Formula 1 China GP Betting Preview

The second race of the 2026 Formula 1 season follows just seven days after the first as the teams reconvene in Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix. It’s the first of the six sprint-race weekends in the calendar, so the drivers will have just one practice session to get used to the track before plunging into spring qualifying on Friday. The sprint race and Grand Prix qualifying follow on Saturday, before the race itself over 56 laps of Sunday morning. All sessions will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports F1.

Setting The Scene 

Mercedes got their season off to the perfect start with a one-two finish in Australia after locking out the front row in qualifying and it’s no surprise to see their drivers at the top of the betting in China. Melbourne winner George Russell is the odds-on favourite this time around at 8/11 with bet365, while runner-up Kimi Antonelli is the second favourite this time at 6/1, having been a couple of points bigger last week.

The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished third and fourth at Albert Park after again showcasing their tremendous speed off the start line and they are next in the betting at 11/2 and 15/2, with Max Verstappen of Red Bull at 9/1 after ruining his chances in Australia when crashing in qualifying. Oscar Piastri, who did not even make the start line in his home race after crashing on the way to the grid, won in China for McLaren last season, but the Australian is a 28/1 shot along with his world champion team-mate Lando Norris after their car was just not able to match the pace of the leaders in Melbourne.

Tip 1: Kimi Antonelli each-way @ 6/1 with bet365

Teenage star Antonelli had an up-and-down rookie season in an inconsistent Mercedes that needed everything to fall right to perform well. He looks more than capable of extracting an impressive performance from the German team’s 2026 car, though, which looked the class of the field in the first race of the season. Antonelli finished less than three seconds behind Russell in Melbourne despite having a tough time on the Saturday, when he had a big crash in the final practice session and the team were only just able to get it repaired in time for qualifying.

Despite that he was able to line up second on the grid and bank 18 points in the race and at 6/1 each-way he looks a solid bet to continue his fast start to the season. The Italian was sixth in China last season in only the second race of his career and has a great chance of at least making the podium this time around.

Tip 2: Oliver Bearman points finish @ 5/4 with bet365

Britain’s Oliver Bearman looks set to have a successful season for Haas, who looked to be the best team outside of the big four of Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren in Australia. Bearman qualified in a slightly disappointing 12th in Melbourne but converted that into a seventh-place finish in the race ahead of the leading car from the Racing Bulls, Audi, Haas and Williams teams in the competitive battle in the middle of the pack.

The 20-year-old scored his first points for the team in China last season, finishing eighth despite qualifying only 17th, so he should be looking forward to returning to the track in a car that is capable of delivering top-10 finishes.

Tip 3: Isack Hadjar podium finish @ 8/1 with bet365

Isack Hadjar’s first race for Red Bull ended in disappointment as his engine failed after just 10 laps, but he had been third on the grid after an impressive qualifying performance and also made a fast getaway in the race to challenge for the lead at the first corner. The French driver already looks a far more capable performer in the second Red Bull seat than any of Max Verstappen’s other recent team-mates and, if the problems with their all-new power unit prove short-lived, then he has the talent to provide valuable support to the four-time world champion. Hadjar managed one podium finish for the Racing Bulls team in the Netherlands last season and is a value price to register a podium finish for his new team this week.