Formula 1 races in China amid talk of regulation change, dangerous starts and Mercedes dominance

The sports arrives in China celebrating vast numbers of overtakes, even as drivers debate how meaningful they are.

Ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix and the first Sprint Race of the season Saturday, Max Verstappen said it’s “a jungle out there” as teams adapt to the new way of racing.

Instead of racking up hours on a state-of-the-art simulator, Verstappen joked his practice now focused on collecting Mario Kart’s speed-boosting mushrooms to adapt to F1’s new reliance on electrical power boosts.

George Russell is the driver to beat in Shanghai after his dominant win in Australia last week, and Mercedes will be in contention for another 1-2 finish in China.

The only team which came close to crashing the party was Ferrari, which threw away its chances with a pit strategy error. A drive from seventh to second for Russell’s teammate Kimi Antonelli showed how Mercedes can sweep past other teams even if the start doesn’t go it way.

All eyes will be on Ferrari in first practice as it uses a unique rear wing which rotates upside-down for more speed on the straights.

Dubbed the “flip-flop” or “Macarena”, it was used briefly in testing, dropped for Australia, and is the sort of innovation which could help Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton take the fight to Mercedes. It could also disrupt the airflow and hinder cars following close behind.

F1’s governing body, the FIA, could take stock of how the racing is going and make changes, potentially even in time for the Japanese Grand Prix later this month.

One gripe so far has been the lack of control by drivers of when the electrical power kicks in and how much is used.

They can’t stop the power being deployed in typical straight-line driving and can only add an extra boost, which in Australia meant cars finishing the formation lap with an empty battery and lacking pace at the start. That’s “not a lot of fun and also quite dangerous,” Verstappen said Thursday.

A related issue ended home hero Oscar Piastri’s race before it began in Australia, when the extra power kicked in unexpectedly and tipped him into the barriers before he even reached the grid.

If F1 can’t race next month in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which remain on the schedule for now despite the Iran war, it would leave a five-week gap in the calendar, which teams could use to refine any changes.

There hasn’t been a Chinese driver on the grid since Zhou Guanyu left Sauber at the end of 2024, but he’s still a big celebrity in his home country. As reserve driver for Cadillac, he could give the new team extra recognition in a key market after its solid but unspectacular debut in Australia. (Reporting by James Ellingworth)