Chinese GP 2026 session times
Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai — 13–15 Mar. This is a sprint weekend, so qualifying runs on Friday and there are two races.
Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai — 13–15 Mar. This is a sprint weekend, so qualifying runs on Friday and there are two races.Chinese Grand Prix: Sunday 15 March at 06:00 UK time.
Session times
Times shown in circuit-local time (GMT+8).
- FP1Fri11:30
- Sprint QualifyingFri15:30
- SprintSat11:00
- QualifyingSat15:00
- RaceSun14:00
What this start time means where you are
Where the race lands for most readers: 02:00 on Sunday in the eastern US, an overnight start; 19:00 on Sunday in New Zealand, an evening start; and 06:00 on Sunday in the UK, an early-morning start.
At 06:00 UK time, just one round of the 2026 season starts earlier in the day.
5 sessions across the weekend, opening with FP1 at 11:30 on Friday and closing with the race at 14:00 on Sunday, all circuit-local. It is a sprint weekend, so there is only one hour of practice before the timetable turns competitive: qualifying for the sprint runs on Friday, the sprint and qualifying for the grand prix share Saturday, and both races count for points.
Round 2 of 23, back-to-back with the Australian Grand Prix the weekend before and 14 days before the Japanese Grand Prix.
Every session, every timezone
| Session | Circuit local | UTC | UK | Central Europe | US Eastern | US Pacific | Brazil | Japan | Sydney | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FP1 | Fri 11:30 | Fri 03:30 | Fri 03:30 | Fri 04:30 | Thu 23:30* | Thu 20:30* | Fri 00:30 | Fri 12:30 | Fri 14:30 | Fri 16:30 |
| Sprint Qualifying | Fri 15:30 | Fri 07:30 | Fri 07:30 | Fri 08:30 | Fri 03:30 | Fri 00:30 | Fri 04:30 | Fri 16:30 | Fri 18:30 | Fri 20:30 |
| Sprint | Sat 11:00 | Sat 03:00 | Sat 03:00 | Sat 04:00 | Fri 23:00* | Fri 20:00* | Sat 00:00 | Sat 12:00 | Sat 14:00 | Sat 16:00 |
| Qualifying | Sat 15:00 | Sat 07:00 | Sat 07:00 | Sat 08:00 | Sat 03:00 | Sat 00:00 | Sat 04:00 | Sat 16:00 | Sat 18:00 | Sat 20:00 |
| Race | Sun 14:00 | Sun 06:00 | Sun 06:00 | Sun 07:00 | Sun 02:00 | Sat 23:00* | Sun 03:00 | Sun 15:00 | Sun 17:00 | Sun 19:00 |
Times are 24-hour and account for daylight saving in each zone. An asterisk marks a session that falls on a different calendar day where you are than at the circuit.