Five Things You Didn’t Know About the Chinese Grand Prix

The Shanghai International Circuit gets ready to host the second round of the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship and brings with it the first Sprint weekend for the new generation of cars.

The circuit made its debut in our schedule back in 2004 and holds many special memories for the Silver Arrows.

We took our first win in the modern F1 era after rejoining the sport in 2010 in Shanghai in 2012, when Nico Rosberg triumphed in the W03.

Since then, the team has achieved 13 podiums - six of those being victories (making us the most successful team to compete in Shanghai). George secured third here last year and gave Mercedes its 300th podium as a works team in Formula 1.

Shanghai is a great venue for racing and embracing its rich culture. From one of the most unique paddock layouts in global motor racing, to the layout of the circuit reflecting Chinese character, it really is a fun and often underrated location on the calendar.

Here are five fun facts you might not know about the Shanghai International Circuit and the Chinese Grand Prix.

Deliberate Design

It’s fair to say the outline of the Shanghai International Circuit is one of the most recognisable on the Formula 1 calendar.

Although most might see a wave or a bunny – myself included– there is actually an intentional design behind the track created by Hermann Tilke.

From above, the layout resembles the Chinese character “上”, Shang, meaning “above” or “upwards”, and is also the first word in the name of Shanghai in Chinese!

The venue was built on marshland and took 40,000 stone pillars to stabilise it before building could begin.

The circuit is one of the best for overtaking on the calendar and features one of the longest straights of the season between Turns 13 and 14.

Paddock Pavilions

This circuit is vast in everything it does, from the main grandstand hosting 30,000 spectators alone to the big infrastructure along the pits.

The special paddock takes inspiration from the popular Yu Gardens, located in the City God Temple in Shanghai and originally designed in the Ming Dynasty in 1559.

The paddock is complete with lush parks and a lake where each team is allocated pavilion-style buildings.

In previous years we’ve had one of these for our hospitality and another for engineering, with all the teams across the grid being interconnected through the bridges and walkways that surround these buildings.

It’s a real nod to their heritage, something frequently seen across the Shanghai International Circuit.

In fact, the Chinese Grand Prix promoters won F1’s Outstanding Cultural Identity Award this year for their efforts in “innovative ways of immersing its culture and heritage throughout the race weekend in Shanghai”.

Delicious Local Dishes

You can’t come to China and not experience the food and culture that’s all around you. However, did you know that Xiaolongbao (小笼包), a large soup-filled dumpling, originated about 20 minutes from the circuit?

These scrumptious umami sides are a type of steamed bun, and feature meat which is traditionally pork, seasoning and broth that’s all wrapped up in a dough.

Although it might sound tempting to pop it into your mouth whole, it’s best to take a small nibble and let it cool to avoid any burning!

There are several stories about where and when these Xiaolongbao were first discovered. The most common suggests they were invented around 200 years ago in Nanxiang, which is part of the Jiading district.

One fun suggestion claims that Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty was travelling along the Yangtze river and was given these soup dumplings to try. He was so impressed he spread the word about their excellence across the town, which soon spread across all of China.

Transporting to the Bund

Getting to and from circuits can often be a challenge if you don’t own a car, but did you know that this Chinese circuit has its own metro station?

The Shanghai Circuit Station is located just a few minutes from the main entrance facing the pit straight, and connects the track with central Shanghai in just over an hour.

Speaking to fans that have been to the circuit, lots recommend heading to The Bund. This famous area is a protected historical district along the waterfront and gives an iconic view of the Shanghai skyline.

Not only does it look beautiful, it’s also a huge part of the city’s DNA containing dozens of historical buildings along the Huangpu River.

With so many different designs and architectural choices, it’s a feast for your eyes and imagination and has been defined as “An Exhibition of International Buildings” or the "Far East Wall Street".

Marking Massive Milestones

The 2019 Chinese Grand Prix sits firmly in our sport’s history books at the 1,000^th championship race.

It was a good weekend for the Silver Arrows, as Lewis Hamilton led home Valtteri Bottas for a Mercedes one-two in W10.

It was our third 1-2 result of that season, and we became the first team since 1992 to lock in three consecutive 1-2 results in the first trio of races.

Once the millennium race was finished, Formula 1 had raced 322,476.07km and 65,196 laps. Overall, China had hosted 16 of those 1,000 events.