Malaysia provided an action-packed race with plenty of overtaking and a podium battle that went right down to the very last lap – and in China Pirelli is hoping for more of the same. Shanghai is designed to test the limits of a modern Formula One car, particularly when it comes to traction and braking, where the tyres are under most stress.

Temperatures in China are expected to be considerably lower than they were in Malaysia, with much less humidity. Added to the smoother surface found in Shanghai, in theory there should be much less degradation. Rain is not an uncommon occurrence in China, so after a dry Malaysia, this could be where the intermediate and wet PZero tyres finally make their competition debut.

Otherwise, it will be the hard and the soft tyres that once again take centre stage, which were also nominated for Australia and Malaysia this year. The soft tyre in particular should be well-suited to the 5.451-kilometre track, but China is a race that is always hard to predict. Since the Chinese Grand Prix was first held in 2004, there has been a different winner every year: a sign of the diverse characteristics and complex variables that characterise the race.

Paul Hembery: "So far I'm very pleased with the way that our tyres have helped the show, but I'm always impressed by the way that the teams and drivers learn so quickly: I'm sure they will be finding different solutions to make the tyres last longer all the time. So far we have accurately predicted two pit stops in Australia and three in Malaysia but we'll have to wait until we see the data after Friday free practice before having a completely clear idea of what to expect in China. Unlike Malaysia, where we provided the teams with an experimental tyre for free practice, we will give each team one extra set of the usual hard tyres for Friday's first free practice session – just as we did in Australia. We saw then that it worked well, allowing the teams to maximise their track time and prepare as thoroughly as possible for the race, so we'd like to give them the same opportunity again. The first two races have been absolutely thrilling; I'm hoping that we'll see the same again in China!"

One of the characteristics of the Shanghai circuit is heavy braking, which tends to put more stress on the front tyres than the rears. In severe braking zones, the car and tyres are subjected to deceleration forces equivalent to 5G.

China has a special significance for the world championship leader and winner of Pirelli's first two grands prix, Sebastian Vettel. In 2009, it was the scene of the German's first ever pole position and win for Red Bull Racing.

Last year saw the highest number of pit stops in the history of the Chinese Grand Prix. There were a total of 67 stops: an average of 2.79 per driver, at a race that was held in mixed conditions. By way of comparison, the Malaysian Grand Prix that has just taken place had 59 stops.