Following a chaotic opening round in Australia, Formula 1 quickly moves on to this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, which will also feature the first Sprint of 2026 under the new power unit regulations.
Mercedes enter as the heavy favourites after a dominant pole position for George Russell and a one-two finish in the grand prix; however, Ferrari has proven to have potential.
The Shanghai International Circuit hosted one of the most dramatic weekends of the 2025 season, with Hamilton claiming a surprise sprint pole and sprint victory.
In the grand prix, Oscar Piastri breezed to victory, while both Ferraris and Pierre Gasly were disqualified due to technical infractions. As it is a sprint weekend, the drivers will have just one practice session — a daunting task with the new F1 cars.
On Friday, March 13, the only free practice session begins at 03:30 GMT, with sprint qualifying getting underway at 07:30 GMT.
On Saturday, March 14, the first sprint race of the year is scheduled for 03:00 GMT, followed by grand prix qualifying at 07:00 GMT.
The 2026 F1 Chinese Grand Prix starts on Sunday, March 15, at 07:00 GMT. 56 laps later, we will know who has won the second race of 2026.
Want to see the start times in your local time zone? Check out the schedule for Australia below!
The schedule for the 2026 Australian Grand Prix is automatically adjusted to your time zone.
F1 schedule Chinese GP
| Session | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Free practice 1 | Friday 13 March | - |
| Sprint qualifying | Friday 13 March | - |
| Sprint race | Saturday 14 March | - |
| Qualifying | Saturday 14 March | - |
| Race | Sunday 15 March | - |
Chinese GP
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