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Looking Forward to a ‘Fantastic Event’: Toto Previews Return to China

It’s been more than 1,800 days since our last visit, but we can finally declare race week for the Chinese Grand Prix once again.

After a five-year hiatus from the F1 calendar, the event returns as the fifth race of the 2024 season with Toto and the team excited to experience another special F1 atmosphere after half a decade.

“We’re looking forward to racing in Shanghai and bringing F1 back to the Chinese fans,” said Toto.

“I am sure it will be a fantastic event,” he added.

Twenty years on from the first race at the Shanghai International Circuit, Toto recognises the significance of returning to such a key market for Formula One.

“It’s an important moment. As the world’s largest automotive market and second biggest economy, China is crucial to the sport’s global footprint,” Toto added.

“The growth of F1 in recent years has been positive, and China is a key market in which to continue this progress.”

A lot has changed in Formula One since our last visit to China – 106 races on from the milestone F1000, there will be plenty of unknowns.

New cars, new tyres and track surface changes will make for an interesting weekend on track.

The first Sprint weekend of the year will also add an extra edge of unpredictability.

The headlines results didn’t show it, but we made solid progress with our car in Japan.

Toto

In a change from last year, which saw teams commit to a set-up for the entire weekend after FP1, there will now be two parc fermé periods across a weekend.

The first will happen before Sprint Qualifying on Friday and last up until after the Sprint race.

Teams will then be able to make changes to their setups before Qualifying and the race itself.

“The changes to the format, including second parc fermé, will be an improvement to the rhythm of the weekend,” added Toto.

“The single hour of practice still puts pressure on to make correct decisions with imperfect information.

“We are looking forward to that test.”

On track, there will be 15 more points to fight for across a weekend that gives us another chance to develop W15.

“The headline results didn’t show it, but we made solid progress with our car in Japan", said Toto.

“We are looking forward to building on that this weekend.”

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