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The Circuit
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The Circuit

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix

Round 2 of the 2026 F1 World Championships takes place at the Shanghai International Circuit in China.

Having first appeared on the calendar in 2004, this will be the 19th running of the event, which dropped off the F1 schedule between 2020 and 2023 because of the Covid-19 global pandemic.

The 2019 edition of the race was also F1’s 1,000th Grand Prix since the championship began in 1950, and finished with a Mercedes 1-2.

Between 2004 and 2008, the race appeared towards the end of the campaign, and even ran as the season finale in 2005.

The 2006 edition of the race was won by Michael Schumacher, in what would prove to be the German’s 91st and final victory of his career.

From 2009 onwards, every Chinese Grand Prix has taken place in the opening few weeks of the season.

  • First GP
    2004
  • Circuit Length
    5.451km
  • Race Distance
    305.256km
  • Laps
    56

Scenes in Shanghai

Our team has enjoyed a lot of success in Shanghai, and no Constructor has triumphed more at the track (six). Between 2012 and 2017, Mercedes took six consecutive pole positions.

Shanghai hosted an F1 Sprint weekend for the first time in 2024, and the Team came away with a P2 finish thanks to Lewis Hamilton.

The most notable success in China for the Silver Arrows came in 2012, when Nico Rosberg claimed the marque’s first win in the sport since returning in 2010.

It was the first Mercedes F1 victory since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. The team lined up 1-2 for the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, with Nico in front of team-mate Michael Schumacher. It was also the first modern-era pole for the Mercedes works team.

Three Hundred Not Out

George's Grand Prix podium in 2025 secured the 300th top-three finish for the Mercedes works team in Formula 1, a tally which started at the three-pointed star's very first race at Reims in France in 1954.

Track Talk

The layout of the Shanghai International Circuit is designed on a character from the Chinese language itself.

The shape of the circuit comes from the Chinese character for Shang – the first in the name of the city Shanghai – and means ‘above’ or ‘ascend’.

Sunday’s Grand Prix will also be the second-shortest of the season in terms of distance run, at 305.066km between lights out and the chequered flag. Only Monaco is shorter on the 2026 calendar.

The long back straight on the run up to the penultimate corner hairpin provides drivers with the best chance of overtaking. The overtake detection and activation points for 2026 can be found on the entry to the start/finish straight, which will set drivers up for a pass going into Turns 1, 2 and 3.

F1 Sprint: Explained

Shanghai will host the first of six Sprint races in 2026, with Miami, Montreal, Silverstone, Zandvoort, and Sinagpore to follow.

Qualifying for the Sprint will take place on Friday afternoon, following Free Practice 1. The Sprint race will take place on Saturday morning, before Grand Prix Qualifying later in the day.

Click here for a full rundown of the F1 Sprint format.

In addition to the first F1 Sprint of 2026, the F1 Academy season-opener, featuring Mercedes' entrant Payton Westcott, will also take place over the course of the weekend.

American Payton replaces reigning champion Doriane Pin in the series this season. Doriane kicked off her 2025 campaign in the best possible way with Feature Race victory in Shanghai a year ago.

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