As the festivities commence, all eyes are on the drama playing out on and off the grid, which began with a wild dog roaming the track, according to the BBC.
Phasor measurements track the amount of stress placed on the electric power grid by providing granular data about frequency, voltage and phase angle conditions in real-time.
That meant Alonso jumped from eighth on the grid to seventh and got to start on the clean side of the track rather than the dusty side near to the pit lane.
The 10-place grid penalty in China was very difficult as it's a hard track to get close to people and overtake so, in many ways, I knew that was going to hurt us.
Kimi Raikkonen rediscovered his mojo, leaping from fourth on the grid to first by the end of lap two, capitalizing on a spin from polesitter Hamilton on a damp track.