The new Formula 1 season got off to an interesting start this past weekend as we got our first glimpse at the sport’s changes in real competition. Now, we head full speed into the second event of the year with the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix!
The race itself takes place at 3 a.m. EST on Sunday, March 15 for North American viewers. With the week’s F1 festivities beginning in just over 24 hours, we’re taking a look at the odds and field leaderboard for the Chinese Grand Prix courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
2026 Chinese Grand Prix odds, field
This week’s Chinese Grand Prix is set to take place at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China. This track held its first Grand Prix in 2004 and has remained the venue for this event since its inception, minus a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The circuit is notorious for its 270-degree corner combination in Turns 1 and 2, measuring in at 5.451 km and running for 56 laps.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, there’s one clear leader favored far ahead of the remainder of the grid. George Russell of Mercedes dominated at the Australian Grand Prix last week, taking first on the podium at the season-opening race. Now, he enters as a -140 favorite to win the Chinese Grand Prix with -450 odds to record a podium finish.
It’s not entirely shocking to see him listed as a heavy favorite in comparison to the remainder of the field, with the next-closest driver his own teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli at +550 odds to win and -225 to finish on the podium. Look at the controversy surrounding Mercedes’ engines — the compression ratio of their build complies with legality testing when the engine is cold but increases when running hot to increase power. Some fans are upset with what they perceive as a loophole, especially based on early reactions to the season-opener which saw the team’s drivers take the top two spots on the podium with roughly a 12.5-second margin between them and the third-place finisher at the Australian Grand Prix.
Regardless, the show must go on and a win isn’t guaranteed for either Mercedes driver. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished third last week and sits third in odds for the Chinese Grand Prix at +650 to win and -165 to finish on the podium. Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing had a rough time to start his own season with a sixth-place result, but is fourth on the leaderboard this week at +750 to take first and +110 for a podium spot. Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton sits just behind at +850 to win and +125 to end on the podium after finishing third in the opening event.
Notably, Lando Norris of McLaren falls all the way to eighth on the leaderboard with +3000 odds of an outright win and +850 value for the podium. He finished fifth last week and there’s chatter that the team is struggling with the new hybrid engines in particular. Teammate Oscar Piastri is tied on DraftKings Sportsbook’s leaderboard with identical odds. Additionally, Red Bull Racing’s Isack Hadjar comes in slightly ahead of both with a +2800/+650 split.
The remainder of the field comes in with +25000 odds or longer to win the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix at +5000 to record a podium result. It includes the following racers, with the figures next to their names indicating odds of a top-10 finish:
- Arvid Lindblad (-165)
- Liam Lawson (-110)
- Estaban Ocon (-105)
- Pierre Gasly (+175)
- Oliver Bearman (-105)
- Carlos Sainz (+550)
- Nico Hulkenberg (+185)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (+185)
- Alexander Albon (+550)
- Franco Colapinto (+750)
- Lance Stroll (+1100)
- Fernando Alonso (+1000)
- Valtteri Bottas (+1400)
- Sergio Perez (+1400)
