2026 China F1 Stat Pack
All the stats you need to know about the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix
Follow Me On: X | BlueSky | Threads | Instagram
Read My 6 Biggest Impressions About The First Race of 2026: Here
Make Sure to Get My Other F1 Analysis And Subscribe To Alerts At: theScore
Support: Donate!
Welcome To Shanghai! 📍
Click on a driver’s name to be immediately taken to their stats section:
Oscar Piastri | Lando Norris | Max Verstappen | Isack Hadjar | George Russell | Kimi Antonelli | Charles Leclerc | Lewis Hamilton | Carlos Sainz | Alex Albon | Arvid Lindblad | Liam Lawson | Fernando Alonso | Lance Stroll | Esteban Ocon | Ollie Bearman | Pierre Gasly | Franco Colapinto | Nico Hulkenberg | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sergio Perez | Valtteri Bottas
Let’s give you a rundown of the Shanghai circuit 📊
First race: 2004, won by Rubens Barrichello of Ferrari
Laps: 56
Lap distance: 5.451km
Race distance: 305.066km
Corners: 16
Straight Mode Zones: 4
Overtake Detection Point: T16
Pirelli tyre range: C2-C3-C4
No Jinx Poll this week 😄 Let me know what you thought of the first race below or in the comments:
Key Feats To Know 🔑
Furthest winning grid spot
P6 by Michael Schumacher in 2006 for Ferrari
P6 by Daniel Ricciardo in 2018 for Red Bull
Furthest grid spot to finish on the podium:
P18 by Mark Webber in 2011 for Red Bull
Lap Record:
1:32.238 by Michael Schumacher in 2004 for Ferrari
Track Record:
1:30.641 by Oscar Piastri in 2025 for McLaren
Most Wins 🥇
Most Poles 🛞
Most Podiums 🏆
Recent Results 🥇 🛞
Most Wins By Grid Position 🥇
Pole - 11 (61.11%)
P2 - 2 (11.11%)
P3 - 2 (11.11%)
P6 - 2 (11.11%)
P5 - 1 (5.56%)
Maiden Wins 🥇
Nico Rosberg - 2012
Maiden Poles 🛞
Nico Rosberg - 2012
Oscar Piastri - 2025
Maiden Podiums 🏆
None
Stats Of The Week 😲
Since 2014, every race winner of the Chinese GP goes on to become world champion … except if the race winner is Australian (Daniel Ricciardo - 2018 & Oscar Piastri - 2025)
How Teams Have Fared Recently In China 🏎️
Best Qualifying Head-To-Head Record At Shanghai? ⚔️
Streaks To Watch 👀
Consecutive Wins
None
Consecutive Poles
None
Consecutive Podiums
None
Consecutive Top 5 Race Results
Lando Norris - 3
George Russell - 2
Charles Leclerc - 2
Consecutive Points Finishes (Without Sprints)
George Russell - 17
Max Verstappen - 14
Charles Leclerc - 4
Lando Norris - 3
Lewis Hamilton - 2
Consecutive Q3 Appearances (Last non-Q3 appearance)
Lando Norris - 32 (Baku 2024)
Oscar Piastri - 29 (Mexico 2024)
Charles Leclerc - 18 (Imola 2025)
George Russell - 17 (Monaco 2025)
Isack Hadjar - 6 (Austin 2025)
Gabriel Bortoleto - 2 (Qatar 2025)
Sprint Stats 🏃
Full Stats For Each Driver 🏎️
Oscar Piastri
KEY STATS
Got his first pole & third win of his career in China last year
Converted his first pole to win in China last year, becoming the first driver to convert their maiden pole to victory since Carlos Sainz (2022 Silverstone)
Last 3 drivers to convert their maiden pole to victory: Oscar Piastri (China 2025), Carlos Sainz (Silverstone 2022) & Pastor Maldonado (Barcelona 2012)
Came second in last year’s sprint race in China
Perfect Q3 rate & points-scoring rate in China
Led 53 laps in China with all of them coming last year
Would join Lewis Hamilton as only McLaren drivers with multiple wins or poles in China
Would join Lewis Hamilton as only drivers to win consecutive races in China
Would surpass his manager Mark Webber in career wins (both tied at 9)
Suffered the first DNS of his career last race after crashing on the laps to the grid
Piastri’s last 4 races are now a DSQ-podium-podium-DNS
Piastri entered the 2nd race weekend last year with 2 points; this year he enters with 0
1 win away from becoming the 7th McLaren driver to hit 10 wins (would join Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Lewis Hamilton, Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard & Lando Norris)
OTHER STATS
Qualified inside the top 5 in 5 straight races dating back to Brazil 2025
1 win away from becoming the 37th driver in F1 history to reach 10+ wins
Tied with Alan Jones for 3rd most all-time poles by an Australian (Mark Webber - 13, Jack Brabham - 13, Jones - 6, Piastri - 6)
Piastri (8 in 2025) & Lewis Hamilton (9 in 2007) are the only drivers in McLaren history to record 8+ consecutive podiums
Holds the record for most poles in a season by an Australian (6 in 2025)
Grand slam at Zandvoort 2025 is McLaren’s only grand slam this century & the team’s first since Mika Hakkinen at Monaco 1998
Has led the drivers’ championship for 15 races over his career
McLaren Key Stats
McLaren has 4 wins in China shared by 3 different drivers (Lewis Hamilton - 2008, 2011, Jenson Button - 2010, Oscar Piastri - 2025)
McLaren has 3 poles in China shared by 2 different drivers (Lewis Hamilton - 2007, 2008 & Oscar Piastri - 2025)
The only McLaren drivers with consecutive podiums in China are Kimi Raikkonen (2004-2005), Lewis Hamilton (2010-2012), Lando Norris (2024-2025)
McLaren has 2 1-2 finishes in China (2010, 2025)
McLaren got the 50th 1-2 finish in team history last year in China
McLaren is 5 races away from their 1000th race start
Lando Norris
KEY STATS
Isn’t leading the drivers’ championship anymore after finishing 5th in Australia
Norris’ 5th in Australia was his worst finishing result since finishing 7th in Baku last year
Australia was the first time since Singapore 2025 that Norris wasn’t on the front row, ending a 6-race streak
Australia was the first time since Las Vegas 2024 GP that a race finished with both Norris & Max Verstappen off the podium
Has only 1 podium over his last 4 races (Abu Dhabi 2025)
His next podium will make it 7 consecutive seasons with a podium finish
China would be the 12th different track Norris has a win at
China would become the 16th different track Norris has a pole at
Never started on the front row in China
Finished 2nd in back-to-back years in China
China 2025 was the first race that Norris entered leading the drivers’ championship
Would become the 4th different McLaren driver to win in China, joining Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button & Oscar Piastri
Would join Lewis Hamilton (2010-2012) as the only McLaren drivers to have 3 consecutive podiums in China
1 win away from tying David Coulthard for 5th most wins in McLaren history (12)
OTHER STATS
Is the only driver in F1 history to have his 1st 11 wins come at 11 different circuits
Is McLaren’s all-time leader in race starts (153)
Is 1 of only 3 drivers to start their career with McLaren & win their maiden title with the team, joining Alain Prost & Lewis Hamilton
Is the only driver in F1 history to win their maiden championship after doing 150+ races with the same team that took them to a title
Has 16 poles at 15 different circuits
Has led the drivers’ championship for 9 races over his career
Hoping to become the 4th McLaren driver to win back-to-back drivers’ championships (Alain Prost: 1985-1986, Ayrton Senna: 1990-1991, Mika Hakkinen: 1998-1999)
Is 5 podiums away from tying Lewis Hamilton for 5th most podiums in McLaren history (49)
Is 4th in poles in McLaren history (16), trailing Ayrton Senna (46), Mika Hakkinen (26) & Lewis Hamilton (26)
Could join Mika Hakkinen as the only McLaren drivers ever to have 10+ podium finishes in three straight seasons
Has never lost the qualifying H2H battle against a teammate since joining F1
Owns the record for most podiums in a season by a McLaren driver with 18
Max Verstappen
KEY STATS
Has made up +14 spots in a race twice over his last 5 races (20th to 6th at 2026 Australia, PL to 3rd at 2025 Brazil)
Has as many Q1 eliminations in this era of regulations (1) as he did over the entire ground-effect era (1)
Suffered his 2nd Q1 elimination in 5 races dating back to Brazil 2025, something that’s never happened to him before
Was outqualified by a teammate for the first time since Baku 2024, ending a streak of 31 consecutive GPs outqualifying his teammate
Could be outqualified by a teammate in two consecutive races for the first time since Monaco-Baku 2022
This is the first time Verstappen trails in a qualifying H2H battle against his teammate since Abu Dhabi 2016 when he finished the season down 6-11 against Daniel Ricciardo
Has never been outqualified in 2 straight races to start a season
Australia was the first time Verstappen didn’t finish on the podium since Hungary 2025, ending a 10-race streak
Australia was the first time since Las Vegas 2024 GP that a race finished with both Lando Norris & Verstappen off the podium
Delivered Red Bull its 100th ever pole at the 2024 Chinese GP, the same circuit where the team got its first pole
His 16th to 3rd drive in China in 2017 was the 2nd furthest starting grid spot to reach the podium, only being beaten by Red Bull’s Mark Webber in 2011 (18th to 3rd)
Verstappen & Webber are only drivers to reach the podium in China from a starting grid spot that is 10th or worse
Gained 9 positions on the opening lap in China 2017, going from 16th to 7th
China 2017 was his 8th podium of his career while China 2024 was his 102nd career podium
China 2017 is 1 of 5 drives in his career where he started 16th or worse & ended up on the podium, joining 2018 US GP, 2021 Russian GP, 2024 Brazil GP & 2025 Brazil GP
Has finished in the top 5 in 5 consecutive races in China & has qualified in the top 5 in 4 straight years
Only has 1 podium in the last 4 races in China (his 2024 win)
Has never finished lower than his starting position in China in races he’s seen the chequered flag in
Scored 92 points & led 51 laps in China
China is 1 of 4 tracks on the current calendar where Verstappen has fewer than 2 wins, joining Albert Park, Singapore & Madrid, a new circuit
Next win with Red Bull will be his 72nd, tying Michael Schumacher & Ferrari for 2nd most wins with a single constructor
OTHER STATS
Has won a race in every Red Bull car he’s driven except the RB22 so far
Next win would make Verstappen only 1 of 3 drivers in F1 history to win a race in 11 consecutive seasons (Schumacher & Lewis Hamilton tied with 15 are the others)
Next pole would make Verstappen 1 of only 5 drivers in F1 history to take pole in 8+ consecutive seasons, joining Hamilton (15), Schumacher (13), & Nelson Piquet (8)
Would become the first driver to win a race or finish on the podium with the #3 since Daniel Ricciardo at Monza 2021
Responsible for 1014 of Red Bull’s 1015 total laps led since the start of 2024
Won a race & stood on the podium in 10 consecutive seasons entering 2026
Taken pole in 7 consecutive seasons
Won more races (71) than any other driver since his Red Bull debut (Lewis Hamilton is next closest with 62)
No driver has led more laps than Verstappen since his F1 debut in 2015 (Verstappen - 3872, Hamilton - 3651, Sebastian Vettel - 1063)
Needs 2 more poles to become the 5th driver in F1 history to have 50+ poles
Won 18 races from start to finish, 1 away from tying Ayrton Senna for 2nd most in F1 history
85 career front row starts, 1 away from tying Alain Prost for 5th most in F1 history
Tied with Lewis Hamilton for second most grand slams in F1 history at 6, 2 away from matching the F1 record of 8 by Jim Clark
Has the most wins in F1 history from a starting grid spot outside the top 5 with 7
Has gotten on the podium from an F1-record 17 different starting grid spots (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th (PL), 20th)
Won races from a record 10 different grid positions (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 14th, 17th)
Red Bull Key Stats
Red Bull got its first F1 win at the 2009 Chinese GP with Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull got its first pole (Sebastian Vettel, 2009) & 100th ever pole (Max Verstappen, 2024) at the Chinese GP
Red Bull’s most recent front row lockout was 2024 in China with Max Verstappen 1st & Sergio Perez 2nd
Red Bull has 2 front-row lockouts (2010, 2024) & 1 1-2 finish (2009) in China
Isack Hadjar
KEY STATS
Only 3 drivers have qualified in the top 3 during their Red Bull debut (Isack Hadjar - P3, Australia 2026/ Daniel Ricciardo - P2, Australia 2014/ Sebastian Vettel - P3, Australia 2019)
Became the first Red Bull driver to outqualify Max Verstappen since Sergio Perez at Baku 2024 & he did it at his first race for the team (Max crashed in Q1)
Also outqualified both Ferraris & McLarens in his Red Bull debut
Became the first Red Bull driver to make Q3 on their debut for the team since Max Verstappen at Barcelona 2016
Became the first Red Bull driver to qualify inside the top 3 since Sergio Perez at Spa 2024
Would become the first Red Bull driver to outqualify Max Verstappen in consecutive races since Sergio Perez in 2022 (Monaco-Baku)
Hadjar is the first driver since Daniel Ricciardo in 2016 to be leading a qualifying H2H matchup against Max Verstappen
Would become the first Red Bull not named Max Verstappen to qualify inside the top 3 in consecutive races since Sergio Perez (Japan-China 2024)
Hadjar’s results in F1 season openers: DNS (2025) & DNF (2026)
Qualified 7th last year in China in a Racing Bulls, only 0.058s off the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc & 0.262s off Max Verstappen in a Red Bull
Qualified ahead of then teammate Yuki Tsunoda by 0.559s in China last year
Finished just outside the points in last year’s race in China, coming 11th
Could become the first French driver to win a race since Esteban Ocon at Hungary 2021
OTHER STATS
Holds the record for most Q3 appearances by a Red Bull junior team driver in their debut season with 16 last year
The only drivers who had more Q3 appearances than Hadjar (16) in 2025 were Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Charles Leclerc & Max Verstappen
Youngest French driver in F1 history to stand on the podium
5th youngest podium finisher in F1 history (only Max Verstappen, Lance Stroll, Kimi Antonelli & Lando Norris were younger)
Got the 1st & only podium of his career last year in Zandvoort
Has only 2 career Q1 eliminations
Hadjar’s 10 points finishes in 2025 are tied with Max Verstappen (2015) & Charles Leclerc (2018) for 9th most by a driver in their debut season
George Russell
KEY STATS
Leads the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career
Is the first Mercedes driver to lead the championship since Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 Russian GP
Took his 6th career win, 8th career pole & 25th career podium at the 2026 Australian GP
Russell has now won 6 races on 5 different continents (Australia, Asia, North America x2, Europe, South America)
Every driver who has won a race in 5 different continents has gone on to become world champion (h/t to f1statsguru)
Since he joined Mercedes, Russell has always been 1st in all 3 of the team’s 1-2 finishes
Delivered Mercedes’ 250th powered pole last race
Is 1 of 47 drivers to have 25+ podiums in their career
Passed Juan Manuel Fangio for 4th most poles in Mercedes history
Has converted his last 3 poles to victory
Started his career with 0 of his first 3 poles converted to victory but has now converted 4 of his last 5 poles to victory
Delivered Mercedes’ last 4 wins & last 7 poles
Finished 3rd last year behind the McLarens in China after qualifying on the front row
Russell’s podium in China last year was Mercedes’ 300th podium in F1
Started the 2025 season with consecutive podiums in Australia & China, can do the same again this year
Now has a win & pole in 3 consecutive seasons plus a podium in 6 straight seasons
OTHER STATS
Scheduled to make his 100th race start as a Mercedes driver at the Canadian GP this season (currently at 94)
Has not gone more than 3 races without a podium appearance since Singapore-Brazil 2024
Currently has finished 35 consecutive races, 4th most in F1 history
Since 2024, Russell has a Qualifying H2H record of 41-8 against Lewis Hamilton & Kimi Antonelli
5 of Russell’s 6 wins have seen him start from 1st on the grid
If Russell becomes world champion in 2026, he would become the first driver to win their maiden title in their 8th season or later since Nico Rosberg in 2016
Out of all the drivers in F1 history who have lost wins due to disqualification, Russell is the only one who isn’t a world champion (Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, James Hunt)
His furthest winning grid spot was 3rd (Austria 2024), otherwise, all his wins have come from 1st on the grid
Mercedes Key Stats
The 2012 Chinese GP won by Nico Rosberg was Mercedes’ first win since their return to F1 in 2010
Mercedes’ first 2 poles after returning to F1 in 2010 both came in China (2012 - Nico Rosberg, 2013 - Lewis Hamilton)
2010 Chinese GP podium by Nico Rosberg was the team’s second podium since returning to F1
Mercedes has 6 wins in China shared by 2 different drivers (Lewis Hamilton: 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019 & Nico Rosberg: 2012, 2016)
Mercedes has 7 poles in China shared by 3 different drivers (Lewis Hamilton: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 & Nico Rosberg: 2012, 2016 & Valtteri Bottas: 2019)
Mercedes has 13 podiums in China shared by 4 different drivers (Lewis Hamilton: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019 & Nico Rosberg: 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 & Valtteri Bottas: 2018, 2019 & George Russell: 2025)
Mercedes has 3 1-2 finishes (2014, 2015 & 2019) & 3 front-row lockouts (2012, 2015 & 2019) in China
From 2012 to 2019, Mercedes won 6/8 races in China
From 2012 to 2019, Mercedes was responsible for 7/8 poles in China
The 2018 Chinese GP was the only race at the circuit between 2012 & 2019 that didn’t see a Mercedes driver start on pole or win
Had 6 straight poles in China from 2012 to 2017 & 4 straight wins from 2014 to 2017
Mercedes & Ferrari were the only teams to have both drivers score points in Australia
This is the first time Mercedes is 1-2 in the drivers’ championship since Abu Dhabi 2020
Mercedes has not recorded back-to-back 1-2 finishes since Imola-Portugal 2020
Mercedes collected their 61st 1-2 finish & 83rd front row lockout last race in Australia
Mercedes has won 123 races since returning to the sport in 2010, only 1 behind Red Bull who have 124 in that span
Mercedes have the same number of wins as Ferrari since 2000 (123) despite not returning to the sport until 2010
Mercedes is 5 podiums away from their 300th podium since returning to F1 in 2010
Kimi Antonelli
KEY STATS
Antonelli is the first Italian driver to be top 2 in the drivers’ standings since Giancarlo Fisichella after the 2006 Australian GP
Would become the first Italian driver to lead the championship since Giancarlo Fisichella after Australia 2005
Got the 4th podium of his career in Australia
Became the first Italian on the podium in Albert Park since Jarno Trulli in 2009
Antonelli has converted a front row start into a podium (Brazil 2025, Australia 2026) twice in the last 5 races
Has 3 podiums & 4 top 5 finishes over his last 5 races
Responsible for 3 of Mercedes’ last 5 podiums
Scored 10 points in China last year (7th in the sprint, 6th in the race)
Would become the second Italian on the podium in China, joining Giancarlo Fisichella (2006 with Renault)
Has until November 3, 2027 to break Sebastian Vettel’s record of youngest polesitter in F1 history (Vettel was 21 years 2 months 11 days old at Monza 2008)
Would be the 2nd youngest race winner if he won right now (only trailing Max Verstappen)
OTHER STATS
If Antonelli wins the championship in 2026, he’ll become the first driver to win the title in their 2nd season since Lewis Hamilton in 2008
Antonelli could become the first driver to win the championship & their first race in the same season since Keke Rosberg in 1982
Holds the record for most points by a rookie driver with 150 (not adjusted by era)
Is the youngest driver in F1 history to record a fastest lap & lead a lap (18 years 7 months 12 days old in Suzuka 2025)
Is the youngest driver ever to start on pole in any format in F1 history (2025 Miami sprint)
Is the 3rd youngest driver in F1 history to stand on the podium after getting his maiden podium in Montreal in 2025 (18 years 9 months 21 days)
Is the 2nd youngest driver ever to get back-to-back podiums, only trailing Max Verstappen, who was 18 years, 9 months & 10 days at the 2016 British GP (Max came 2nd in 2016 Austria & 2016 Silverstone)
Is the 3rd youngest driver in F1 history to start on the front row, trailing record-holder Lance Stroll (Monza 2017) & Max Verstappen (Spa 2016)
Charles Leclerc
KEY STATS
2022 - Leclerc leads after Lap 1 in first race of new regulations. 2026 - Leclerc leads after Lap 1 in first race of new regulations
Leclerc got the 51st podium of his career in Australia, tying him with Mika Hakkinen for 16th most podiums all time
Will pass Kimi Raikkonen for 2nd most starts as a Ferrari driver when he makes his 152nd start with the Scuderia at the Chinese GP
1 podium away from tying Kimi Raikkonen for 4th most podiums in Ferrari history (52)
Is the only driver in F1 history with 150 races for a single constructor to not deliver them a drivers’ title
Has now outqualified Lewis Hamilton in 20 of their 25 races as teammates
Responsible for 10 of Ferrari’s last 11 podiums
Was disqualified from last year’s Chinese GP race due to high plank wear
2025 China was the 2nd DSQ of his career, joining the 2023 US GP
Leclerc & Hamilton have had double DSQs in 2025 China & 2023 US GP
China is 1 of 4 circuits on the calendar where Leclerc doesn’t have a podium, joining Hungary, Interlagos & Madrid (new track)
Out of all the circuits that Leclerc has raced at +4 times, China & Qatar are the only tracks that he’s never started inside the top 3
Has qualified 6th in consecutive years in China
China would be the 24th different circuit that Leclerc has a podium at
Has never led a lap in China
Would become the first Ferrari driver to lead the drivers’ standings at the conclusion of a GP since the 2022 Miami GP
The next win by a Ferrari-powered car will be the 250th by the power unit in F1 history
If Leclerc doesn’t win a world championship in 2026, he will join Felipe Massa as the only Ferrari drivers to complete at least 8 seasons with the Scuderia and not win a title
His next win would tie Rubens Barrichello for 8th most in Ferrari history
During his time with Ferrari, Leclerc has 27 poles to his teammates’ combined total of 8
Leclerc’s 43 front row starts is also more than double his teammates’ combined total (21) during his time with Ferrari
OTHER STATS
Leclerc is the only driver in F1 history with more than 20 poles to not be a world champion
Leclerc is the only driver in F1 history to make 150+ starts with a team & have less than 10 wins with them
Since the start of the 2009 season, Leclerc has more poles (27) than all other Ferrari drivers combined (24)
Has more poles (27) than his teammates have front row starts (21) over his career
Leclerc has a podium in 7 consecutive seasons, tied with Carlos Sainz for the 2nd longest streak on the grid behind Verstappen (10 straight seasons)
Leclerc has taken pole in 5 consecutive seasons, the 2nd longest streak on the grid behind Max Verstappen (7 straight seasons)
Leclerc has only converted 1 of his last 16 poles to victory
Looking to become Ferrari’s 16th drivers’ champion & end their championship drought as their last drivers’ title came in 2007 & last constructors’ title in 2008
Leclerc is scheduled to tie Michael Schumacher for most GP starts as a Ferrari driver at his home GP in Monaco this season, which will be his 179th GP with the team
2 poles away from tying Juan Manuel Fangio’s 29 poles for 10th most in F1 history
Leclerc’s 27 poles with Ferrari only trails Michael Schumacher (58) for most in team history
4 podiums away from tying Sebastian Vettel & Rubens Barrichello for 2nd most (55)
Has converted only 5 of his 27 poles to victory, giving him a pole-to-win rate of 18.52%, 5th worst in F1 history among drivers with at least 1 win from pole
Ferrari Key Stats
As of Wednesday March 11, 500 days will have passed since Ferrari’s last win (2024 Mexican GP)
The 2025 Chinese GP was the first time ever that Ferrari had both cars disqualified in a race
Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello took pole & won the inaugural Chinese GP in 2004
Ferrari won 3 of the first 4 Chinese GPs but have only won 1 of 14 since then
The 4 Ferrari wins in China come from 4 different drivers (Rubens Barrichello: 2004, Michael Schumacher: 2006, Kimi Raikkonen: 2007 & Fernando Alonso: 2013)
Ferrari only has 2 poles in China (Rubens Barrichello: 2004 & Sebastian Vettel: 2018)
6 different Ferrari drivers are responsible for the team’s 13 podiums in China (Rubens Barrichello: 2004 & Michael Schumacher: 2006 & Kimi Raikkonen: 2007, 2008, 2018 & Felipe Massa: 2007, 2008 & Fernando Alonso: 2013, 2014 & Sebastian Vettel: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019)
Ferrari has 1 front-row lockout (2018) in China but has never had a 1-2 finish there
A win in 2026 would give Ferrari its 60th season with a victory
Ferrari & Mercedes were the only teams to have both drivers score points in Australia
Lewis Hamilton
KEY STATS
Has already led more laps in 2026 after one race (3) than he did in all of 2025 (2)
Is now the first driver in F1 history to lead a race in 20 consecutive seasons & in 20 different seasons
Hamilton’s 4th place finish in Australia was his best result since he came 4th at the 2025 US GP
Hamilton finished 0.6s off Charles Leclerc for the final podium spot in Australia, the closest he’s come to his first podium as a Ferrari driver
Leads all drivers in wins (6), poles (6), podiums (9), laps led (306), fastest laps (4) & points (221) at China
Is the only driver to have a grand slam in China (2017)
Disqualified from last year’s Chinese GP race due to high plank wear
Took pole in sprint qualifying & won the sprint race in China last year, his second GP with Ferrari
Sprint win in China was Ferrari’s only P1 race result in any format last year
Would become the 9th circuit where Hamilton has 10+ podiums
Since China returned to the calendar in 2024, Hamilton has been 9th & disqualified in the GP race
Also finished 2nd in the 2024 Chinese GP sprint race
China was 1 of 5 circuits where Hamilton outqualified Charles Leclerc last year, joining Spain, Canada, Silverstone & Singapore
Hasn’t led the drivers’ championship since the 2021 Russian GP
27 straight races without a podium, the longest streak of his career (last podium was 2024 Las Vegas GP)
Would be the first driver ever to have a win, pole, or podium with McLaren, Mercedes, & Ferrari
Would join Fernando Alonso as the only drivers on the grid to win with a Mercedes & Ferrari engine
Would be the 1st race winner & polesitter aged 40+ since Nigel Mansell at Australia 1994
Currently holds the record for most GPs as a Ferrari driver (25) without a single podium
OTHER STATS
Always won the drivers’ championship in his second season with his new team
Hamilton & Fernando Alonso are the only drivers to start 20+ different seasons
Is the first Ferrari driver to go an entire season (2025) without a podium since Kimi Raikkonen in 2014
The only time a Ferrari driver using #44 won a race was Maurice Trintignant at the 1955 Monaco GP
Hamilton hasn’t won a race in 3 of the last 4 seasons
The only drivers in F1 history to win with a Mercedes & Ferrari engine are Juan Manuel Fangio, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso & Rubens Barrichello
The last time a Ferrari driver ended a race leading the championship was Charles Leclerc at the 2022 Miami GP
If Hamilton leads 7 races, he will become the first driver in F1 history to lead 200 different races
Looking for his 17th season with a victory, 17th season with a pole, 19th season with a podium & 19th with a fastest lap
Would become the: 16th driver to win a race with 3+ different teams, the 17th different driver to get pole with 3+ different teams & the 57th different driver to get a podium with 3+ different teams
Is tied for 2nd most grand slams in F1 history with Max Verstappen (6 each). Hamilton’s last grand slam was Abu Dhabi 2019
Holds the undisputed F1 record in wins (105), poles (104), podiums (202), front row starts (176)
Is the only driver in F1 history to score over 5000 points, not adjusted for eras
Has recorded at least 5 podiums in every single season of his career except 2025
Holds the record for longest gap between 1st & last win (over 17 years from Canada 2007 to Spa 2024)
Won at 31 different circuits, taken pole at 32 different circuits & stood on the podium at 36 different circuits, all F1 records
Won from 8 different grid positions (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P10, P14)
Carlos Sainz
KEY STATS
Did not set a time in qualifying in Australia & then finished 15th, 2 laps down from the leader
Scored his first points as a Williams driver last year in China when he finished 10th
Has scored points in China with Williams, Ferrari, Renault & Toro Rosso
Has scored only 25 points in 7 GPs in China
The only circuit Sainz has started 7+ times & has fewer points than China is Sochi (24 points)
The only years he didn’t score points in China was his rookie season (2015) & 2019 with McLaren
1 podium away from his 30th career podium
OTHER STATS
Scheduled to make his 250th race start at the 2026 Brazilian GP
Sainz & Alain Prost are the only drivers in F1 history to score podiums for McLaren, Ferrari & Williams
Has a podium in 7 consecutive seasons (2019-2025) & front row start in 5 straight seasons (2021-2025)
10 straight seasons of at least 10 points finishes, with 5 different constructors (Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren, Ferrari & Williams)
8 straight seasons of 10+ Q3 appearances, with 4 different constructors (Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, Williams)
Podiums for Williams: Sainz - 2, All other Williams drivers since 2017 - 2
Won the qualifying H2H battle against Alex Albon 14-9 last year
His 150 GPs before his first win is 2nd most in F1 history, only trailing Sergio Perez, who had to wait 190 GPs
Last year, Sainz became the 1st Williams driver to get 2+ podiums in a season since 2015 when Valtteri Bottas & Felipe Massa each had 2
Was the only driver to make podium appearances with multiple constructors in the ground-effect regs
Is 1 of 3 current drivers on the grid with a podium for +3 different constructors (Sainz - 3, Pierre Gasly - 3, Fernando Alonso - 5)
Williams Key Stats
Williams was 1 of only 3 teams that didn’t score points in the 2026 opening race, joining Cadillac & Aston Martin
Williams had a double points finish in China last year with Alex Albon finishing 7th & Carlos Sainz finishing 10th
Williams has 4 double points finishes in China (2012, 2015, 2016, 2025)
Williams’ best ever result in China is 5th by Juan-Pablo Montoya in 2004 & Felipe Massa in 2015
Williams’ best ever starting grid spot in China is Felipe Massa in 4th in 2015
The last Williams world champion was Jacques Villeneuve in 1997
Williams finished 5th in the constructors’ last year, its best finish since 2017
Williams scored 137 points in 2025
Williams’ last win was Pastor Maldonado in Barcelona in 2012
Williams’ last pole was Felipe Massa in Austria in 2014, which was also the first year of a new regulation change
Williams’ last 1-2 finish was 2003 French GP
Alex Albon
KEY STATS
Last Q3 appearance was Spa 2025
Has missed Q3 in 12 straight races
The last time Albon scored points was the 2025 US GP sprint
In only GP format, Albon hasn’t scored points in 9 straight races
Finished 12th in Australia last week, 1 lap down from the leader
Led 1 lap in China last year, the first time he’s led a race as a Williams driver
China 2025 was the first time a Williams driver led a race since Silverstone 2015 (Valtteri Bottas & Felipe Massa)
China 2025 was the first time Albon led a race since Turkey 2020 for Red Bull
Made Q3 in China for the first time at the circuit last year, then finished in the points in 7th
Has scored points in China with Williams & Toro Rosso
Will become Williams’ all-time leader in race starts this season
If no races are cancelled, Albon will tie Nigel Mansell as the driver with the most race starts for Williams at the 2026 Saudi Arabian GP (95)
If no races are cancelled, Albon will become Williams’ all-time leader in race starts at the 2026 Miami GP
If no races are cancelled, Albon will become the 1st Williams driver to complete 100 races with the team at the 2026 Austrian GP
His 313 points without a win are 4th most in F1 history
OTHER STATS
73 points scored in 2025 were more than all his other years at Williams combined (43)
In 2025, became 1st Williams driver to finish in the top 8 in the drivers’ standings since Valtteri Bottas in 2016
Albon is 1 of 3 drivers in F1 history to make more than 120 starts without starting a race in the top 3, joining Kevin Magnussen & Johnny Herbert
Arvid Lindblad
KEY STATS
Became the fourth youngest driver to start a race in F1 history last week & the youngest British driver to race in F1
Made Q3 & scored points in his F1 debut
Became the 3rd youngest points scorer in F1 history on his F1 debut after finishing 8th in Australia
Is the youngest British driver to score points in F1 history
Was the 357th different point scorer in F1 history
Overtook reigning champion Lando Norris & 7-time champion Lewis Hamilton on Lap 1 of the Australian GP last week, his first F1 racing lap ever
Lindblad is the first driver for Red Bull’s junior team to finish in the top 8 in the first race of the season since Yuki Tsunoda at the 2022 Bahrain GP
Lindblad is the first driver to score points on their F1 debut since Kimi Antonelli at the 2025 Australian GP
Lindblad is now 1 of 5 drivers on the grid currently who scored points on their F1 debut, joining Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz, Ollie Bearman & Kimi Antonelli
Lindblad is the first driver for Red Bull’s junior team to finish in the top 8 in their F1 debut since Sebastian Buemi at the 2009 Australian GP
The Chinese GP is Lindblad’s last chance to become the youngest race winner or podium finisher in F1 history in order to beat Max Verstappen’s record of 18 years, 7 months & 15 days
If Lindblad doesn’t win or get a podium in China, he can only be the 2nd youngest race winner or podium finisher in F1 history at best
Has until October 18, 2028 to become the youngest polesitter in F1 history as he will be 21 years, 2 months & 10 days old which would beat Sebastian Vettel’s record by 1 day (21 years, 2 months, 11 days at Monza 2008)
OTHER STATS
If Lindblad’s first podium is at the Japanese GP, he will be the 2nd youngest podium finisher in F1 history at (18 years, 7 months, 21 days), beating Lance Stroll’s mark of 18 years, 7 months, 27 days at Baku 2017
If Lindblad’s first podium is between the Bahrain GP & Canadian GP, he will become the 3rd youngest podium finisher in F1 history, beating Kimi Antonelli’s mark of 18 years, 9 months, 21 days at Montreal 2025
Finished 6th in his rookie F2 season in 2025, collecting 3 wins, 1 pole & 5 podiums for Campos
Finished 4th in his rookie F3 season in 2024, collecting 4 wins & 5 podiums for Prema
Won the 2025 Formula Regional Oceania Championship with 6 wins, 6 poles & 12 podiums
Racing Bulls Key Stats
Both Racing Bulls drivers made Q3 in Australia last week
Racing Bulls hasn’t had both drivers make Q3 appearances in consecutive races since Brazil-Las Vegas 2025
Both Racing Bulls drivers qualified in Q3 in China last year but they scored 0 points in the GP race
Racing Bulls’ best finishing result in China was 4th by Sebastian Vettel in 2007 under the Toro Rosso name
Liam Lawson
KEY STATS
Qualified 8th in Australia, his best result since he qualified 6th in Las Vegas last year
Aiming for his first back-to-back Q3 appearances since Brazil-Las Vegas 2025
Racing Bulls’ 2025 drivers’ lineup were the highest-qualified Red Bull drivers in Australia last week with Isack Hadjar 3rd & Lawson 8th
The 2025 Chinese GP was his last as a Red Bull driver after he was slowest in qualifying & finished over a minute behind Max Verstappen in the race
No Kiwi driver has ever scored points in China
OTHER STATS
Needs to score 40 points to pass Chris Amon for the 3rd most points by a Kiwi driver in F1 history (Lawson - 44, Amon - 83)
The last F1 win by a Kiwi driver was Denny Hulme at 1974 Argentina GP at Buenos Aires
Last F1 pole by Kiwi driver was Hulme at 1973 South African GP at Kyalami
Last F1 podium by Kiwi driver was Hulme at 1974 Austrian GP
Made 8 Q3 appearances & had 7 points finishes in 2025, his first full season in F1
Scored 38 points in 2025
Fernando Alonso
KEY STATS
Has wins, poles, podiums & laps led using a Renault, Ferrari & Mercedes power unit but not a Honda power unit
Average points per GP by power unit for Alonso: 12.4 with Ferrari PU, 5.07 with Mercedes PU, 4.00 with Renault PU, 1.44 with Honda PU
Nearly made it into Q2 in his first GP driving the AMR26, qualified 17th in Australia
Retired from the Australian GP race, his 83rd retirement of his career
Outqualified Lance Stroll in 37 consecutive races with the last time he was outqualified by his teammate being Silverstone 2024
Qualified 3rd in China in 2024, his best qualifying result of that entire season with only the Red Bull duo ahead of him
His only non-points finishes in China are DNFs (2017, 2025), 12th places (2015-2016) & a 9th place finish in 2009 under the old points system
Average finishing position of 5.6 at China makes this one of Alonso’s better tracks
Has 8 top 5 finishes in China & 11 finishes inside the top 7
Has only made Q3 once in his last 6 appearances in China
11 of his 17 starts have seen Alonso start 6th or better
Last podium in China was 2014 with Ferrari
China is 1 of 7 circuits where Alonso has multiple poles, joining Silverstone, Hungary, Magny-Cours, Monaco, Monza & Malaysia
China is 1 of 5 circuits where Alonso has multiple wins & poles, joining Silverstone, Monaco, Monza & Malaysia
Has scored 109 points & led 119 laps at China
Last led laps in China in 2013, his most recent win at the circuit
Next Q3 appearance will be his 50th as an Aston Martin driver
This is Alonso’s 23rd season in F1, his first in Adrian Newey-designed machinery & his first with a Honda PU since 2017
OTHER STATS
Hasn’t won a race since the 2013 Spanish GP
Hasn’t been on pole since the 2012 German GP
Hasn’t been on the podium since the 2023 Brazilian GP
Hasn’t led a race since the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP
Has not lost a qualifying H2H battle against a teammate during a season since Lewis Hamilton in 2007 (8-9), though he did tie Esteban Ocon 11-11 in 2021
Alonso has made 10+ Q3 appearances in 5 consecutive seasons
Has finished inside the top 10 of the drivers’ standings every season since returning to F1 in 2021
If Alonso wins a race, he will break the F1 record for longest interval between wins in F1 history (current record for time between wins is 6y 6m 28d by Riccardo Patrese at 1990 San Marino GP & current record for GPs between wins is 114 GPs between wins by Kimi Raikkonen at 2018 US GP)
Alonso would also break the record for longest interval between first & last win ever if he wins a race (current record for time & GPs is 17y 1m 18d & 340 GPs by Lewis Hamilton)
A podium in 2026 means Alonso will become only the third driver ever to stand on the podium in 15+ different seasons, joining Lewis Hamilton (18) & Michael Schumacher (16)
A win in 2026 means Alonso will become the 7th driver to win a race in 10+ different seasons
Needs 5 Q3 appearances to join Lewis Hamilton as the only drivers to have 250+ Q3 appearances
Alonso has led 87 different races in his career, 5th most in F1 history & 13 away from becoming the 5th driver to eclipse 100 different races led
Alonso owns the record for most GPs between podiums with 146 races passing between his podiums at Hungary in 2014 & Qatar in 2021
Also owns the record for most time (20y 7m 13d) & GPs (399) between first & last podium
Has 245 Q3 appearances, 2nd most in F1 history behind Lewis Hamilton (340)
Is the only driver in F1 history to make +400 GP starts (426)
Won from 9 different grid positions, 2nd most in F1 history (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P8, P11, P15)
Aston Martin Key Stats
Aston Martin has scored points in China in 2 straight seasons (Fernando Alonso - 7th in 2024, Lance Stroll - 9th in 2025)
Aston Martin has 1 Q3 appearance in China (Fernando Alonso - 2024)
Fernando Alonso qualifying 3rd in China in 2024 was Aston Martin’s best starting spot of the entire season
Lance Stroll
KEY STATS
Stroll is currently unranked on F1’s official standings after being not classified in qualifying & in the race
Finished 15 laps down in the 2026 Australian GP
Was the first driver to finish exactly 15 laps down since Moisés Solana at the 1965 US GP
Is the first driver to finish 15 or more laps down since Takuma Sato at the Turkish GP in 2006 (17 laps down), which also featured a Honda PU
For the first time since 2022, Stroll did not score points or finish in the top 6 at Albert Park, ending a 3-year streak
Outqualified by Fernando Alonso in 37 consecutive races with the last time he outqualified his teammate being Silverstone 2024
OTHER STATS
Assuming no cancellations, Stroll is scheduled to make the 200th race start of his career at the 2026 Austrian GP
4 points finishes away from his 70th career points finish
His 190 GPs without a win are 3rd most in F1 history, only trailing Andrea De Cesaris (208) & Nico Hulkenberg (250)
His 325 points without a win is 3rd most in F1 history, only trailing Romain Grosjean (391) & Nico Hulkenberg (622)
Led all drivers in Q1 eliminations last season (15)
Made the last ever DRS overtake at Abu Dhabi 2025
Has never won the qualifying H2H battle against his full-time teammate in any of his F1 seasons
Holds the record for youngest front-row starter in F1 history (18 years 10 months 5 days at Monza in 2017)
Has 3 career podiums & 1 pole
Became the 101st different polesitter in F1 history at the 2020 Turkish GP
Esteban Ocon
KEY STATS
The 2025 Chinese GP w be Ocon’s 182nd race without a pole, breaking Romain Grosjean’s F1 record of 181 races without a pole
Finished just outside the points (11th) in Australia
Was outqualified & finished behind his teammate Ollie Bearman in Australia
China 2025 was 1 of 13 races in Ocon’s career where he finished in the top 5
China 2025 was Ocon’s best result of the season & his top performance since his podium in Interlagos in 2024
Has 11 points scored in China with 10 coming from his 5th place finish last year
His other points finish was a 10th place result in 2017, his first time at the circuit, with Force India
Has 3 Q2 exits & 1 Q1 exit in China
Outqualified Ollie Bearman last season in China
Trying to make it 7 straight seasons with at least 1 finish inside the top 5 (2020-2025)
OTHER STATS
Is the last French driver to win a race (Hungary 2021)
Has only 3 Q3 appearances since the start of 2025 & only 7 Q3 appearances since the start of 2024
2025 was the first season since 2022 where Ocon didn’t have a podium
Scored fewer points (38) than rookie teammate Ollie Bearman (41) in 2025 & was outqualified (13-10) by Bearman in 2025
The only French driver with more points scored than Ocon (483) is Alain Prost (798.5)
Has finished at least 1 race inside the top 6 in every season since 2017
Haas Key Stats
Haas has scored points in 7 of the last 8 GP weekends dating back to Singapore 2025
Esteban Ocon finishing 5th & Ollie Bearman finishing 8th last year in China was Haas’ first double points finish at the circuit
Haas has 5 points finishes in China between 4 drivers with Esteban Ocon (2025), Ollie Bearman (2025), Kevin Magnussen (2017, 2018) & Nico Hulkenberg (2024)
2019 is the only year Haas had both drivers make Q3 in China
Haas’ best ever qualifying position in China is 9th (Kevin Magnussen - 2019, Nico Hulkenberg - 2024)
Ollie Bearman
KEY STATS
Finished 7th in Australia, scoring 6 points in the first race of 2026
Was the best of the rest in Australia with only drivers from Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull & McLaren finishing ahead of him
Outqualified & finished ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon in Australia
Has outqualified Esteban Ocon in 14 of their 24 classified GPs together as teammates (excludes 2025 Baku when Ocon was DSQed)
Has finished in the points in 6 of his last 8 races
Has 12 points finishes in GP races
It took Bearman 4 races to get to 6 points last season, he did it in 1 race this year
Bearman is 7th in the drivers’ standings currently, the highest he’s ever been in his career
China 2025 was Bearman’s first points finish as a Haas driver (finished 8th)
OTHER STATS
Is the only driver in Haas’ history to score points in 5 consecutive races (Singapore 2025 to Las Vegas 2025)
His all-time best race finish was 4th place at the 2025 Mexican GP
Shares the joint best result in Haas history with Romain Grosjean (Bearman - 4th at 2025 Mexico GP, Grosjean - 4th at 2018 Austrian GP)
Pierre Gasly
KEY STATS
Gasly picked up Alpine’s first points in the Mercedes PU era by finishing 10th in Australia
Gasly finished 10th last year in China but was then disqualified
Was 1 of 3 drivers to be DSQ in China last year, joining Charles Leclerc & Lewis Hamilton
His lone Q3 appearance & points finish in China came in 2019 with Red Bull
Has 2 Q1 eliminations & 1 Q2 elimination in China
Outqualified Franco Colapinto in 7 straight races
Has made at least 6 Q3 appearances in 8 straight seasons dating back to 2018
Responsible for all 23 of Alpine’s points scored dating back to the start of 2025
OTHER STATS
Responsible for all of Alpine’s last 10 Q3 appearances
Looking for his 1st win since the 2020 Italian GP at Monza
Has never had multiple podium finishes in a season
Still looking for his maiden pole position
The last French driver to take pole was Jean Alesi in 1997 at Monza
Gasly trails Esteban Ocon by 14 points (483-459) for 2nd most points scored in F1 history by an F1 driver
Outqualified Franco Colapinto 14-5 in races during their first year together as teammates in 2025
Assuming no cancellations, if Gasly starts all 24 races in 2026, he will tie Jean Alesi for most races for a French driver in F1 history (201) at the season finale
Is 18 Q3 appearances away from reaching 100 Q3 appearances
Has at least 5 points finishes in 8 straight seasons dating back to 2018
Gasly has a podium in 5 of his last 7 seasons with 2022 & 2025 the only exceptions
Alpine Key Stats
Alpine’s last & only win was 2021 Hungary
Alpine is yet to take pole while the team’s last podium was a double podium by Pierre Gasly & Esteban Ocon at Brazil 2024
The team has never scored points or made Q3 in China under the Alpine name
China is the only track that Alpine has raced at since its 2021 rebrand where it doesn’t have any points scored
Franco Colapinto
KEY STATS
Has never raced in China
Will become the first Argentine driver to race in China
Became the first Argentine driver ever to finish a race in Australia after the previous 4 occasions ended in a DNF (Gaston Mazzacane in 2001 & 2000, Esteban Tuero in 1998 for Minardi, Oscar Larrauri for Eurobrun in 1988)
Outqualified by Pierre Gasly in 7 straight races to end last season
Still searching for his first points for Alpine after going pointless across 18 with the team
Hasn’t scored points since the 2024 US GP in Austin when he was driving for Williams
Made Q3 in 1 of his 28 career F1 races
OTHER STATS
First Q3 appearance came at his 2nd F1 race at Baku 2024 but he hasn’t made Q3 since
Aiming to better his personal best career finishing result of 8th place set at Baku in 2024
Colapinto’s best qualifying result was 9th at Baku 2024 with his best starting grid spot being 8th which also came at Baku 2024 after he was bumped up
Argentina’s last F1 win was Carlos Reutemann at the Belgian GP at the Zolder circuit in 1981
Argentina’s last F1 pole was also Reutemann in 1981 at Caesars Palace
Argentina’s last F1 podium was Reutemann again at the 1982 South African GP at Kyalami
Colapinto would become the 4th Argentine driver to win a race or take pole & the 6th Argentine driver to finish on the podium
Colapinto could also be the first Argentine to lead a race since Reutemann at the 1981 Belgian GP at the Zolder circuit
In his debut season in 2024 with Williams, Colapinto became the 1st Argentine driver to score points since Carlos Reutemann at the 1982 South African GP
During his debut season, he also became the 1st Argentine driver to qualify in the top 10 since Reutemann at the 1982 Brazilian GP
Nico Hulkenberg
KEY STATS
If Hulkenberg scores points with Audi, he will become only the 3rd driver in F1 history to score points with 8+ different teams (tied with John Surtees & trailing Andrea De Cesaris with 9)
China will be Hulkenberg’s first race start of 2026 after he had a DNS in Australia due to a mechanical issue before the race
Hulkenberg now has a DNS with Sauber, Force India, Racing Point, Sauber & Audi
Now has 2 DNS in his last 10 races (Monza 2025 is the other)
Has either DNS or DNF in 4 of his last 10 races while has also scored points in 4 of his last 10 races
Over his last 25 races, Hulkenberg has 2 DNS, 2 DNFs & 1 DSQ (20% of all GPs since 2025)
In China, Hulkenberg will become the 1st driver ever to race with a Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, Cosworth & Audi engine
China is only 1 of 2 places where Hulkenberg has led a race with Interlagos being the other
Hulkenberg led 8 laps in China in 2013 for Sauber
Has scored points in China for Renault, Force India, Haas & Sauber
China is 1 of 2 circuits where Hulkenberg has recorded the fastest lap (2012 Singapore, 2016 China)
Has scored only 18 points over 11 race starts in China
Will make his 251st race start in China
3 German drivers have won in China (Michael Schumacher in 2006, Sebastian Vettel in 2009 & Nico Rosberg in 2012 & 2016)
2 German drivers have poles in China (Sebastian Vettel in 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2018, Nico Rosberg in 2012 & 2016)
Has driven for 9 different constructors in F1 history, something only 8 other drivers have done (Williams, Sauber, Force India, Renault, Racing Point, Aston Martin, Haas, Kick Sauber, Audi)
OTHER STATS
Nico Rosberg is the last German driver to win for a German engine manufacturer
1 Q3 appearance in 2025 was his fewest in any of his seasons as a full-time driver
Owns the F1 record for most GP starts without a win (250)
Is the only driver in F1 history to make +210 starts & not have a win
Got the first podium of his career at Silverstone in 2025, breaking the F1 record for most starts before 1st career podium (239). For context, no other driver with a podium had to wait more than 101 races for their first podium
Owns the F1 record for most GP starts without a win (250)
Has made Q3 with 6 different constructors over his career (Williams, Force India, Sauber, Renault, Racing Point & Haas)
Took him only 18 GPs before his 1st career pole at the 2010 Brazilian GP with Williams, but hasn’t been on pole since. He also has 2 career front row starts (Brazil 2010 - Pole, Austria 2016 - P2)
Gabriel Bortoleto
KEY STATS
Responsible for Audi’s first F1 Q3 appearance & points ever
Made Q3 but was unable to set a time due to an issue so he qualified 10th before finishing the race in 9th
Australia 2026 was the first time Bortoleto made Q3 & scored points since Monza 2025
Australia 2026 was the first time Bortoleto scored points since Mexico 2025
Has only scored points in consecutive races once in his career (Belgium-Hungary 2025)
Could make 3 consecutive Q3 appearances for the first time in his career
Became the first Brazilian to score points at Albert Park since Felipe Massa in 2017
Bortoleto has now made back-to-back Q3 appearances dating back to Abu Dhabi 2025
It took Bortoleto 11 races to score points last year, he did it in his first race this year
Bortoleto has 6 points finishes & 6 Q3 appearances in 25 races now
Has outqualified Nico Hulkenberg in 13 of their 25 races together as teammates
A Brazilian (Rubens Barrichello) won & took pole at the inaugural Chinese GP in 2004 but neither have been replicated since
Only 2 Brazilians have been on the podium in China (Felipe Massa - 2007, 2008 & Rubens Barrichello - 2004)
Only Liam Lawson was slower than him in Chinese GP qualifying last year
Has now scored the 9th most points among all Brazilians in F1 history after his 2 points in Australia moved him past Nelson Piquet Jr.
Needs to score 9 points to pass Felipe Nasr for the 8th most points scored by a Brazilian driver in F1 history
OTHER STATS
Bortoleto joined Daniel Ricciardo (2019) as the only drivers to outqualify Hulkenberg in 7 straight races (Austria to Baku 2025) & he did it as a rookie
Trying to become the 10th Brazilian in F1 history to lead a lap
Sergio Perez
KEY STATS
Outqualified Valtteri Bottas by over 6 tenths in his first F1 GP since 2024
Australia 2026 was the first time Perez has outqualified a teammate since Baku 2024 & only the 2nd time total he’s outqualified a teammate since Monaco 2023
Since Canada 2022, Perez has only outqualified his teammate 5 times (Singapore 2022, Jeddah 2023, Miami 2023, Baku 2024, Australia 2026)
Finished 16th in Australia, last of all classified finishers and was 3 laps down
Joined Nico Hulkenberg & Fernando Alonso as the only drivers on the grid to drive for 6+ different constructors (Sauber, McLaren, Force India, Racing Point, Red Bull & Cadillac)
Would become Cadillac’s first points scorer
Perez’s last F1 podium came at the 2024 Chinese GP
Perez was part of Red Bull’s last front row lockout, which occurred at the 2024 Chinese GP
2024 Chinese GP is 1 of 13 times Perez has qualified on the front row
Perez only has 1 front row lockout since the 2024 Chinese GP, coming at Spa that same year
Has never been eliminated in Q1 in China
Has started 8th 3 times in China & 12th 3 times in China, his most common starting positions there
Has finished 11th 4 times in China, his most common finishing position there
That means out of Perez’s 10 starts in China, he has 4 points finishes & 4 times he’s just narrowly missed the points
Perez’s average starting position in China is 10 & his average finishing position is 10.2, very consistent
Has scored points in China with Red Bull, Racing Point & Force India
Led 3 laps in China for Sauber in 2012
2012 China was the 2nd ever circuit where Perez has led a race with Malaysia in 2012 being first
OTHER STATS
If Perez scores points with Cadillac, he will become the 15th driver in F1 history to score points with 6+ different teams
Assuming no cancellations, Perez is scheduled to become the 8th driver in F1 history to make 300 race starts at the 2026 United States GP in Austin
1 podium away from getting his 40th career podium, which would make him the 26th driver in F1 history to hit 40+ podiums
Cadillac is 1 of 3 teams that have a drivers’ lineup of 2 race winners, joining McLaren & Ferrari
Perez & new teammate Valtteri Bottas have shared only 1 podium together (Turkey 2021)
Perez’s Red Bull tenure ended with 0 podiums over his final 19 races & only 9 points over his last 8 races
Has recorded a podium in each of the last 5 seasons he’s raced (2020-2024) & a front row start in each of the last 4 seasons he’s raced (2021-2024)
Hasn’t finished outside the top 10 in the drivers’ standings since 2013 for McLaren
Has had at least 5 points finishes & 3 Q3 appearances in all 14 seasons he’s driven in F1 (2011-2024)
Has recorded more than 10 points finishes for every constructor he’s driven for (Sauber, McLaren, Force India, Racing Point, Red Bull)
Needs to lead 11 more laps to hit 400 career laps led
Has to lead 2 more races to hit 30 career races led
Perez is Mexico’s all-time leading race winner (6), polesitter (3) & podium finisher (39)
Valtteri Bottas
KEY STATS
Cadillac were the two slowest qualifiers in Australia with Bottas last among all drivers who set a time
DNF on Lap 15 in his Cadillac debut
Would become Cadillac’s first points scorer
Was the last polesitter in China during the 2010s decade (2019)
Bottas has made Q3 in China in 7 consecutive appearances from 2014-2019 & 2024
Bottas has made Q3 in China with every team he’s driven for (Sauber, Mercedes & Williams)
Had back-to-back podiums in China from 2018 to 2019
The only two times he didn’t score points in China were 2024 (DNF) & 2013, his rookie season
Has scored 59 points in China
Led 18 laps in China in 2018
Hasn’t finished in the points in his last 31 races, dating back to Qatar 2023
Bottas is 3 points away from becoming the 6th driver in F1 history to reach 1800 points scored
OTHER STATS
Has driven for 5 different constructors in name (Williams, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, Kick Sauber, Cadillac)
Needs to lead 2 more races to become the 22nd driver in F1 history to lead 40 races in their career
Cadillac is 1 of 3 teams that have a drivers’ lineup of 2 race winners, joining McLaren & Ferrari
Bottas & new teammate Sergio Perez have shared only 1 podium together in F1 (Turkey 2021)
Has 10 wins, making him 1 of 5 drivers on the grid with 10+ victories
Has 67 podiums, 10th most in F1 history
Has 20 career poles, tied for 16th most in F1 history
Bottas & Charles Leclerc are the only drivers in F1 history to have 20+ poles without winning a drivers’ championship
Has 46 career front row starts
How Long Has It Been Since?
Last Time Each Driver Won
George Russell - Australia 2026
Max Verstappen - Abu Dhabi 2025
Lando Norris - Brazil 2025
Oscar Piastri - Zandvoort 2025
Carlos Sainz - Mexico 2024
Charles Leclerc - Austin 2024
Lewis Hamilton - Belgium 2024
Sergio Perez - Baku 2023
Valtteri Bottas - Turkey 2021
Esteban Ocon - Hungary 2021
Pierre Gasly - Monza 2020
Fernando Alonso - Spain 2013
Last Time Each Driver Was on Pole
George Russell - Australia 2026
Max Verstappen - Abu Dhabi 2025
Oscar Piastri - Qatar 2025
Lando Norris - Las Vegas 2025
Charles Leclerc - Hungary 2025
Carlos Sainz - Mexico 2024
Lewis Hamilton - Hungary 2023
Sergio Perez - Miami 2023
Valtteri Bottas - Brazil 2021
Lance Stroll - Turkey 2020
Fernando Alonso - Germany 2012
Nico Hulkenberg - Brazil 2010
Last Time Each Driver Was On Podium
George Russell - Australia 2026
Kimi Antonelli - Australia 2026
Charles Leclerc - Australia 2026
Max Verstappen - Abu Dhabi 2025
Oscar Piastri - Abu Dhabi 2025
Lando Norris - Abu Dhabi 2025
Carlos Sainz - Qatar 2025
Isack Hadjar - Zandvoort 2025
Nico Hulkenberg - Britain 2025
Lewis Hamilton - Las Vegas 2024
Pierre Gasly - Brazil 2024
Esteban Ocon - Brazil 2024
Sergio Perez - China 2024
Fernando Alonso - Brazil 2023
Valtteri Bottas - Saudi Arabia 2021
Lance Stroll - Sakhir 2020
Alex Albon - Bahrain 2020