[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by Acid09

Toyota seems to very confident in their chances all of a sudden, their Shanghai pre-race PR release is almost cocky in tone considering their usual understatement-demeanor.

Looks like they have found the sweet spot of the car at Fuji.

Or the track suits Toyota very much with all the slow corners. Audi's PR release is filled with references to the 120 km/h rule:

At the premiere at Shanghai a year ago, Audi saw that the cornering radii of the modern Grand Prix circuit have a particularly disadvantageous effect on the R18 e-tron quattro. In six of the narrow turns, the hybrid race car is slower than 120 km/h. But only above this speed, the e-tron quattro hybrid system is allowed to use the recovered energy for acceleration again – as prescribed by the regulations.
...
Chris Reinke (Head of LMP): “... The track characteristics pose a great challenge because, due to the regulations, we can’t use our hybrid system in the narrow turns."
...
Benoît Tréluyer: “I think Shanghai will be the most difficult race of the year. We’ve clearly seen that our engineers managed to make a big step with the car. But the track with its corners does not suit our car at all. Unfortunately, we’re not allowed to use our hybrid energy as freely as our competitor. Winning in China won’t be easy.”

source: https://www.audi-motorsport.info/v2/...single/id/8050