The inaugural Chinese Grand Prix was generally deemed a great success with the Hermann Tilke designed track getting a universal thumbs-up from the drivers, while the facilities themselves were stunning, eclipsing anything seen before in the sport.
Almost 150,000 spectators witnessed this historic event, making it the biggest F1 crowd of the season, at a venue that can actually host 200,000.
Apart from the minor teething troubles which are inevitable at any new facility, the only negative point about the weekend appeared to be the traffic which meant travelling back to Shanghai in the evenings could take up to two hours. With foreigners unable to drive in China and no helicopter traffic allowed, even the stars of the sport had no option but to sit in traffic.
A futuristic railway station sits just behind the main grandstands, but the service is unlikely to be up and running until 2006. Several drivers joked that they are planning to sleep in the team offices at the track for next year’s race.
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