Guide to the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix which sees the first sprint weekend format of the season take place in Shanghai.
This weekend sees F1 return to China for the first time in five years with Max Verstappen sat top from Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, plus Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Sauber’s Guanyu Zhou meanwhile is set for his first home race which would see his become the first Chinese driver to participate in his home event, although Ma Quinghua previously drove in a FP1 session for Caterham in 2013.
Track Guide
Circuit: Shanghai International Circuit
Laps: 56
Race Distance: 305.066km
Tyre Selection: C2, C3, C4
Schedule
| Date | Session | UK Time (BST) |
| Friday 19th April | Practice | 4:30am |
| Friday 19th April | Sprint Qualifying | 8:30am |
| Saturday 20th April | Sprint Race | 4am |
| Saturday 20th April | Qualifying | 8am |
| Sunday 21st April | Race | 8am |
Three Pointers
- Having not raced in China since 2019 and with the first sprint weekend of season, teams face a frantic one-hour practice for understanding car setup, tyre degradation and more.
- Track evolution will be high on a track which will be dirty at the start of the weekend due to lack of usage, which will pose a challenge for tyre wear and management.
- Shanghai International Circuits has a mixture of high, medium or low speed corners akin to Australia which will give Ferrari hope of fighting Red Bull for victory this weekend.
Last Time Out
F1 haven’t raced in China for the last four seasons due to the Coronavirus pandemic but in its last visit in 2019, the race marked F1’s 1000th Grand Prix which was won by Lewis Hamilton from his then Mercedes teammate – Valtteri Bottas in an one-two finish.