Ferrari chasing Mercedes
Not even time to archive the inaugural weekend in Australia, it’s already time to project ourselves towards the second weekend of the 2026 calendar, i.e. Chinese Grand Prixthe first with a weekend planned that will follow the Sprint format.
Mercedes made a big statement in Australia by placing the W17s on the front row and then achieving a one-two in the race with George Russell ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Ferrari they were by far the second force on the track and there is great curiosity to see the SF-26s in action on a completely different track to Albert Park.
The fact that the Shanghai circuit is different, however, also presents some concerns on the behavior of this generation of cars on the very long straight that characterizes the Chinese track, the point at which the power unit they could suffer greatly in terms of electricity management.
The event will be broadcast live in full on Sky Sports F1up TV8 the Sprint Qualifying on Friday morning, the Sprint on Saturday at dawn and the Qualifying will be broadcast live. The replay of the Sprint will be broadcast on Saturday at 2.00pm followed by the replay of the Qualifying at 3.30pm. The race will be televised on Sunday at 2pm. On you will find the live written of all the sessions. Below i details of the programming, the characteristics of the circuit and the roll of honor of the Chinese Grand Prix.
GP China 2026: TV schedule and session times
Friday 13 March
04.30 Free Practice 1 (Sky Sport F1, live written on )
08:30 Sprint qualifying (Sky Sport F1 and TV8, live written on )
Saturday 14 March
04:00 Sprint (Sky Sport F1 and TV8, live written on repeat on TV8 at 2.00 pm)
08:00 Qualifying (Sky Sport F1 and TV8, live written on repeat on TV8 at 3.30 pm)
Sunday 15 March
08:00 Race (Sky Sport F1, live written on delayed on TV8 at 2.00 pm)
The characteristics of the Shanghai circuit
Route: 5,451 km
Laps: 56 (19 planned for the Sprint)
Roll of Honor Chinese Grand Prix
