The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 15:00 local time in Shanghai, which is 07:00 GMT/UTC, on Sunday, March 15, 2026.

Quick Scoop

  • Race day: Sunday, March 15, 2026.
  • Local start time (Shanghai): 15:00 (3:00 pm).
  • UK / GMT start time: 07:00 (7:00 am).
  • Circuit: Shanghai International Circuit, China.
  • Round: Second race of the 2026 Formula 1 season and a Sprint weekend.

Key weekend timings (headline view)

  • Friday, March 13: Free Practice 1 and Sprint Qualifying during the day local time.
  • Saturday, March 14: Sprint race in late morning, Qualifying in mid‑afternoon local time.
  • Sunday, March 15: Grand Prix start at 15:00 local / 07:00 GMT.

Simple HTML table for race start time

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Event</th>
      <th>Date (2026)</th>
      <th>Local Time (Shanghai)</th>
      <th>GMT / UTC</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Chinese Grand Prix – Race Start</td>
      <td>Sunday, March 15</td>
      <td>15:00</td>
      <td>07:00</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

TL;DR

The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix starts at 3 pm local time in Shanghai, which is 7 am GMT/UTC, on Sunday 15 March 2026.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.