Formula One's circus is coming to Shanghai for the 11th straight year this weekend, but whatever happens in the race itself, there will likely be a case of déjà vu.
F1 is the pinnacle of global motorsports and rightly feels the need to have a presence in every major corner of the world - as evidenced by its repeated attempts to stage a race in the US, where the public couldn't care less - but success is about far more than simply turning up, and nowhere has that been demonstrated better than in China.
After the initial buzz of the first few races, highlighted by Michael Schumacher's 91st - and last - Grand Prix victory in 2006, attendance has steadily declined and interest has waned. National broadcaster CCTV did not screen the race last year following poor ratings, and when coverage then switched to a network of regional broadcasters, viewing figures took a further hit.
The existing deal with F1 to stage the Chinese Grand Prix runs until 2017, with the exorbitant race fees originally charged by F1 having already been slashed to ensure that China remains on the calendar, but the long-term future is far from secure.
The problems are many and varied. The track has been described by racing legend David Coulthard as "soulless" and it's located in Jiading district, many miles from the center of Shanghai. It can accommodate 200,000 visitors, but it's far more common to see empty swathes of seats than crowds of people.
The few Chinese sponsors that have dabbled in the sport have largely disappeared and sports consultancy the Gemba Group found that the sport is rapidly losing its "cool" factor: Incredibly, there was actually more interest in China in the 2013 Australian Grand Prix than in its Chinese equivalent.
It goes without saying that the presence of a Chinese driver on the starting grid would revolutionize the motor racing landscape here. But F1's arrogance has assumed that drivers and fans would naturally flock to the sport when it should instead have been developing new drivers and educating future fans.
At an official level, F1 is tolerated rather than encouraged here. Racing supercars at high speeds is too closely linked with images of corruption or spoilt rich kids, meaning that the sport is simply out of touch with the vast majority of Chinese. Until something drastic changes - either on or off the track - it's hard to see F1 really taking hold in China.
The author is a Beijing-based freelance writer. dreyermark@gmail.com