Circuit architects Hermann Tilke and Peter Wahl on their creation: “The 5.4 kilometre racing track is shaped like the Chinese character 'shang', which stands for 'high' or 'above'. Other symbols represented in the architecture originate from Chinese history, such as the team buildings arranged like pavilions in a lake to resemble the ancient Yuyan-Garden in Shanghai. Here, nature and technology are carefully used to create harmony between the elements.”

The stadium has 50,000 fixed seats and can accommodate up to 200,000 people, about 1 percent of the population of greater Shanghai.

According to a computer simulation, it will take about one minute and 34 seconds for a Formula One car to run a lap, with average speeds running close to 205 km/h, which makes the Shanghai International Circuit one of the longest lap raceways in the world. The longest beeline section of track is designed between the 13th and the 14th turns. On this 1.2-kilometer-long raceway, cars will travel at full speed, reaching maximums of 327 km/h.