Having made a triumphant return to the Formula 1 calendar in 2024, the Chinese Grand Prix is ready to come roaring back into action at the Shanghai International Circuit between March 21-23 2025. Having hosted its first race in 2004, the Shanghai GP has been a permanent feature on the F1 calendar ever since, only missing 5 years since then, and this year’s hopefully will bring high-speed drama, strategic battles, and further excitement due to start of the F1 Academy 2025 season.
A City Ready to Welcome Formula 1
Shanghai, home to a reported 15 million people and the biggest city in China, will host the welcome return of Formula 1 for the second successive year after its prolonged absence. With a circuit of 200,000 capacity, expect an enthusiastic and rabid crowd to fill the stands as China stakes its claim again as one of the top events on the F1 calendar with its contract stretching until at least 2030.
With high-speed duels, unpredictable strategy calls, and potential weather challenges, the 2025 Shanghai Grand Prix is shaping up to be a must-watch event. Will Verstappen continue his dominance, or will a new contender rise to the occasion? The answers will unfold under the bright lights of Shanghai’s spectacular racing theatre this weekend.
A Historic Track with Contemporary Challenges
Shanghai International Circuit, Jiading, Shanghai, is one of the better-known tracks in the F1 calendar. Its form mimics the Chinese ‘shang’ (上) symbol, or rising upwards, and the 5.451km track features 16 demanding turns, featuring infamous Turn 1 and Turn 2—a 270° tightening right-hander that tests the drivers’ precision and agility to their limits.
Sector 1 boasts a series of close turns demanding precision handling from driver and vehicle. Sector 2 is where the speed steps up with quick corners, especially Turns 7 and 8, where g-forces will be intense to the detriment of drivers. Sector 3 is about horsepower, with one of the longest straights of the F1 calendar—a 1.2km run (now 75m longer than in 2024) between Turns 13 and 14—which provides the perfect passing place before the heavy braking Turn 14 corner.
There were three interruptions last year – one VSC and two Safety Cars – which significantly influenced the outcome of the race, both in terms of the number of stops and the sequence in which the compounds were used
The 1:32.238 lap record, which has been in the possession of Michael Schumacher since 2004, is a reflection of the track’s unique demands, but with the evolution of F1 technology, can this be the year it falls?
Race Weekend Forecast
Teams will need to factor in Shanghai’s changeable conditions. As it is the first time that Shanghai hosts the Grand Prix in March with temperatures expected to hit between 26°C and 29°C across the weekend, there should be less extreme weather influences to car and athlete. While Friday and Saturday will be mostly sunny, gusty winds of up to 18 km/h could disrupt car balance and strategy. Humidity is expected to stay below 24%, minimising the risk of excessive tyre degradation.
The Chinese Grand Prix is the second of the 2025 season, following last weekend’s season-opener in Melbourne. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen dominated the 2024 race, crossing the line in 1:40:52.554, with Lando Norris and Sergio Perez completing the podium. Verstappen will hope to make it back-to-back success, but Ferrari and Mercedes—both having a rich heritage of success at Shanghai—will be seeking to challenge him. The car with the most podiums in this place (13) is Ferrari, displacing Mercedes with 12, and the leading driver in Shanghai is Lewis Hamilton, who will be looking to make it bigger in number with his new team.
As it is the first Sprint format event of the year, there will be only one Free Practice session on Friday. That means there are only 60 minutes to find the right car set-up and evaluate the performance of the various compounds over a long run.
Tech Talk
The trio of tyre compounds is the same as last year: C2 as Hard, C3 as Medium and C4 as Soft. The last two were in use in Melbourne last weekend, while the first was run extensively in the three day test in Bahrain at the end of February.
In 2024 with similar temperatures in April the opted to start the race with the medium (C3) but drove the longest with the harder C2. The soft (C4) was only used by four drivers, which all started with them.
Tyre degradation will be a big challenge nevertheless as the track has just been completely resurfaced and with only one hour of free practice to see how much it has changed compared to past year. The track should be smoother than before and, as this is the first event of the year to be held at SIC, it’s logical to expect the track to evolve very quickly.
As it’s custom for sprint races teams have different numbers of slick tyres per diver compares to a standard weekend. The number of two sets of Hard stays the same, but they receive an extra set of Medium and two less Soft tyres. For the first two parts of Sprint Quali, all drivers must use only the Medium compound, before switching to the Soft for the final session. As for the short race itself, tyre choice is free and there is no need to make a pit stop.
What to win?
A new Sprint Quali Pole Position Trophy will debut in the China GP, to mark the 500th Grand Prix that will be reached at the Dutch GP. Furthermore, at the end of all six of this year’s Sprint Qualifying sessions, the trophy will be personalised with a silver plaque bearing the polesitter’s initials as used to identify the drivers on the timing screens.
As was the case last weekend in Melbourne, the top three finishers in Shanghai will wear a special edition of the Podium Cap, part of a collection designed by Denis Dekovic, taking its inspiration from the traditions and culture of 14 countries hosting 14 rounds of this year’s World Championship. The Shanghai Podium Cap will be predominantly red.
© Pirelli
Meanwhile, the F1 Academy will provide a further boost of excitement as promising young stars show their skills on one of the sport’s greatest platforms. This addition comes following Formula 1’s ongoing commitment to developing the sport’s next big stars. Also being the home race for F1 Academy’s first wildcard of the season Shi Wei.
Schedule:
Friday: March 21
F1A: Free Practice: 9:10 – 9:50 local time / 01:05 – 01:50 GTM
F1: Free Practice 1: 11:30 – 12:30 local time / 03:30 – 04:30 GTM
F1A: Qualifying: 14:05 – 14.35 local time / 06:05 – 06:35 GTM
F1: Sprint Qualifying: 15:30 -16:14 local time / 07:30 – 08:14 GTM
Saturday: March 22
F1: Sprint Race: 11:00 – 12:00 local time / 03:00 – 04:00 GTM
F1A: Sprint Race: 13:50 – 14:25 local time / 5:50 – 6:20 GTM
F1: Qualifying: 15:00 – 16:00 local time / 07:00 – 08:00 GTM
Sunday: March 23
F1A: Race: 10:45 – 11:00 local time / 2:45 – 3:15 GTM
F1: Race: 15:00 – 17:00 local time / 7:00 – 19:00 GTM