The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Heineken Chinese Grand Prix 2026) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 15 March 2026 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China. It was 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) converted pole position in the sprint to a victory. His teammate, 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli, became the youngest Formula One polesitter, second-youngest Grand Prix winner and the first Italian to win a Grand Prix since Giancarlo Fisichella at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix. Antonelli led a Mercedes 1–2 ahead of Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who achieved his maiden podium with Ferrari.
Background The event was held at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai for the 19th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 13–15 March. The Grand Prix was the second round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship and the 19th running of the Chinese Grand Prix. It was also the first of six Grands Prix in the season to utilise the sprint format and the third time overall that the Chinese Grand Prix featured it.
Championship standings before the race Going into the event, George Russell led 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 entered this round as the leaders of the Constructors' Championship with 43 points, 16 ahead of Ferrari and 33 ahead of McLaren, who were second and third, respectively.
Entrants
The drivers and teams were the same as published in the season entry list, with no additional stand-in drivers for the race. The Grand Prix marked the 1,000th entry for McLaren.
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.
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 teammate Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris (McLaren).
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.
Sprint qualifying report Sprint qualifying consisted of three sessions, with the six drivers with the slowest 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.
During the twelve-minute long first session (SQ1), Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alexander Albon (both Williams) were eliminated, alongside Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (both Aston Martin), and Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez (both Cadillac), Pérez did not set a time during the session. 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).
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.
Sprint qualifying classification DriverConstructorSprintgridSQ1SQ2SQ3163 George RussellMercedes1:33.0301:32.2411:31.5201212 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes1:33.4551:32.2911:31.809231 Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes1:33.7831:33.0861:32.1413444 Lewis HamiltonFerrari1:33.1481:33.0421:32.1614581 Oscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes1:33.8131:33.0381:32.2245616 Charles LeclercFerrari1:33.1941:32.6021:32.5286710 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Mercedes1:33.9701:33.4051:32.888783 Max Verstappen1:34.1701:33.5641:33.2548987 Oliver BearmanHaas-Ferrari1:34.2801:33.5011:33.4099106 Isack HadjarRed Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford1:34.4471:33.6201:33.723101127 Nico HülkenbergAudi1:33.9971:33.635N/A111231 Esteban OconHaas-Ferrari1:34.0871:33.639N/A121330 Liam LawsonRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford1:34.1101:33.714N/A13145Audi1:34.2911:33.774N/A141541 Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford1:34.4951:34.048N/A151643Alpine-Mercedes1:34.5921:34.327N/A161755 Carlos Sainz Jr.Atlassian Williams-Mercedes1:34.761N/AN/A171823 Alexander AlbonAtlassian Williams-Mercedes1:35.305N/AN/A1914 Fernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco-Honda1:35.581N/AN/A 182018 Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco-Honda1:36.151N/AN/A192177 Valtteri BottasCadillac-Ferrari1:37.378N/AN/A20107% time: 1:39.542—11 Sergio PérezCadillac-FerrariNo timeN/AN/A21Source: Notes – Alexander Albon qualified 18th, but was required to start the sprint from the pit lane as his car was modified under parc fermé conditions. – Sergio Pérez failed to set a time during sprint qualifying. He was permitted to race in the sprint at the stewards' discretion.
Sprint The sprint was held on 14 March 2026, at 11:00 local time (UTC+8), and was run for 19 laps.
Sprint report The sprint began with George Russell holding first into the first turn, while Lewis Hamilton had move up to second from fourth, having passed Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris down the main straight. Hamilton then passed Russell into turn 14, and was in the lead at the end of lap one. At turn 4, Antonelli made contact with Isack Hadjar, and received a 10-second penalty as a result. By lap 5, Russell had overtaken Hamilton, and was increasing his lead. Behind, Charles Leclerc had overtaken his teammate Hamilton on lap 8, with Antonelli getting past Oscar Piastri and Norris. Antonelli then overtook Hamilton on lap 11, and Leclerc two laps later. Nico Hulkenberg then came to a stop, prompting a safety car and most of the front runners fitted the soft compound tyre. Antonelli served his penalty, coming out just ahead of Piastri in seventh. The sprint resumed on lap 14, with Russell holding the lead until the end. Leclerc finished second, with Hamilton two seconds behind in third. Norris held off Antonelli to take fourth. Piastri, Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman collected the remaining points, in sixth to eighth respectively.
Sprint classification DriverConstructorTime/RetiredPoints163 George RussellMercedes 19 33:38.998 1 8216 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 19 +0.674 6 73 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 19 +2.554 4 641 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 19 +4.433 3 5512 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 19 +5.688 2 46 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 19 +6.809 5 3730 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 19 +10.900 13 2887 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari 19 +11.271 9 193 19 +11.619 81031 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari 19 +13.887 121110 Alpine-Mercedes 19 +14.780 71255 Carlos Sainz Jr.Atlassian Williams-Mercedes 19 +15.753 1713 5 Audi 19 +15.858 141443 Alpine-Mercedes 19 +16.393 16156 Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford 19 +16.430 101623 Alexander Albon Atlassian Williams-Mercedes 19 +20.0141714 19 +21.599 181818 Lance Stroll 19 +21.971 191911 Sergio Pérez Cadillac-Ferrari 19 +28.241 2127 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 12Engine 1177 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari 12Power loss 2041 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 11 15Source: Notes – Sergio Pérez received a five-second time penalty for a safety car infringement. The penalty made no difference as he was classified in the last position.
Qualifying Qualifying was held on 14 March 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+8), and determined the starting grid order for the main race. Kimi Antonelli took pole position, at 19 years old he become the youngest Formula One polesitter, beating the record set at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix by Sebastian Vettel who was 21.
Qualifying classification DriverConstructorQ1Q2Q3112 Kimi AntonelliMercedes1:33.3051:32.4431:32.0641263 George RussellMercedes1:33.2621:32.5231:32.2862344 Lewis HamiltonFerrari1:33.5221:32.5671:32.4153416 Charles LeclercFerrari1:33.1751:32.4861:32.4284581 Oscar PiastriMcLaren-Mercedes1:33.5901:33.1301:32.550561 Lando NorrisMcLaren-Mercedes1:33.5351:32.9101:32.6086710 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Mercedes1:33.7881:33.0031:32.873783 Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford1:33.4171:33.0981:33.002896 Isack Hadjar1:33.6321:33.3521:33.12191087 Oliver BearmanHaas-Ferrari1:33.6871:33.1971:33.292101127 Nico HülkenbergAudi1:34.1161:33.354N/A111243Alpine-Mercedes1:33.6341:33.357N/A121331 Esteban OconHaas-Ferrari1:33.9741:33.538N/A131430 Liam LawsonRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford1:34.1391:33.765N/A141541 Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford1:33.9061:33.784N/A15165Audi1:33.5491:33.965N/A161755 Carlos Sainz Jr.Atlassian Williams-Mercedes1:34.317N/AN/A171823 Alexander AlbonAtlassian Williams-Mercedes1:34.772N/AN/A1914 Fernando Alonso1:35.203N/AN/A182077 Valtteri BottasCadillac-Ferrari1:35.436N/AN/A192118 Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco-Honda1:35.995N/AN/A202211 Sergio PérezCadillac-Ferrari1:36.906N/AN/A21107% time: 1:39.697Source: Notes – Alexander Albon qualified 18th, but was required to start the race from the pit lane as his car was modified under parc fermé conditions.
Race The race was held on 15 March 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+8), and was run for 56 laps.
Race report Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Alexander Albon all failed to make the race start. Norris and Piastri both suffered power unit problems. Bortoleto and Albon failed to start the race due to hydraulic problems.
Starting from pole position, Antonelli took his maiden Grand Prix win, Championship leader George Russell finished second. It was the first win for an Italian driver in Formula One since Giancarlo Fisichella at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix. With his win, Antonelli also became the second-youngest Formula One winner and the youngest driver to secure a hat trick. Lewis Hamilton took his first podium in a full Grand Prix for Ferrari after duelling with teammate Charles Leclerc for third for much of the race.
Race classification DriverConstructorTime/RetiredPoints112 Kimi AntonelliMercedes56 1:33:15.607125263 George RussellMercedes56 +5.515218344 Lewis HamiltonFerrari56 +25.267315416 Charles LeclercFerrari56 +28.894412587 Oliver BearmanHaas-Ferrari56 +57.2681010610 Pierre GaslyAlpine-Mercedes56 +59.64778730 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford56 +1:20.58814686 Isack Hadjar56 +1:27.24794955 Atlassian Williams-Mercedes55 +1 lap1721043 Alpine-Mercedes55 +1 lap1211127 Nico HülkenbergAudi55 +1 lap11 1241 Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls-Red Bull Ford55 +1 lap15 1377 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari55 +1 lap19 1431 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari55 +1 lap13 1511 Sergio Pérez Cadillac-Ferrari55 +1 lap213 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford45 Coolant leak814 Fernando Alonso 32 Vibrations1818 Lance Stroll 9 Battery2081 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes0 Electrical—1 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes0 Electrical—5 Audi0 Hydraulics—23 Alexander Albon Atlassian Williams-Mercedes0 Hydraulics—Source: Notes – Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Gabriel Bortoleto and Alexander Albon did not start the race due to issues. Their places on the grid were left vacant.
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings DriverPoints1 George Russell51 2 Kimi Antonelli47 3 Charles Leclerc344 Lewis Hamilton33 25 Oliver Bearman17Source:
Constructors' Championship standings ConstructorPoints1 Mercedes982 Ferrari673 McLaren-Mercedes18 14 Haas-Ferrari17 1512Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
Notes
References
External links 2026 Chinese Grand Prix at Formula1.com