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The Formula One World Championship enters its panicky penultimate round in China - but who should you choose as Fantasy Grand Prix enters its crictial period?

HOW IT WORKS

- You choose three drivers for each race - one from Group A and two from Group B - plus a team.

- The top eight finishers in the race receive 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 fantasy point respectively, plus there is a bonus point for any driver leading at any point during the race and another for completing the entire race.

- The top three drivers in qualifying will earn 3, 2 and 1 point respectively, meaning each driver can receive a maximum of 15 fantasy points during each race and each team can earn a maximum of 27 fantasy points per race.

- Each driver and constructor can be an active member of your team in no more than four races.

- The deadline to create a team for each race is 8am local time on the day of qualifying.

FOUR FOR SHANGHAI

Fantasy is not above screaming its successes while shamelessly hiding its glaring failures.

A week ago a second Fernando Alonso victory on the bounce was predicted and duly arrived after a momentous drive in Japan; but no mention was made of Kimi Raikkonen, second on the day, as [another] calamity waiting to happen.

Hell, let's go with the flow: the Spaniard will perform again. Even he thinks so: "We saw in Fuji that our level of performance was reasonable compared to Ferrari and McLaren, so you have to feel that once again anything is possible this weekend - a podium or a victory."

Look at the facts: he has won the last two races; he was second in the McLaren in 2007; and he finished first and second in his title-winning Renault in 2005 and 2006 respectively. His worst showing at the track was fourth in the inaugural race at F1's most expensive circuit in 2004.

Okay, so we were wrong about Raikkonen, but he again showed inconsistency as Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa and McLaren star Lewis Hamilton served penalties and dropped down the field. At one moment he was repeatedly having a go at Robert Kubica; the next he was hanging on to third from Nelson Piquet Jr. He still represents a risk.

If you are looking for reasons to pick the Finn - now out of the World Championship picture - he won in Shanghai last year as he looked to sneak the title from Hamilton, was second in 2005 and third in 2004. Hang on, maybe he's a dead cert after all...

The big question this weekend concerns Hamilton: will he again bottle it in the final two races and throw away a World Championship lead? This year it is only five points whereas in 2007 it was 17 - has he learned his lesson? He spun out on lap 30 of his only previous appearance at Shanghai in an F1 car.

Massa showed more nerve at Fuji, working his way back into the points as his rival faltered while also displaying an aggressive streak with the move that spun out the Briton and effectively ended his challenge.

The smart money could be on the Brazilian. In his previous appearances with the Scuderia at the Shanghai International Circuit he finished on the podium (2007) and crashed out (2006).

Elsewhere in the 'A' group, Robert Kubica enjoyed a good drive for second last weekend - although he was not on the pace of Alonso, which is why he lost the lead after the first stint - but has a poor record in China.

In the 'B' section, Piquet showed his ability to adapt to a new circuit in Fuji, finishing fourth: this is another unknown track for him and it will be interesting to see whether he can match his last drive. The question mark again hovers over his ability to reach Q3 in qualifying - he is the only driver to have been out-qualified on every occasion this season by his team-mate.

Jarno Trulli was back to his best in Japan, coming home in fifth after three races without a score.

Fantasy advises that you ignore the Hondas and Force Indias of this world, as they are well off the pace - but Honda's British driver Jenson Button has a decent record of points finishes in China, including second in 2004.

Sebastian Vettel impressed with fourth last year in the Toro Rosso and was sixth in Japan, so he could be worth a shot, while team-mate Sebastien Bourdais will be stung by the 25-second penalty which robbed him of points last weekend and keen to put it right.

David Coulthard finished in the top eight last year but smashed up his Red Bull at the opening corner at Fuji.

As for the teams: Renault could do something again - Flavio Briatore has said his team's car is the most improved of 2008 - while the fortunes of McLaren, BMW Sauber and Ferrari are anyone's guess. Toyota would be a decent shout away from the top few.

Before every race we will give you the definitive guide of who is hot and who is not whilst within the game there is a Driver Performance Table - a stats tool showing you the top fantasy performers for each race of the season - and a Driver Distribution Table showing you how many managers are picking each driver.

Click on the link underneath the photograph to play Fantasy F1: On the grid!

Jonathan Symcox / Eurosport