Formula 1 News: 2026 Chinese GP Preview

Round 2 of the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship takes the teams to the Shanghai International Circuit for the Chinese Grand Prix. Below is our Chinese GP Preview for this year’s race.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Formula 1 first voyaged to China in 2004, with the purpose-built Shanghai International Circuit constructed in advance of the championship’s arrival. China remained part of the schedule through 2019, before a four-year absence because of the pandemic and connected travel restrictions, before the country eventually returned to the roster in 2024.

For the third successive season, the F1 Sprint will feature at the Chinese Grand Prix, the first of six Sprint events across the course of the 2026 championship. Per recent years, Sprint Qualifying on Friday will determine the grid line-up for Saturday’s Sprint Race, before the usual qualifying session and grand prix – meaning there will be just a single one-hour practice session before Sprint Qualifying.

The Shanghai International Circuit was purpose-built for the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix and represents the Chinese symbol for Shang, meaning upwards. The track features long, flowing corners, including its spiraling opening sequence and a 1.2km backstraight, one of the longest on the Formula One calendar. For 2026, there will be four Straight Mode zones including the two previous DRS zones on the pit and back straight as well as the runs from Turn 4-6 and Turn 10-11. With one Free Practice session on Friday morning, understanding how best to approach the circuit with 2026 machinery will be a challenge for teams and drivers.

Fact File: Chinese Grand Prix

• The Chinese GP returned to the calendar for the first time since 2019 in 2024, having first appeared on the F1 calendar in 2004.
• The 2019 race was also F1000, the 1000th race since the inception of the sport in 1950.
• The first seven events were all won by different drivers.
• Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver at the track, triumphing six times to date between 2008 and 2019.
• Shanghai will host the first F1 Sprint weekend of 2026.
• In 2005, the circuit hosted the season finale for the one and only time.
• Having originally taken place towards the end of the F1 calendar, the race moved to a more permanent slot in the early stages of the season from 2009.
• This race first appeared on the World Championship calendar in 2004, always at this circuit, held every year since then with the exception of four years from 2020 to 2023.
• The inaugural event was won by Rubens Barrichello driving a Ferrari.
• Lewis Hamilton heads the list of winners here with six and he also has paid the most visits to the podium with nine.
• Only three of the current field, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen, have been first past the flag in China: the Spaniard did it twice (2005 and 2013), the Briton six times, and the Dutchman once (2024).
• Mercedes heads the teams list on six wins, two more than Ferrari, which has the most podium finishes to its name (13), one more than Mercedes.
• In 2025, McLaren secured a 1-2 finish with Oscar Piastri taking his first win of the season ahead of teammate Lando Norris, while George Russell completed the podium for Mercedes.

Circuit Details

• The 5.451km layout features 16 turns (nine right, seven left). The racing lap record from the first race in 2004 still stands today, set by Michael Schumacher.
• The circuit has been fully resurfaced ahead of the 2024 event and should be smoother than before, though grip levels may be lower one year on from last season’s graining issues.
• In 2025, the Chinese Grand Prix saw more non-DRS-assisted overtakes (25) than any other race on the calendar, with the hairpin at the end of the long back straight a popular overtaking spot.
• As the circuit is built on swampland, the risk of earth movement below ground is increased, so steps have been taken to grind down and reseal areas of concern on the track to make it less bumpy.
• The Shanghai track is 5.451 kilometers long and its layout is based on the Chinese character “shang” meaning “upwards” or “above”.
• The circuit features several slow corners, such as the first three, turn 6 and 14, and high-speed corners like the combination from 7 to 8.
• There are two long straights, the one that crosses the start-finish line and another between turns 13 and 14, which is over a kilometer in length.
• There are four Straight Mode zones for 2026, enhancing overtaking opportunities on the pit straight, back straight, Turn 4-6, and Turn 10-11.
• Track length: 5.451 km
• Race distance: 305.066 km
• Number of laps: 56
• Number of corners: 16
• Tire Allocation: Hard – C2, Medium – C3, Soft – C4
• Lap record: 1m32.238s
• Pole position (2025): 1m30.641s
• Fastest lap (2025): 1m35.454s
• Winning strategy (2025): Medium-Hard
• Number of Safety Cars (2025): Zero

Schedule

Friday, March 13: Practice and Sprint Qualifying – The first practice session takes place at 11:30am local time. Sprint qualifying starts at 3:30pm local time.

Saturday, March 14: Sprint and Qualifying – The Sprint kicks off at 11:00am. Qualifying is at 3:00pm local time.

Sunday, March 15: Race – The grand prix is at 3:00pm local time.

Note: Shanghai is 8 hours ahead of UTC. Timetable subject to change.

USA TV Schedule

All Times Eastern – All sessions available to replay via the Apple TV app

Sprint Weekend Format

Sprint weekends present a unique challenge because you have to do a lot of learning in the first practice session before going straight into competitive running. The Sprint regulations remain consistent with 2025, with Sprint Qualifying on Friday after Free Practice One, before the Sprint precedes Qualifying on Saturday. From a parc fermé point of view, teams are allowed to alter the car setup after the Sprint and before the Qualifying session on Saturday. This means that between Sprint Qualifying and Sprint, everyone will lean a lot on their simulation tools to see whether they’ve got their understanding of the track and the tires and the setup right. Then there will be a chance to reset before heading into Qualifying if needed, before parc fermé conditions come into force once more.

Weather Forecast

• Friday, March 13: Cool and cloudy with highs around 13°C (55°F) and lows near 6°C (43°F). Low chance of rain.
• Saturday, March 14: Partly sunny, highs of 14°C (57°F), lows 7°C (45°F). Dry conditions expected.
• Sunday, March 15: Mild with increasing clouds, highs 14°C (57°F), lows 7°C (45°F). Slight chance of light showers later in the day.

Team Previews/Quotes

• Red Bull Racing – Max Verstappen: “It was good to be back racing again and it was promising to see us have a good comeback in the race. The Team did a great job to get to where we are but there is still a lot to do and a lot of learnings that we can take on from that race. We were particularly impacted by the tire degradation in Melbourne, which can also be an issue at this circuit in Shanghai, and the deployment is something we can look at as well. We will continue to collect data and work on improving the car; we are still learning, and we want to go into this week and be more in the fight. Of course, it is a Sprint weekend, so we will have less time to work on the set up of the car, so we need to make sure we hit the ground running. The circuit is pretty unique, with quite a challenging track layout with a variety of different corners but with plenty of opportunities for overtaking.”
• Mercedes – George Russell (after Australia win): “I like this car. I like this engine.”
• Ferrari – Lewis Hamilton: He arrives in Shanghai looking and sounding happier than at any point last season. Fourth in Melbourne, closing on Leclerc in the final laps, and vocal about how much better the SF-26 feels.
• Haas F1 Team – Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: “We’re really looking forward to the Chinese Grand Prix. It’s obviously going to be demanding as it’s a Sprint weekend, and with what we learned from Australia – it’s a big challenge to get everything set-up. We had three sessions in Melbourne to get ready for qualifying, and of course for China, we only have one practice session to get ready – so that’s going to be the focus.”
• Haas F1 Team – Esteban Ocon: “Shanghai is a really nice circuit, but it’s also a challenge for everyone. The complex Turn 1, 2 and 3 is really demanding and technical so you need to have good confidence in the car. The support we have in China is increasing every year as well, and it’s awesome to see, so I look forward to seeing our Chinese fans, and hopefully we can get some decent results.”
• Aston Martin – Pedro de la Rosa, Team Ambassador: The first three corners are critical, emphasizing entry performance, front-end consistency, and traction.

Key Technical Challenges of Shanghai

• The track offers a difficult challenge with a mix of cornering, changes of direction and power-limited sections. The circuit is typically very front limited, with long loaded corner sequences, particularly the opening Turn 1-2-3 complex. This makes the car very sensitive to front axle load, with front-left graining a real threat.
• The first Sprint event of the season also creates an additional challenge, with only one hour of practice before the Sprint Qualifying session.

How Do the 2026 Regulations Influence the Approach This Weekend?

• We expect energy management to be easier than in Melbourne, with high part-throttle cornering time reducing the requirement for super clipping. How teams manage deployment, out-lap preparation and traffic will again be central to maximizing single-lap performance.
• In the past, careful selection of the rear wing level was required to balance downforce requirements against drag on the long straights. With the introduction of active aerodynamics and straight mode across four zones, this is no longer a major concern.

What Are the Tire Challenges at Shanghai as per Pirelli?

• Careful tire usage is required across four competitive sessions with a Sprint tire allocation of two hard, four medium and six soft tires.
• Controlling the graining risk is the largest tire challenge, with sustained sliding through Turns 1–2 and again in Turn 8, plus front-left and rear-left sliding through Turns 12–13. This leaves the front-left heavily loaded and prone to surface damage.
• We also expect cool conditions in Shanghai and, coupled with low asphalt roughness, tire preparation on low fuel may be difficult for the first timed lap, particularly on the mandated Medium tire in SQ1 and SQ2.

The first Sprint weekend will take place in Shanghai. At the second round of the championship, as happened last year, the first of six 19 lap short races scheduled for 2026 will be held on Saturday.

The tire selection for the Chinese Grand Prix weekend remains unchanged since the circuit returned to the championship calendar two years ago. Teams will use C2, C3 and C4 to tackle the 5.451 kilometer track.

The Shanghai International Circuit, whose layout resembles the shang ideogram meaning “upward”, features two main straights and sixteen corners. The first straight connects Turn 13 (slightly banked) to Turn 14, while the second, over one kilometer long, hosts the starting grid.

Some corners are very fast, such as the S section formed by turns 7 and 8, while others are much slower, like the combinations of turns 1 and 3, 6, and 14. These sequences, combined with the high-speed sections, make the track demanding on tires and pose a challenge for energy recovery with the new power units.

It will be interesting to see whether drivers can avoid the frequent corner entry lock ups seen at the Sakhir circuit during pre season testing, where some heavy braking zones were similar to those in China.

The Shanghai track was completely resurfaced in August 2024. The new asphalt significantly increased grip, consequently reducing lap times. However, the smoother surface generated graining in 2025, particularly on the front axle, which became a limiting factor that year, especially during the Sprint. The phenomenon, however, diminished in intensity on Sunday thanks to track evolution.

One year later, the circuit should be slightly more aged and, although still smoother than most others, grip levels may be lower, as should the likelihood of experiencing graining on the tire sets. This hypothesis can already be assessed in the opening track sessions.

The lap time simulations received by the teams are close to last year’s performance figures. Despite having completely different cars, the SM zones evidently compensate for the drop in speed of the new generation of cars compared to the previous one.

What Are the Strategic Considerations for the Race?

• The Grand Prix is expected to be a one-stop race, depending on how graining evolves across the weekend, with most teams likely to favor the Medium as the starting tire.
• The Sprint race is expected to be a no-stop race with a strong preference for the Hard tire, although Medium tire races are possible depending on teams’ Sprint grid position and overall Grand Prix prioritization.

In 2025

Only three drivers in 2025 chose the Hard compound at the start of the Chinese Grand Prix, while the rest of the grid opted for the Medium. The Soft compound was not used during Sunday’s race. The most common strategy was a one stop, with a long final stint on the hardest tire, which on track had shown less tendency to grain and consistent performance even over high mileage. The drivers who finished on the podium pitted between laps fourteen and fifteen.

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
2. Lando Norris (McLaren)
3. George Russell (Mercedes)

• Race Highlights: McLaren dominated the race, which saw Oscar Piastri convert his pole position into a win. Lando Norris secured second place despite facing late-race brake pedal issues.
• Post-Race Penalties: The race was noted for the disqualification of three drivers, including Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, due to technical regulation breaches (car underweight), which promoted others in the final classification.
• Sprint Race: Lewis Hamilton won the Saturday Sprint race for Ferrari before his disqualification from the main Grand Prix.