Daniel Ricciardo
“Shanghai is a track that has definitely grown on me over time. When I first went there it wasn’t one of my favourites and I wasn’t normally that competitive but since I’ve been with Red Bull Racing the circuit has been a real strength of mine and I’ve had some good results. Now I really enjoy the circuit and going back there.
“The city is quite far from the track but I try to take time to visit as it’s a pretty cool place. It’s a very international city with a good nightlife and some great restaurants, you really can find anything and everything there.
“Bahrain is very different to Shanghai but it has sunshine, the hotel is really nice and it’s close to the beach and the ocean. It’s kind of got a resort atmosphere and a lot of the time I can relax and walk around the hotel in my swim shorts.
“Since Bahrain became a night race I think the event has really come to life. It’s like Shanghai, in that it was never my favourite circuit, but I seem to have good results there and both races have become ones that I really enjoy.”
Max Verstappen
“I always enjoy to go back to China as it’s a special place and it’s a very nice track. The food, I mean, I have good experience of it already in Holland but you always have to try the real stuff when you are in China. I do have to be careful with my diet not to eat too much Chinese though as I really like it.
“The country has a lot of history and I would actually quite like to visit the giant pandas sometime. I’m just looking forward to going there at this early stage of the season as everything is still very new and nothing has really been decided yet.
“The Bahrain track is actually very interesting, I like it but it’s very hard on the tyres. It turns into a night race which means the conditions change a lot and the track can become very slippery with all the sand which brings new challenges.
“The hotel we stay at is very good, it’s down by the beach and I also have good experiences of the Bahrain go kart track, so I always look forward to that race weekend.”