Shanghai International Circuit

Did You Know?

• The track layout was inspired from the Chinese character 'shang', the first character in the name of the city Shanghai, meaning 'above' or 'ascend'.
• Michael Schumacher's official race lap record of 1:32.238 has stood since 2004.
• In Q3 of the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri qualified on pole position with a time of 1:30.641, a new unofficial track record.
• The circuit features one of the longest straights on the calendar, the 1.2 km stretch that separates turns 13 and 14.
• The site was originally swampland used as rice paddy fields, requiring extensive groundworks over 18 months with 3,000 workers daily.

History

The Shanghai International Circuit was built to put the city on the global stage. A 5.3 square kilometer plot in the northwestern Jiading District, near major auto parts factories, was selected for the project. Funding of 2.6 billion yuan, or about 450 million U.S. dollars, came from a government-backed joint venture called the Shanghai Jiushi Group. Designer Herman Tilke was brought in to create the track and its structures, with engineers surveying the site from April to May 2003.

The land was originally swampy rice paddies, so heavy groundwork was needed. For a year and a half, roughly 3,000 workers were on site every day to get the job done. The finished complex is dominated by a main grandstand and pit area, which has wing-shaped viewing platforms that cross the track at both ends. That grandstand alone seats 30,000 people, and the total spectator capacity across the circuit reaches 200,000.

Each Formula One team got its own building, arranged like pavilions around a lake to mimic Shanghai’s ancient Yu Garden. This was China’s first track built specifically for Formula One, and it has hosted the Chinese Grand Prix every year since 2004. Other major events have included the FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Challenge Asia, MotoGP, a one-off V8 Supercars China Round in 2005, and the final A1 Grand Prix round in the 2006/2007 season.

In 2011, a sponsorship deal with Audi changed the name to the Shanghai Audi International Circuit, and a later agreement with SAIC Motor made it the SAIC International Circuit.

A lap in a Formula One car

The Shanghai International Circuit features a challenging opening sequence. The first two corners form a right-hand curve taken at 185 km/h, which then leads into turns three and four, taken at 105 km/h. Turns one and two are the more demanding part of this section; drivers must lift on entry and apply careful throttle and brake inputs to keep the car balanced, and the corner becomes blind near its midpoint. Turns three and four are simpler, with turn three being a straightforward hairpin, though a strong exit from turn four is essential to build speed along the following straight and through turn five.

This four-corner complex is the first of two "snails" on the track, with the second spanning turns eleven through thirteen. Turn six is a second-gear right-handed hairpin with generous run-off. Turns seven and eight form a high-speed chicane where drivers experience a constant 3 G-force and a minimum speed of around 160 km/h. Immediately after, turns nine and ten are two slow left-handers where a good exit is key for speed on the next straight. Turns eleven and twelve create a slow left-right chicane; using the kerbs is important here, but traction is low.

Turn thirteen is a very long right-hander that gradually opens up, and a clean exit is crucial because it leads onto a long straight where overtaking is possible. This straight is 1.170 kilometers long, equivalent to eleven football pitches laid end to end. Turn fourteen is a tight second-gear hairpin at the straight's end, a prime overtaking spot where drivers often make their move under heavy braking. The final corner is turn sixteen, a fourth-gear left-hander that requires a quick brake tap; braking early can be more effective, allowing the driver to carry more speed through the corner and onto the pit straight.