2026 Chinese Grand Prix

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2026 Chinese Grand Prix
Race 2 of 24 in the 2026 Formula One World Championship
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Shanghai International Racing Circuit track map.svg
Layout of the Shanghai International Circuit
Race details [1]
Date15 March 2026
Official name Formula 1 Heineken Chinese Grand Prix 2026
Location Shanghai International Circuit
Shanghai, China
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.451 km (3.387 miles)
Scheduled distance 56 laps, 305.066 km (189.559 miles)

The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Heineken Chinese Grand Prix 2026) is a Formula One motor race set to be held on 15 March 2026 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China. It is the second round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship and the first of six Grands Prix in the season to utilise the sprint format. George Russell (Mercedes) took pole position for the sprint.

Contents

Background

The event will be held at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai for the 19th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 13–15 March. [2] The Grand Prix will be the second round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship and the 19th running of the Chinese Grand Prix. [3] It will also be the first of six Grands Prix in the season to utilise the sprint format and the third time overall that the Chinese Grand Prix will feature it. [4]

Championship standings before the race

Going into the event, George Russell leads the Drivers' Championship with 25 points, 7 points ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli in second, and 10 ahead of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) in third. Mercedes enters this round as the leaders of the Constructors' Championship with 43 points, 16 from Ferrari and 33 from McLaren, who are second and third, respectively. [5]

Entrants

The drivers and teams are the same as published in the season entry list, with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. [6] The Grand Prix marks the 1,000th entry for McLaren. [7]

Tyre choices

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3, and C4 tyre compounds designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event. [8]

Practice

The only free practice session was held on 13 March 2026, at 11:30 local time (UTC+8), and was topped by George Russell (Mercedes), ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris (McLaren). [1] [9]

Sprint qualifying

Sprint qualifying was held on 13 March 2026, at 15:30 local time (UTC+8), and determined the starting grid order for the sprint. [1]

Sprint qualifying report

As with regular qualifying, the sprint qualifying consisted of three sessions, with the six drivers with the worst lap times being eliminated following each of the first two sessions. For the first two sessions, new medium tyres were mandated, while the third and final session allowed teams to use any set of soft tyres. [10]

During the twelve-minute long first session (SQ1), Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alexander Albon (both Atlassian Williams) were elimated, alongside Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (both Aston Martin), and Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez (both Cadillac), the latter of whom did not set a time during the session. [10] [11] [12] The second session (SQ2), which lasted for ten minutes, saw the eliminations of Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto (both Audi), Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad (both Racing Bulls), Esteban Ocon (Haas), and Franco Colapinto (Alpine). [10] [11] [12]

The third session (SQ3) lasted for eight minutes, and determined the final order of the remaining ten drivers. George Russell (Mercedes) took pole position ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli, while Lando Norris (McLaren) finished third. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren) finished in fourth and fifth, respectively. Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, Oliver Bearman, and Isack Hadjar completed the rest of the top ten. [10] [11] [12]

Sprint qualifying classification

Pos.No.DriverConstructorQualifying timesSprint
grid
SQ1SQ2SQ3
163 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg George Russell Mercedes 1:33.0301:32.2411:31.5201
212 Flag of Italy.svg Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:33.4551:32.2911:31.8092
31 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.7831:33.0861:32.1413
444 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:33.1481:33.0421:32.1614
581 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.8131:33.0381:32.2245
616 Flag of Monaco.svg Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.1941:32.6021:32.5286
710 Flag of France.svg Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes 1:33.9701:33.4051:32.8887
83 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford 1:34.1701:33.5641:33.2548
987 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari 1:34.2801:33.5011:33.4099
106 Flag of France.svg Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford 1:34.4471:33.6201:33.72310
1127 Flag of Germany.svg Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:33.9971:33.635N/A11
1231 Flag of France.svg Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari 1:34.0871:33.639N/A12
1330 Flag of New Zealand.svg Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 1:34.1101:33.714N/A13
145 Flag of Brazil.svg Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:34.2911:33.774N/A14
1541 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 1:34.4951:34.048N/A15
1643 Flag of Argentina.svg Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes 1:34.5921:34.327N/A16
1755 Flag of Spain.svg Carlos Sainz Jr. Atlassian Williams-Mercedes 1:34.761N/AN/A17
1823 Flag of Thailand.svg Alexander Albon Atlassian Williams-Mercedes 1:35.305N/AN/A18
1914 Flag of Spain.svg Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Honda 1:35.581N/AN/A19
2018 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Honda 1:36.151N/AN/A20
2177 Flag of Finland.svg Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari 1:37.378N/AN/A21
107% time: 1:39.542
—11 Flag of Mexico.svg Sergio Pérez Cadillac-Ferrari No timeN/AN/A22 1
Source: [13] [14]

Notes

Sprint

The sprint will be held on 14 March 2026, at 11:00 local time (UTC+8), and will be run for 19 laps. [1]

Qualifying

Qualifying will be held on 14 March 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+8), and will determine the starting grid order for the main race. [1]

Race

The race will be held on 15 March 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+8), and will be run for 56 laps. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Chinese Grand Prix 2026 – F1 Race". Formula1.com. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  2. ↑ "Shanghai". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  3. ↑ "China". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  4. ↑ "Formula 1 and FIA announce 2026 Sprint Calendar". Formula 1. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "Australia 2026 – Championship". Stats F1. 8 March 2026. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  6. ↑ Shetty, Nish; Selley, Matthew; Lamy, Pedro; Honghai, Zheng (13 March 2026). "2026 Chinese Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  7. ↑ "The journey to 1,000 Grands Prix". McLaren.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ↑ "The first Sprint of the season in Shanghai". Pirelli (Press release). 10 March 2026. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  9. ↑ "China FP1 Results". Formula1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Russell clinches pole position in China Sprint Qualifying ahead of Antonelli". Formula 1 . 13 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 Vinel, Ben. "F1 Chinese GP: George Russell takes sprint pole in Mercedes 1-2". Motorsport.com . Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 "2026 F1 Chinese Grand Prix - Sprint Qualifying results". Racingnews365.com. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  13. ↑ "Formula 1 Heineken Chinese Grand Prix 2026 – Sprint Qualifying". Formula 1. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Formula 1 Heineken Chinese Grand Prix 2026 – Sprint grid". Formula 1. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
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