PREVIEW: F1 Academy returns for fourth season with opener in Shanghai

F1 Academy is back with its fourth season! The series returns this weekend, kicking off once again in China at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Some familiar faces, previous race winners and former wild card drivers are making their return in search of the F1 Academy title. Eleven rookies will be joining the grid, seven of who featured last season as Wild Card entries or injury replacements.

This year, the series follows the same rules and regulations as the 2025 season, with a practice session, qualifying, a reverse-grid Race 1 on Saturday and the feature Race 2 on Sunday. So let's have a look at the new drivers and at what we can expect from Shanghai.

Who is on the grid this year?

Six teams are joining the series once again, with MP Motorsport, Hitech, Rodin Motorsports, PREMA Racing, Campos Racing, and ART Grand Prix all back on the grid.

Find out more about the ART Grand Prix and Hitech drivers here. Discover the MP Motorsport and Rodin Motorsport drivers here. Campos Racing and PREMA Racing drivers can be found here.

Where is F1 Academy racing this year?

The 2026 F1 Academy calendar has seven rounds, starting with Round 1 this weekend in Shanghai on March 13-15. Each round is featured alongside the Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends.

The races will take place across six countries - China (Shanghai), Saudi Arabia (Jeddah), Canada (Montreal), Great Britain (Silverstone), Netherlands (Zandvoort), United States (Austin) and the United States (Las Vegas).

F1 Academy 2026 weekend format

The 2025 season introduced a change to the weekend format, which continues for 2026, with racing split into three days: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There can be upto two practice sessions, each lasting up to 40 minutes, that take place on Friday. A 30-minute qualifying session will take place on either Friday or Saturday, depending on the number of practice sessions allocated.

Saturday will host Race 1, and, following last season's reform of the Sporting Regulations, it will be a reverse-grid race.

The reverse grid race means that the top eight drivers from qualifying will be reversed on the grid, while the drivers that finish between P9 and P18 will start from the position they qualify in. In this race, only the first eight drivers will earn points and the driver who records the fastest lap and finishes in the top eight will score an extra point.

Race 1 points allocation:

• P1 - 10 points

• P2 - 8 points

• P3 - 6 points

• P4 - 5 points

• P5 - 4 points

• P6 - 3 points

• P7 - 2 points

• P8 - 1 point

Race 2 has no changes from previous seasons, with drivers starting from the positions they qualified for. The first 10 drivers to cross the chequered flag will earn points on a sliding scale from 25 points to the winner and down to one point to the driver finishing in P10.

The driver who earns pole for Race 2 will earn two extra points. The driver who sets the fastest lap will earn an additional point if they finish the race within the top 10.

Race 2 points allocation:

• P1 - 25 points

• P2 - 18 points

• P3 - 15 points

• P4 - 12 points

• P5 - 10 points

• P6 - 8 points

• P7 - 6 points

• P8 - 4 points

• P9 - 2 points

• P10 - 1 point

What's the schedule for the Shanghai race weekend?

Round 1 begins on Friday, 13 March, with practice at 00:10 and qualifying at 06:05.

Race 1 will take place on Saturday, 14 March, at 05:45, and Race 2 will take place on Sunday, 15 March, at 02:40.

All times are in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Shanghai 2025

Who is the F1 Academy Shanghai wild card entry?

Shi Wei, also known as 'Tie Dou', will be the first Wild Card entry of the season. She competed in various racing series in China. In 2023, she won the Best Rookie Award in the F4 China Championship, in which she finished fifth. In 2024, she won the Challenge Cup at the FIA F4 Chinese Championship in Shanghai. In the CFGP category, she finished third.

Shi was the first Chinese driver to race in the F1 Academy when she appeared as a Wild Card entry in Shanghai last season. Shi Wei finished 17th in qualifying and didn't finish Race 1 after a Lap 2 spin ended her race chances after she became beached at Turn 14. Shi finished Race 2 in 14th place.

Shi Wei told the series: "It's an incredible honour to receive the Wild Card for F1 ACADEMY, giving me the opportunity to compete and learn alongside top drivers on a larger stage, making a dream that once seemed out of reach come true. Hopefully, I can inspire the young generation and raise greater attention to motorsport and the development of the automotive industry."

Shi Wei

Everything you need to know about the Shanghai International Circuit

This is the second time F1 Academy will race around the Shanghai International Circuit, with pre-season testing also taking place there last month. Both races will have 13 laps, which cover a total distance of just over 70km. One lap is 5.451km long.

This circuit was built in April 2003 and hosted its first-ever Formula 1 Grand Prix a year later. Ferrari's Ruben Barrichello won that race, but his teammate at the time, Michael Schumacher, set the fastest lap ever recorded at this circuit, at 1:32.238.

The circuit shape is designed to resemble the Chinese symbol 'shang', meaning 'upwards'. Turns 7 and 8 are known for the super-high G-forces the drivers experience, while it also has one of the longest straights on the F1 calendar. It stretches 1.2km from Turn 13 to 14.

Last season, Alisha Palmowski took her maiden victory in Race 1, with Mercedes driver Doriane Pin taking her first win of 2025 in Race 2. Maya Weug holds the record for the fastest F1 Academy lap with a lap time of 2:03.379 seconds.

Shanghai International Circuit

The F1 Academy qualifying session, Race 1 and Race 2 throughout the season can be streamed on F1 Academy's YouTube, X Channels, F1 TV and Sky Sports F1.

All images are credited to F1 Academy Limited.