Glamorous F1 hits China
SHANGHAI, China (CNN) -- Formula One teams are pulling out all the stops to wow the crowds for the Grand Prix debut in the Chinese city of Shanghai.
The race is one of the biggest global sporting events to be staged in China so far, with the Communist nation proudly hosting this "decadent", "capitalist" and "elitist" event.
The 150,000 tickets are sold out for one of the world's most glamorous sports, with scalpers charging as much as a 60 percent premium on tickets for the desperate.
Organizers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to host the event -- with the Shanghai International Circuit Co. building a $240 million state-of-the art track on what was once a swampy wasteland -- in a country where F1 has yet to take off.
Still some young, urban fans of the elite sport are all revved up, with die-hard motor heads coming out of the woodwork.
"It's very macho, Formula One racing is really difficult. It's very exciting," one fan told CNN.
The driving force behind a lot of the frenzy is the sport's six-time world champion, Micheal Schumacher, who is making his first visit to China.
"If you see the excitement we are able to give worldwide ... It's quite fascinating honestly. It's for European people in particular, but obviously as well for Chinese people it seems to be very exciting," Schumacher says.
And teams such as McLaren Mercedes are looking to train young Chinese drivers like Cheng Congfu, who might help attract more local fans.
"They support all the young Chinese drivers and obviously they are pushing really hard and hopefully I can be the first Chinese formula One driver," says Cheng Congfu, a McLaren supported driver.
Cheng has a way to go before reaching that dream, but he already has lots of fans. One 29-year old Chinese businessman flew to Shanghai and paid $300 for race tickets.
"I'm a car fan, so the money's not a big problem, that's not big money," he said.
His favorite team?
"Ferrari, for sure, because Schumi (Schumacher), that's what I came here for," he said.
The world of fast cars is attracting curiosity that may fuel the hype around the Formula One.
A seat here costs about five times the monthly salary of the average Chinese, so sitting in the grandstands for the Grand Prix on Sunday is far beyond the means of the masses.
But Formula One is all about letting the champagne flow in a party for the sporting world's elite.
And China has just joined that party.
What's more it's another chance to show China is up to the task of hosting the biggest international sporting event of them all: The 2008 Olympics.
CNN's Tara Duffy contributed to this report
