Hard to believe, but after just one race a number of drivers are already battling to save their seats.
Thankfully, the Weather Gods are unlikely to interfere today, and starting from the back of the grid they have the benefit of being unlikely to get embroiled in any first lap disasters.
Being an F1 driver is hard enough as it is, but with the added pressure of social media it is becoming even harder. Then again there are the financial pressures of the championship standings, not to mention the seemingly endless queue of young hopefuls rising through the ranks.
Having made changes to his suspension overnight, Lawson, who qualified last, will start from the pitlane.
As we said, the weather is expected to be good today, however the big question mark concerns the tyres. As witnessed throughout the weekend, and especially during the Sprint, tyre deg is a big concern, especially to the front-left.
It was because (Sprint) pole-man Hamilton held on to the lead at the start yesterday, and wasn't caught behind anyone else, that he was able to avoid any significant deg. While the track has been resurfaced since last year, it is taking its toll on the rubber, and nost of the field struggled to complete the full 19 laps yesterday.
With that in mind the battle to be first at the end of Lap 1 will be vital. However, first comes that never-ending opening corner and the natural 'funnelling' of the field.
While we focus on the likes of Lawson and Doohan, it is those at the front and mid-grid who face early elimination, and consequently it is important not just who leads at the end of Lap 1 but who survives it.
The McLarens have the pace, but so too does the Mercedes, as shown by Russell - who was faster on the straight than Piastri yesterday - and then there are the Ferraris, where Leclerc will be seeking to re-establish himself.
Whatever happens, though his car doesn't have the pace, Verstappen will be there. However, without the help of a wingman he will be on his own, which also affects Red Bull in terms of the team title.
Other than those drivers whose seats are at risk, a number of others need to make up for last week, and in this case we're looking particularly at Sainz - who is having a difficult start with Williams - and Alonso, while Hadjar has the opportunity to put a smile on Helmut Marko's face.
Here, and for much of the season, we expect the real fun and games to involve the McLaren pairing, both of whom are highly talented and hungry for success. We have seen numerous examples over the last couple of seasons, and one cannot help but feel that sooner or later it will end in tears. Successfully managing the pair will not be easy, but then again the Woking team has experience. That said, that was under different management and it remains to be seen if Stella and Brown can pull it off.
In terms of strategy, the level of degradation leads Pirelli to suggest that a two-stop is obligatory, featuring the medium and the hard.
Although the soft is fairly close to the medium in terms of performance, Pirelli doesn't think it's a valid choice, even if it could offer more grip off the start line. In fact, those starting near the back might go for the hards in order to extend their first stint as long as possible, before making up places in the run of pit stops.
Finally, despite the best efforts of the director, we see that vast swathes of grandstands remain empty, while those fans that are attending are spread out evenly to create the impression of a good crowd.
In the first days of the grand prix here, local school children, students and others were bussed in in order to create the look of a crowd... call us sceptical, but the endless close ups of screaming girls this weekend leads us to feel that China has not yet been won over by the sport.
Ahead of the drivers' parade, they all gathered on the grid to pay tribute to Eddie Jordan, as the sport continues to remember the popular Irishman who passed away on Thursday.
The pitlane opens and Verstappen heads out, followed by Sainz, Hamilton, Bortoleto and Lawson.
Air temperature is 28degrees C, while the track temperature is 42 degrees. It is fairly overcast and quite windy. There is a 10% chance of rain.
Albon, Tsunoda and Bortoleto have all been noted for practice start infringements. Hulkenberg also, all incidents to be investigated after the race.
All are starting on mediums bar Stroll, Bearman and Lawson who are on hards. All are on fresh rubber bar Alonso.
"Just try and work on the normal things, try and manage the tyres a bit better and see what we can do," says Piastri ahead of the start. "Everyone learned from the Sprint, so everyone is a bit wiser this afternoon which will make it a tough one."
"One stop, two stop or one of each for each driver, but it is a tyre dependent race," adds Zak Brown. "The effect of the dirty air is quite big, so worried about George, worried about Max and yesterday the Ferraris had a great Sprint, so worried about them too," he admits.
With the hards not having been used thus far this weekend, all eyes will be on those three drivers starting on the white-banded rubber.
The field heads off on the formation lap, all get away cleanly.
The grid slowly forms.
They're away! Russell gets the slightly better start than Piastri, as the Australian moves over to cover the Briton. To his left, Norris is charging, as he holds off Verstappen and the Ferraris.
Piastri leads into Turn 1 as Norris goes around the outside of Russell, as Verstappen loses out to Hamilton and then Leclerc as he struggles for grip. Just behind, the RB pair battle with Antonelli.
However, as Leclerc passed Verstappen and closed on his Ferrari teammate, Hamilton moved back on to the racing line and the pair touched damaging the Monegasque's front wing.
"I've been hit by someone," says Hamilton, unaware that it was his own teammate.
Further back, Bortoleto has spun off into the gravel at Turn 8 and flat-spotted his tyres in the process
At the end of Lap 1, it's: Piastri, Norris, Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc, Verstappen, Antonelli, Tsunoda, Hadjar and Ocon. Verstappen has dropped two places, as has Hadjar, while Gasly is up three to 13th. Hulkenberg ran wide and dropped 7 places.
"Charles has a broken front wing," reports Verstappen.
Double yellows are waved as a result of debris on the track as Leclerc is warned that he has lost 20 to 30 points of downforce at the front. "If we can survive we wait until first stop," he is told.
"Brake on fire... Alonso," warns Gasly as the Spaniard slows and heads to the pits. "I cannot brake, no brakes," he informs his team.
After 4 laps, Piastri leads his teammate by 0.9s, with Russell a further 0.8s behind and 1.5s clear of Hamilton. Leclerc is managing to hold on to his teammate's tail.
Verstappen has dropped 3s behind Leclerc, while Tsunoda, currently 8th, heads a DRS train of 6 cars, including his RB teammate who is keen to pass.
"I want to use my fronts," urges the Japanese driver as Hamilton warns of front-left graining.
"I'm starting to struggle, left-front," admits Norris.
Told about his tyres, Albon insists that he is "comfortable". The Thai driver is currently 11th, just 0.7s down on Ocon. Teammate Sainz is 14th.
Despite his lack of downforce, Leclerc is lapping at the same pace as his Ferrari teammate.
"We are on Plan B," Leclerc is told. "If it stays like this I want Plan A," he responds.
Gasly pits at the end of Lap 10, rejoining in 18th on hards.
"Too much traffic, so we stick to Plan B," Leclerc is told.
"Do you think we can make Plan C target lap," Piastri is asked. "I think so," he replies.
Tsunoda, Ocon and Doohan all pit at the end of Lap 11, all switching to the white-banded rubber.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Shanghai here.
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