Shanghai International Circuit

The Shanghai International Circuit (simplified Chinese: 上海国际赛车场; traditional Chinese: 上海國際賽車場; pinyin: Shànghǎi Guójì Sàichēchǎng) is a Chinese motor racing venue, situated in the district of Jiading near Shanghai in the People's Republic of China. It was the venue of the inaugural Formula One Chinese Grand Prix on 26 September 2004.

History
Costing approximately $450 million (USD), the circuit was financed by a government-funded joint-venture company, consisting of the Shanghai Juss Corporation, Shanghai National Property Management Co Ltd, and Shanghai Jia'an Investment and Development Co Ltd. Architectural and design experts began planning and visiting the site between April and May 2003, and the area was transformed from swampland to international racetrack within 18 months with a team of 3000 engineers working around the clock.

Other events held at the circuit include the Australian-based V8 Supercar championship in 2005, attracting crowds of over 250,000 spectators, and also the final round of the A1 Grand Prix in 2006/2007.

In September 2007, former manager of the circuit Yu Zhifei was convicted of embezzlement as part of a corruption scandal in Shanghai which resulted in the dismissal of several senior Chinese Communist Party officials.

Layout
In common with many other new Formula One circuits, it was designed by Hermann Tilke, and also features his trademark track feature: a long back straight followed by a hairpin turn. Current-generation F1 cars can easily surpass 300 km/h (186 mph) on the long straight between corners 13 and 14. The track layout was inspired from the Chinese character shang (上) the first character in the name of the city Shanghai, meaning "above" or "ascend". One lap lasts 5.5 kilometres (3.4 miles). The whole circuit plus seating areas and other areas for spectators, covers a total area of 5.3 km².

Records
Times below are driven over a distance of 5451 meters. * Intermediate circuit (4.600 km/2.858mi)