F1 Chinese GP 2025: Updated schedule & start time in India, UK, USA, Canada & more

Max Verstappen was last year’s Chinese Grand Prix winner

Following a thrilling season opener in Melbourne, the Formula 1 paddock heads straight to Shanghai for the second race of the season, the Chinese Grand Prix. The Chinese GP made its way back to the f1 calendar in 2024 after a long break, and this year it’s going to be crazy.

But just before the engines could roar on the Shanghai International Circuit, teams already encountered an unexpected opponent – logistics. Massive freight delays from Melbourne to Shanghai had left the top four teams – McLaren, Aston Martin, Mercedes and Red Bull, waiting for their cars to arrive.

Originally, the freight was expected to arrive on Tuesday, but due to some technical issues with the aircraft, the delivery got delayed to Wednesday evening. 

With at least 30 hours of preparation wiped out from the team’s slate, the mechanics might have to burn some extra midnight oil assembling and preparing the car for the FP1 on Friday.

Further complicating the issue, with the sprint weekend format in play, now the teams have even less time to prepare their setups, adding more pressure to the race. In fact, due to this logistics issue, many teams were also left waiting idly in their hotels. 

Title fight intensifies as Norris takes the lead

Lando Norris will be arriving in Shanghai as the current championship leader after his dominant victory in Australia, with Max Verstappen giving his all trying to catch-up. Confident in his team’s progress, Norris stated, “I am confident that when we go to China next weekend, we can be very strong because we were strong there last year with not a very good car”.

However, Max Verstappen, who was last year’s Chinese Grand Prix winner, remains optimistic, calling his Melbourne result “a decent starting point”.

Historically, among the active drivers on the grid, Max Verstappen leads with six wins, and Fernando Alonso with two wins at the previously held Chinese Grand Prix.

Chinese Grand Prix 2025: Updated Schedule and Timings

The upcoming race at the Shanghai International Circuit will follow the sprint race format. This means that FP1 and the sprint qualifying session will take on Friday. Saturday will host the Sprint race and the qualifying. The final race will take place on Sunday.

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