The Shanghai International Circuit was first introduced to the real life and game F1 calendar almost 20 years ago in 2004. It took a couple of years off the real life calendar for reasons we all know about, but it has actually remained on all the official F1 games as an extra track from 2021 – 2023.

Therefore it’s on F1 23 as a bonus track which can be added to career/GP/online seasons, which is a good thing as it’s quite popular with fans overall.

With all the twisty, technical sections in the infield, you might think this would be a low downforce circuit. But as with the last few F1 games, straight line speed is very important, and you need to stay competitive on the pit straight and massive long back straight. Therefore race setups round here typically run a compromise of medium downforce levels – enough speed for the straights, but also enough wing for sectors 1 and 2 especially.

Here’s a general baseline dry race setup for China for a controller user:

• Wings – 25/27
• Diff – 50/55
• Camber – -2.50/-1.00/0.00/0.10
• Suspension –  32-10-13-3-35-38
• Brakes – 100 Pressure/55 Bias
• Tyre pressures –Fronts 22.5/Rears 20.1

This setup is partially taken from the excellent SimRacingSetups channel, but modded and adapted for a controller user as wheel setups don’t translate directly over to a pad and need some tweaking.

More Setup Considerations

China is a tricky circuit to get a setup for, and even trickier to nail a good lap there because it’s so technical in the middle sector. Here’s some additional analysis and commentary on creating a setup there.

Wings – You can definitely go a couple of different routes here with wing levels. Some players do go up to 30 or even higher with wings here, but in races it’ll leave you massively vulnerable to overtakes on the long DRS straight, with the DRS/ERS/slipstream combo so powerful on this game. Therefore staying around mid-high 20s wing settings for race pace is advised to stay competitive on the straights.

Wing spacing – This is where a pad differs a lot from a wheel, with the controller having very responsive steering on F1 23. Therefore I tend to put the rear wing 2 clicks above the front using a pad for optimal turn in and better stability. Try them closer if you want, but it can make traction harder on a pad as the car may over-rotate.

Rotation – I tend to use race setups others might consider “understeery” because I find the steering on a pad so sensitive on F1 23. If you want more rotation in the car especially for turns 1/2, plus the middle sector and the long turn onto the back straights, you can:

• Space the wings closer together (but can make traction harder in sector 2 especially).
• Reduce the Off Throttle Diff – bring it closer to 50 for better rotation off throttle

Qualifying vs Race – Using higher wings will give you better single lap pace round here. If you’re confident in your pace being strong here and being able to break the DRS gap and pull away, it can be worth optimising for Qualifying with higher wings. But if you get stuck in the pack, you could be in trouble using higher wings, unable to overtake/defend. At my latest career mode China race, I flip-flopped between 25/27 and 28/30 wings, eventually settling on 25/27 for a bit more straight line speed.

Intermediate Conditions – Wet weather is definitely possible round China if you add it to a custom career/GP season, so it pays to know some setup tweaks.

Just for light rain/intermediate conditions, your dry setup will work OK, but consider adding 1-2 clicks of wing for more grip in the second sector, plus I’d put your rear wing 3 clicks above the front in the wet for better stability and traction.

Over-rotation is your enemy using a controller in the wet here with how tricky the traction is in sector 2 especially. Also put your on throttle diff down to 50 if it isn’t already there (highly recommended for that tricky exit onto the long back straight).

Full Wet Conditions – When it’s heavy rain and time for the blue full wet tyres, it’s advised to crank on a bit more wing still.

Add 4-6 more clicks of wing to your dry setup depending on preference, and also space the rear wing 3 clicks above the front when using a pad for better stability.

Soften your suspension and raise your ride height a few clicks, and use 50 On throttle diff for easiest traction.

Here would be the full wet controller setup I’d use at China

• Wings 29/32
• Diff – 50/55
• Camber – -2.50/-1.00/0.00/0.10
• Suspension –  20-8-8-1-38-41
• Brakes – 95 Pressure/55 Bias
• Tyre pressures – Fronts 22.2/Rears minimum

Extra Setup Resources

You can go down different setup routes at China, opting for setups which make you stronger on the straights, or in the technical middle sections. Although it’s generally advised to opt for lower wings when possible on this game, some players are getting strong single lap pace using higher wings.

Here are some other setup resources to check out for China, for TT setups and fine tuned car specific ones as well:

• F1laps.com China page – Another car setup forum with pages for every track, and loads of custom setups posted, both TT and race, all cars, all conditions.
• F1gamesetup.com – An even more specialized resource with custom setups, every car and every track, wet and dry weather.

Bonus Tips For Racing Here

The China track is pretty well known by now for experienced F1 gamers, but it’s still tricky to consistently nail strong lap times round here, with tricky traction in sector 2 in particular. Here are some extra tips for racing there.

Tyres – Tyre wear and tyre degradation is high at this track, with the front left especially taking a beating with the prolonged right hand corners. You can’t really use the red soft tyre in 50% distance races, so it’s Medium-Hard strategy there. But because of the high deg, the “undercut” – where you pit 1-2 laps early and take advantage of fresh tyres – is quite powerful here. Consider an early stop if you’re stuck behind a few cars and struggling to overtake.

Fuel – I don’t know whether I have a weird throttle trace on this circuit, but I also find it uses more fuel than other tracks. I just lost a podium in my latest career mode race there because I ran out of fuel on the last lap. It might be an idea to bump your fuel load up a few more clicks than what you normally use at China.

Traction – Getting through longer races on this circuit is all about being patient and progressive on the throttle, especially on that long right hander onto the back straight, and also as the rear tyres start to wear over longer stints. This is also why I space the rear wing 2 clicks above the front – it might seem a bit “understeery”, but it’s a lot easier to control when driving with worn tyres and traction starts to get more difficult.