2026 Chinese Grand Prix
Going Into This Race
Pre-Race Report
Championship standings
Russell leads the Drivers’ Championship with 25 points, 7 ahead of teammate Antonelli and 10 ahead of Leclerc (Ferrari). Mercedes lead the Constructors’ with 43 points; Ferrari are second with 27 and McLaren third with 10.
Previous race
At Melbourne, Russell converted pole to a dominant win, leading teammate Antonelli home for a Mercedes 1–2. Leclerc and Hamilton completed the top four for Ferrari. Piastri did not start after crashing his McLaren during a reconnaissance lap following an unexpected power surge. Verstappen recovered from twentieth on the grid — where a qualifying crash had left him without a lap time — to finish sixth.
Sprint format
Shanghai hosts the first sprint weekend of the 2026 season, and its third sprint event overall. Sprint qualifying replaces the second practice session; the sprint race follows on Saturday morning ahead of main qualifying.
Milestones
This is McLaren’s 1,000th entry in the Formula One World Championship.
Tyre choices
Pirelli brings the C2, C3, and C4 compounds designated hard, medium, and soft respectively.
Practice
The sole free practice session was topped by Russell ahead of Antonelli and Norris.
Adapted by AI summarisation from “2026 Chinese Grand Prix” on Wikipedia . This adapted text is licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0 . Modifications: summarised and spoiler-trimmed.
Last 1 Race
Full season →| # | Date | Grand Prix | Pole | P1 | P2 | P3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 Mar | 🇦🇺 Australian Grand Prix | Russell | Russell | Antonelli | Leclerc |
Drivers' Championship
Full standings →Constructors' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes | 43 | 1 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 27 | 0 |
| 3 | McLaren | 10 | 0 |
| 4 | Red Bull | 8 | 0 |
| 5 | Haas F1 Team | 6 | 0 |