2026 Chinese Grand Prix
Race 2 of 22[a] in the 2026 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Layout of the Shanghai International Circuit
Race details[2]
Date	15 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)
Distance	56 laps, 305.066 km (189.559 miles)
Weather	Cloudy
Attendance	230,000[3]
Pole position
Driver	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes
Time	1:32.064
Fastest lap
Driver	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes
Time	1:35.275 on lap 52
Podium
First	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes
Second	George Russell	Mercedes
Third	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari
Lap leaders

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, achieved his maiden career pole position, beating Sebastian Vettel's record as the youngest-ever Formula One polesitter. Antonelli converted it to his maiden win, setting multiple milestones; he became the second-youngest Grand Prix winner after Max Verstappen at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, and the first Italian to win a Grand Prix since Giancarlo Fisichella at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix. By setting the fastest lap, he also became the youngest driver ever to achieve a hat-trick. Antonelli led a Mercedes 1–2 ahead of Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who achieved his maiden podium with Ferrari. Having gone pointless throughout his 2025 campaign, Franco Colapinto scored his maiden points with Alpine.

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.^[4] The Grand Prix was the second round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship and the 19th running of the Chinese Grand Prix.^[5] 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 will feature it.^[6]

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 from Ferrari and 33 from McLaren, who are second and third, respectively.^[7]

The drivers and teams were the same as published in the season entry list, with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.^[8] The Grand Prix marked the 1,000th entry for McLaren.^[9]

Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C2, C3, and C4 tyre compounds designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.^[10]

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).^[2][11]

Sprint qualifying was held on 13 March 2026, at 15:30 local time (UTC+8), and determined the starting grid order for the sprint.^[2]

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.^[12]

During the twelve-minute long first session (SQ1), Carlos Sainz Jr. and Alexander Albon (both Atlassian Williams) were eliminated, 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.^[12][13][14] 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).^[12][13][14]

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.^[12][13][14]

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Qualifying times			Sprint grid
				SQ1	SQ2	SQ3
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:33.030	1:32.241	1:31.520	1
2	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:33.455	1:32.291	1:31.809	2
3	1	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	1:33.783	1:33.086	1:32.141	3
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:33.148	1:33.042	1:32.161	4
5	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	1:33.813	1:33.038	1:32.224	5
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:33.194	1:32.602	1:32.528	6
7	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine-Mercedes	1:33.970	1:33.405	1:32.888	7
8	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford	1:34.170	1:33.564	1:33.254	8
9	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas-Ferrari	1:34.280	1:33.501	1:33.409	9
10	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford	1:34.447	1:33.620	1:33.723	10
11	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Audi	1:33.997	1:33.635	— N/a	11
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas-Ferrari	1:34.087	1:33.639	— N/a	12
13	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford	1:34.110	1:33.714	— N/a	13
14	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:34.291	1:33.774	— N/a	14
15	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford	1:34.495	1:34.048	— N/a	15
16	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine-Mercedes	1:34.592	1:34.327	— N/a	16
17	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Atlassian Williams-Mercedes	1:34.761	— N/a	— N/a	17
18	23	Alexander Albon	Atlassian Williams-Mercedes	1:35.305	— N/a	— N/a	PL1
19	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco-Honda	1:35.581	— N/a	— N/a	18
20	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco-Honda	1:36.151	— N/a	— N/a	19
21	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac-Ferrari	1:37.378	— N/a	— N/a	20
107% time: 1:39.542
—	11	Sergio Pérez	Cadillac-Ferrari	No time	— N/a	— N/a	212
Source:[15][16]

Notes

• ^1 – Alexander Albon qualified 18th, but was required to start the sprint from the pit lane as his car was modified under parc fermé conditions.^[16]
• ^2 – Sergio Pérez failed to set a time during sprint qualifying. He was permitted to race in the sprint at the stewards' discretion.^[16]

The sprint was held on 14 March 2026, at 11:00 local time (UTC+8), and was run for 19 laps.^[2]

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	19	33:38.998	1	8
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	19	+0.674	6	7
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	19	+2.554	4	6
4	1	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	19	+4.433	3	5
5	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	19	+5.688	2	4
6	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	19	+6.809	5	3
7	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford	19	+10.900	13	2
8	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas-Ferrari	19	+11.271	9	1
9	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford	19	+11.619	8
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas-Ferrari	19	+13.887	12
11	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine-Mercedes	19	+14.780	7
12	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Atlassian Williams-Mercedes	19	+15.753	17
13	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	19	+15.858	14
14	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine-Mercedes	19	+16.393	16
15	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford	19	+16.430	10
16	23	Alexander Albon	Atlassian Williams-Mercedes	19	+20.014	PL
17	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco-Honda	19	+21.599	18
18	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco-Honda	19	+21.971	19
19	11	Sergio Pérez	Cadillac-Ferrari	19	+28.2411	21
Ret	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Audi	12	Mechanical	11
Ret	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac-Ferrari	12	Withdrew	20
Ret	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford	11	Collision damage	15
Source:[16][17]

Notes

• ^1 – 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.^[17]

Qualifying was held on 14 March 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+8), and determined the starting grid order for the main race.^[2]

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Qualifying times			Final grid
				Q1	Q2	Q3
1	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:33.305	1:32.443	1:32.064	1
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:33.262	1:32.523	1:32.286	2
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:33.522	1:32.567	1:32.415	3
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:33.175	1:32.486	1:32.428	4
5	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	1:33.590	1:33.130	1:32.550	5
6	1	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	1:33.535	1:32.910	1:32.608	6
7	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine-Mercedes	1:33.788	1:33.003	1:32.873	7
8	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford	1:33.417	1:33.098	1:33.002	8
9	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford	1:33.632	1:33.352	1:33.121	9
10	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas-Ferrari	1:33.687	1:33.197	1:33.292	10
11	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Audi	1:34.116	1:33.354	— N/a	11
12	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine-Mercedes	1:33.634	1:33.357	— N/a	12
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas-Ferrari	1:33.974	1:33.538	— N/a	13
14	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford	1:34.139	1:33.765	— N/a	14
15	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford	1:33.906	1:33.784	— N/a	15
16	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:33.549	1:33.965	— N/a	16
17	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Atlassian Williams-Mercedes	1:34.317	— N/a	— N/a	17
18	23	Alexander Albon	Atlassian Williams-Mercedes	1:34.772	— N/a	— N/a	PL1
19	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco-Honda	1:35.203	— N/a	— N/a	18
20	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac-Ferrari	1:35.436	— N/a	— N/a	19
21	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco-Honda	1:35.995	— N/a	— N/a	20
22	11	Sergio Pérez	Cadillac-Ferrari	1:36.906	— N/a	— N/a	21
107% time: 1:39.697
Source:[18][19]

Notes

• ^1 – Alexander Albon qualified 18th, but was required to start the race from the pit lane as his car was modified under parc fermé conditions.^[19]

The race was held on 15 March 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+8), and was run for 56 laps.^[2]

Prior to the race, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Alexander Albon (the latter due to start from the pit lane) all reported issues with their cars and did not start the race. Norris and Piastri both non-started due to power unit problems. Their non-start made this the first time both McLarens – who as a constructor recorded their 1000th entry in this Grand Prix – did not start the race since the 2005 United States Grand Prix, where 14 cars on Michelin tyres withdrew due to tyre safety concerns.^[20] This also meant Piastri failed to start a second consecutive Grand Prix having crashed on his reconnaissance lap on his way to grid prior to the formation lap of his home Grand Prix in Australia one week earlier. Bortoleto of Audi and Albon of Williams failed to start the race both due to hydraulic problems.

Starting from pole position, Antonelli took his maiden Grand Prix win, surviving a late race error to hold off Mercedes teammate and early Championship leader George Russell, who finished second. It was the first win for an Italian driver in the series since Giancarlo Fisichella at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton took his first podium in a full Grand Prix for Ferrari after duelling with teammate Charles Leclerc for a podium place for much of the race.^[21][22]

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	56	1:33:15.607	1	25
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	56	+5.515	2	18
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	56	+25.267	3	15
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	56	+28.894	4	12
5	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas-Ferrari	56	+57.268	10	10
6	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine-Mercedes	56	+59.647	7	8
7	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford	56	+1:20.588	14	6
8	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford	56	+1:27.247	9	4
9	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Atlassian Williams-Mercedes	55	+1 lap	17	2
10	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine-Mercedes	55	+1 lap	12	1
11	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Audi	55	+1 lap	11
12	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford	55	+1 lap	15
13	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac-Ferrari	55	+1 lap	19
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas-Ferrari	55	+1 lap	13
15	11	Sergio Pérez	Cadillac-Ferrari	55	+1 lap	21
Ret	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford	45	Coolant leak	8
Ret	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco-Honda	32	Vibrations	18
Ret	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco-Honda	9	Battery	20
DNS	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren-Mercedes	0	Electrical	—1
DNS	1	Lando Norris	McLaren-Mercedes	0	Electrical	—1
DNS	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	0	Hydraulics	—1
DNS	23	Alexander Albon	Atlassian Williams-Mercedes	0	Hydraulics	PL1
Source:[19][23][24]

Notes

• ^1 – 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. Albon was due to start from the pit lane.^[23]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

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