The 2026 Formula 1 season heads to Shanghai for Round 2, the Chinese Grand Prix, from 13–15 March — and it also marks the first sprint event of the campaign. All eyes will be on whether Mercedes can back up their dominant season-opening one-two in Melbourne, or whether Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren can close the gap.
George Russell took a commanding victory in Australia ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli, with Charles Leclerc completing the podium for Ferrari. McLaren had a race to forget: Oscar Piastri crashed on his way to the grid and never started, while world champion Lando Norris could only manage fifth. Max Verstappen showed flashes of pace in recovering from 20th to sixth, but has yet to reveal his true hand under the new regulations.
Race and Session Times (GMT)
China’s sprint weekend format means an action-packed schedule across all three days, with sprint qualifying on Friday and the 100km sprint race on Saturday before the main grand prix on Sunday.
Friday, 13 March:
First Practice: 03:30–04:30
Sprint Qualifying: 07:30–08:14
Saturday, 14 March:
Sprint: 03:00–04:00
Qualifying: 07:00–08:00
Sunday, 15 March:
Race: 07:00
Weather Forecast
Conditions in Shanghai are expected to remain largely settled across the weekend. Saturday’s sprint race and main qualifying should be sunny with a gentle breeze and temperatures reaching around 17°C — good news for teams still gathering data on the new cars. Sunday’s grand prix may see more cloud cover move in, but the forecast remains dry for lights out at 15:00 local time, with no significant disruption expected.
How the Sprint Weekend Works
China hosts the first of six sprint events on the 2026 calendar, a format it is staging for the third consecutive year. The sprint qualifying session is split into three knockout rounds — SQ1, SQ2 and SQ3 — lasting 12, 10 and eight minutes respectively. With Cadillac now on the grid as the 11th team, six cars are eliminated in each of the first two sessions rather than five, mirroring the change introduced to main qualifying in Melbourne. The sprint race itself covers 100km, with points awarded to the top eight finishers on a scale from eight down to one.
The remaining sprint events this season take place at Miami, Canada, Silverstone, Zandvoort and Singapore — with Silverstone returning to the format for the first time since 2021 and Canada, the Netherlands and Singapore hosting sprints for the first time.
You can get your tickets for these F1 Sprint Weekends here:
Miami F1 tickets
Montreal F1 tickets
Silverstone F1 tickets
Zandvoort F1 tickets
Singapore F1 tickets
What to Expect
The 5.451km Shanghai International Circuit is a track that rewards strong straight-line speed and efficient energy deployment — both factors that will be fascinating to observe under the new 2026 regulations. Lewis Hamilton won here for Ferrari last season from pole position in the sprint, and the track historically produces close and unpredictable racing. With Verstappen yet to show his true pace, Norris desperate to bounce back after Melbourne, and Piastri looking to make amends on a circuit far less emotionally charged than his home race, China could quickly reshape the early championship picture. The addition of the sprint format only adds to the intrigue — with less time to gather data and more to lose, every session this weekend counts.
