On April 18, the day before the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix was about to start its engine, the FIA Road Inspector inspected the Shanghai International Circuit circuit and finally passed the acceptance. The 20-year-old track has a new look and is waiting for an event for the first time in five years.
"The F1 China station has not been held for several years, and the track and supporting facilities on the field have been damaged and aging, so from September 2022, the Shanghai race station has launched a functional improvement and special maintenance plan to welcome the resumption of the China station. Zhou Yaodong, chairman of Shanghai Jiushi International Sports Center Co., Ltd., revealed that the team has made many plans and envisaged that China will be squeezed into the F1 annual calendar in 2023, but considering that there are many maintenance projects in batches, and at the same time, it hopes to show the audience a different race, and finally set the competition time in April this year.
Since 2023, the F1 track has been evaluated and inspected by FOM (F1 Management Company), international third-party professional organizations and the FIA five times, obtained a new round of FIA first-class track certification, and completed a number of software and hardware upgrades, including the overall repair of the venue, the maintenance of the track surface, and the maintenance of the stands. The Spectators took Metro Line 11 to arrive at the venue, and the Waterscape Square had a new look. After the gantry upgrade in the starting area, the spectators in the main stand can also see the LED screen instead of the original spray painting, and the dynamic and cool picture will create a better viewing atmosphere.
"The upper track is 5.4 kilometers long and can be combined into six different tracks, including one that can be used for night races. Zhou Yaodong introduced that in a month, the FIA Formula E World Championship will land in Shanghai for the first time, "The holding of F1 and Formula E also gives the audience the opportunity to see the different combinations of the 'Shang' word track." ”
The upper circuit is not only a "varied" track with six combinations, but also seeks "variety" outside of the race cycle. Seven days a year provide services for F1 events, and the other 300 days are "for my use", and the race is determined to make the "racing economy" bigger. Zhou Yaodong said: "Now there are more domestic racing venues, such as Chengdu, Zhuhai, Zhuzhou, Shaoxing and other places. Although we are the only one in F1, the competition is fierce. If we still hold the shelves, the road will get narrower and narrower. ”
According to statistics, in 2023, the number of days the track will be used for 173 days, an increase of 26% over 2021, and at the same time, the Shanghai International Circuit area will achieve an annual revenue of more than 4,600 yuan, an increase of 66% compared with 2021, by holding independent karting events and developing new tourism products. The competition not only successively introduced commercial activities of high-quality brand manufacturers such as Yamaha, Ducati, BMW, Porsche, etc., and the test of the resident team, and ensured the landing of domestic events such as the "CTCC Sports Cup" Yangtze River Delta Racing Festival, but also planned popular lap races abroad to attract racing enthusiasts to participate.
Positioned as a "first-class event center, a leisure park for the public, and a sports demonstration base", at present, through the collaborative linkage of sports and cultural tourism and other industrial sectors, the Shanghai Stadium takes the Yangtze River Delta as a foothold, radiates the whole country to build a racing characteristic cultural tourism industry, and amplifies the spillover effect of F1 events.