IT'S RACE WEEK: 5 storylines we're excited about ahead of the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix

You wait all off-season for a Formula 1 race to come along and then you get two in consecutive weekends. The action continues as the paddock makes its way from Australia to China, fresh from our first look at the new regulations, and there are plenty more talking points as the circus arrives in Shanghai…

The competitive picture on a different track

Mercedes were many people’s tip as championship favourites heading to Melbourne and last weekend saw those predictions backed up as George Russell led home Kimi Antonelli for a 1-2 finish.

But for those of us who suggested it would be a competitive season, the signs were very encouraging as Ferrari took the fight to Mercedes and finished third and fourth with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton respectively.

McLaren and Red Bull both had disjointed weekends at various points, with all of the teams saying they still have a lot to optimise when it comes to their new cars. But there were also strengths and weaknesses starting to emerge, with Lando Norris claiming the Mercedes power unit might be the strongest, but the Ferrari appeared to be the best chassis in his view.

Arriving at the Shanghai International Circuit, will we see Mercedes leading the way again this weekend, or can Ferrari follow-up their closer race pace from Sunday with another challenge? Or will either McLaren or Red Bull close the gap on a track that will place different demands on car performance than Australia?

Piastri bouncing back

It really was a gut-wrenching moment pre-race in Melbourne when the sight of Oscar Piastri spinning into the wall on his way to the grid appeared on the big screens. The crowd reaction told its own story, with a mixture of dejection and disbelief when the significant damage ruled him out of the race start instantly.

Albert Park was not a happy hunting ground for Piastri a year ago – despite strong pace – but he recovered impressively to win the second race of the season in China to kick-start a run of four victories in the next five races.

As painful as the crash in his home race was, it is a small positive that the calendar offers Piastri another chance to get back into the car at the first opportunity, rather than with a weekend without a race.

The McLaren doesn’t look as competitive a car as it was this time last year, but it is still capable of racing at the sharp end and Piastri will be keen to quickly move on from last week’s disappointment with a strong performance.

Another layout to race on

There was a significant amount of focus on how the racing looked during the opening round of the season, with Albert Park providing the first example of how the new regulations impact the action on track.

From 45 overtakes in 2025 to 120 this year, there were different types of moves that added up to that total. Some were part of the cat-and-mouse approach that the new energy deployment can lead to, with the perfect example being the lead changing hands so many times at the start of the race between Russell and Leclerc.

But that didn’t prevent what you could call more traditional passes being seen as well. Russell sent one down the inside at Turn 1 early on, while multiple drivers went wheel-to-wheel through Turn 3 or completed moves under braking at Turn 11.

Shanghai will be a different challenge for the new power units, with some big braking zones that will allow for significant recharge opportunities – particularly into the Turn 14 hairpin at the end of the long back straight, a place where drivers are almost certain to be focusing the majority of their deployment.

Turn 6 is also a big braking zone, as is Turn 11, and the unique Turn 1 and 2 complex also allow drivers to gradually slow the car as they turn through roughly 270 degrees.

How all of that impacts the way drivers go about racing each other will be fascinating to see, as the teams continue to learn how to approach each new challenge.

Further gains for Aston Martin and Honda

The opening race weekend of the season was a tough one for Aston Martin and Honda, with reliability issues hampering them on Friday and Saturday, leading to the decision to limit mileage in order to protect the stock of components currently available at the start of the season.

There were significant signs of progress, however, with Honda seeing the work that had been done in collaboration with the team since Bahrain paying off, and improving the way they can operate their power unit.

Both Aston Martin and Honda suggested the two drivers could have attempted to complete the race in Melbourne because everything was running reliably, but China was in the back of their minds, with another chance to gain data and learn.

Honda Racing Corporation’s Trackside General Manager Shintaro Orihara said on leaving for Shanghai that this weekend’s race “should be a more standard week”, and Fernando Alonso’s opening stint performance in Australia showed the potential in the car as the team play catch-up after lost mileage early in the year.

A Sprint weekend and F1 Academy returns

As if the teams weren’t still trying to understand how to get the most out of their new packages, they are set for an even bigger challenge this weekend as a result of the Sprint format.

Instead of the three hours of practice they had to try and optimise their cars and power units in Melbourne, they will get just one hour on Friday to do so before they have to lock in their set-ups for Sprint qualifying and Saturday’s first Sprint of the year.

Further changes will be possible before the Qualifying session for the Grand Prix itself, and the competitive sessions will still be welcomed as they provide representative conditions. But the condensed nature of the practice running means there is every chance we could see a different pecking order based on which teams get it right or wrong from the get-go.

And while there’s more racing action in F1, there is also the return of F1 Academy to get excited about as they kick off their season in Shanghai.

The fourth season of the all-female series gets underway with a mixture of new and returning names, who are all vying for the F1 Academy title and the chance to follow in the footsteps of many talents before them who have progressed further up the racing ladder.