's turn 8, also designed by Tilke. Turn 1 and 2 are a very demanding 270 degree, right-handed corner combination that requires a lot of speed whilst entering and it tightens up towards the end. The Chinese Grand Prix has been notable for having a different winning driver at every one of its 7 races.
The vision of a Chinese Grand Prix started in the early 1990s. The Chinese government had originally planned for an F1 circuit to be located in the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong Province, southern China. The Zhuhai International Circuit was designed and built and was provisionally added to the 1999 F1 World Championship calendar, but the track failed to meet certain standards set by the FIA. However, the Chinese government did not give up and eventually, with assistance from the organizers of the Macau Grand Prix, held the first ever Formula One race in China in 2004.
In 2002, it was announced that the management of the Shanghai International Circuit had signed a 7 year contract with the Formula One Management to host the Chinese Grand Prix starting from the 2004 season until the 2011 season. The Chinese Grand Prix debuted on September 26, 2004, and was won by Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello. The following year, it hosted the final round of the Formula One championship, in which the newly crowned world champion Fernando Alonso won and claimed the constructor's title for Renault F1. In 2006, the Chinese Grand Prix was won by Michael Schumacher - his last victory in Formula One before his initial retirement at the end of the season. It was only in February 2011 that a deal was agreed between F1 and the organisers of the Chinese round of the world championship. Reasons for the delay appear to have been over the fee paid to F1 to host the race. After racking up losses year after year, the organisers of the race refused to pay the fee required, reported to be amongst the highest paid to host an F1 race. F1 bosses appear to have reduced the fee and the new agreement to host an F1 race runs to 2017.
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