Chinese GP 2026
Andrea Kimi Antonelli won round 2 of 23 for Mercedes at Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China, on 2026-03-15. This is one of the six 2026 sprint weekends, so Friday carries qualifying rather than a second practice and there are two grids to win. The full classification, the standings as they stood afterwards and every session time in Finnish time are below.
This is round 2 of 23 on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar, a sprint weekend, with 21 Grand Prixs after it. 6 of the 23 rounds use the sprint format. The full F1 calendar lists every one in Finnish time and the fantasy guide explains how this weekend scores.
Chinese GP F1 Session Times In Finnish Time
All 5 sessions, converted with the Europe/Helsinki zone rather than a fixed offset — which matters this season because six rounds fall in EET and round 18 straddles the October changeover. The right-hand column is the circuit's own local clock.
| Session | Day | Finnish time | Circuit time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Fri 13 Mar | 05:30 EET | 04:30 |
| Sprint Shootout | Fri 13 Mar | 09:30 EET | 08:30 |
| Sprint | Sat 14 Mar | 05:00 EET | 04:00 |
| Qualifying | Sat 14 Mar | 09:00 EET | 08:00 |
| Race | Sun 15 Mar | 09:00 EET | 08:00 |
How To Watch The Chinese GP In Finland
Every session of the 2026 Formula 1 season is on Viaplay in Finland, including practice. That is the only Finnish Formula 1 rights-holder, so there is no free-to-air alternative for this Grand Prix. The weekend opens with Practice 1 at 05:30 EET on Fri and closes with Race at 09:00 on Sun — the countdown at the top of this page tracks whichever comes next.
Our Formula 1 desk covers the weekend as it happens, and the F2 and F3 desk covers the support races that share the bill at most Grand Prix weekends.
If you are reading from outside Finland, the countdown adds your own local clock beside the Finnish time rather than replacing it. Every other F1 round is listed the same way on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar, and the F1 results archive carries each Grand Prix once it has run.
The Circuit: Shanghai International Circuit
The Chinese GP is held at Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China, at 31.3389, 121.22. The reference record for this circuit, including its full history of Formula 1 rounds, is the circuit's own entry.
Track knowledge is why an F1 Grand Prix page is worth keeping separate from a season page: a Formula 1 lap at Shanghai International Circuit is not an F1 lap anywhere else, and the pit lane, the grid slot that matters and the corner that decides this Grand Prix are specific to Shanghai.
The most recent championship round here went 56 laps, which is the distance to plan a viewing around.
Chinese GP 2026 Grand Prix Full Result
Andrea Kimi Antonelli led home George Russell by +5.515 over 56 laps from grid slot 1. The classified order below is the official one, with everyone who failed to finish named underneath it.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Time / status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1 | 1:33:15.607 | 25 |
| 2. | George Russell | Mercedes | 2 | +5.515 | 18 |
| 3. | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 3 | +25.267 | 15 |
| 4. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 4 | +28.894 | 12 |
| 5. | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 10 | +57.268 | 10 |
| 6. | Pierre Gasly | Alpine F1 Team | 7 | +59.647 | 8 |
| 7. | Liam Lawson | RB F1 Team | 14 | +1:20.588 | 6 |
| 8. | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 9 | +1:27.247 | 4 |
| 9. | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 17 | +11.673 | 2 |
| 10. | Franco Colapinto | Alpine F1 Team | 12 | +12.403 | 1 |
Of the 22 starters, 14 did not see the finish: Sainz (Lapped), Colapinto (Lapped), Hülkenberg (Lapped), Lindblad (Lapped), Bottas (Lapped), Ocon (Lapped), Pérez (Lapped), Verstappen (Retired), Alonso (Retired), Stroll (Retired), Piastri (Did not start), Norris (Did not start), Bortoleto (Did not start), Albon (Did not start). Retirements are given by cause rather than dropped from the table, because a retirement is usually the thing that decided the afternoon.
Chinese GP Grand Prix Qualifying
Andrea Kimi Antonelli took pole for Mercedes with a 1:32.064. The top ten below is the order that set the grid, with each driver's best time in the session they were eliminated in.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:33.305 | 1:32.443 | 1:32.064 |
| 2. | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:33.262 | 1:32.523 | 1:32.286 |
| 3. | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:33.522 | 1:32.567 | 1:32.415 |
| 4. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:33.175 | 1:32.486 | 1:32.428 |
| 5. | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:33.590 | 1:33.130 | 1:32.550 |
| 6. | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:33.535 | 1:32.910 | 1:32.608 |
Sprint Result
George Russell took the sprint for Mercedes, worth eight points to the winner on a weekend that pays twice.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Time / status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | George Russell | Mercedes | 1 | 33:38.998 | 8 |
| 2. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 6 | +0.674 | 7 |
| 3. | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 4 | +2.554 | 6 |
| 4. | Lando Norris | McLaren | 3 | +4.433 | 5 |
| 5. | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 2 | +5.688 | 4 |
F1 Championship Standings After Round 2
George Russell led on 51 points after this round, 4 clear of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. This is the table as it stood at the time, not today — the current one is in the results archive.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | George Russell | Mercedes | 51 |
| 2. | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 47 |
| 3. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 34 |
| 4. | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 33 |
| 5. | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 17 |
| 6. | Lando Norris | McLaren | 15 |
| 7. | Pierre Gasly | Alpine F1 Team | 9 |
| 8. | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 8 |
| 9. | Liam Lawson | RB F1 Team | 8 |
| 10. | Arvid Lindblad | RB F1 Team | 4 |
| 19. | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac F1 Team | 0 |
The Finnish Angle On This F1 Grand Prix
Valtteri Bottas finished 13 for Cadillac F1 Team from grid slot 19 — +56.158. He is the only Finn on the 2026 grid, and this is the figure no competing preview of this round bothers to give a Finnish reader.
Away from Formula 1 the Finnish contingent is larger: 6 Finns are in the World Rally Championship, where Roope Korhonen is 22th on 5 points for Rautio Motorsport. The driver pages track all of them round by round, and the junior ladder is where the next ones come from.
Next Sessions Across The Season
| Session | Event | Finnish time |
|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Italian GP | Fri 13:30 EEST |
| Practice 2 | Italian GP | Fri 17:00 EEST |
| Practice 3 | Italian GP | Sat 13:30 EEST |
| Qualifying | Italian GP | Sat 17:00 EEST |
| Race | Italian GP | Sun 16:00 EEST |
Previous And Next F1 Round
- Round 1: Australian GPThe round before this one, with its result and standings.
- Round 3: Japanese GPWhat follows, with session times already in Finnish time.
- The full 2026 calendarAll 23 rounds and 115 sessions, downloadable as a calendar file.
- 2026 results archiveEvery completed round and the current championship table.
This page is currently showing the classification and the standings as they stood after the race. It is rebuilt as the F1 weekend progresses rather than replaced by a separate report, so this one address carries the preview beforehand and the result afterwards.
Session times are converted to Europe/Helsinki from the RacingNews365 match centre; the classification, championship positions, sprint result and previous runnings are the official record via the Jolpica Ergast mirror. Both sources agree round for round on the 2026 calendar. Checked 26 August 2026.