F1H2O Grand Prix of Shanghai 2026: Everything You Need to Know

October 3, 2026 | John Moore | Coming Up
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The UIM F1H2O World Championship reaches its third and penultimate round this weekend, when the Grand Prix of Shanghai runs on Sunday and Monday, October 4-5, 2026, in the city’s Baoshan district. Sharjah hosts the season finale at Khalid Lagoon on December 18-20.

The season has shrunk to four rounds. F1H2O announced on September 27 that the Jeddah Grand Prix would not take place in 2026, citing the ongoing force majeure situation affecting the Saudi city, which leaves Shanghai and Sharjah to decide the title.

Championship Stakes

Shaun Torrente leads Stefan Arand by four points. Arand led by nine after winning the Cagliari opener, but retired with a mechanical problem in Kyrgyzstan, where Torrente won to take the lead in what he has confirmed will be his final season before retirement.

Jonas Andersson is nine points off the lead after he took pole at Issyk-Kul to end a pole drought for Team Abu Dhabi, with his team-mate Erik Stark and Sharjah Team’s Grant Trask a point further back.

Each driver races one of the two sprints, worth 10 points for a win, plus the Grand Prix, worth 20, so 30 points are available to any driver in Shanghai and 60 across the two rounds that remain.

Andersson has won here before. He won the 2025 Shanghai Grand Prix to take the championship lead from Rusty Wyatt, on a weekend when Arand took his first F1H2O pole position.

2026 Championship Standings

After the Grand Prix of Kyrgyzstan, August 2, 2026, including post-race penalties.

Pos#DriverCountryTeam Cagliari Kyrgyzstan Points
Sprint 1 30/5Sprint 2 30/5Race 31/5 Sprint 1 1/8Sprint 2 1/8Race 2/8
11Shaun Torrente🇺🇸Victory Team10–0–102040
218Stefan Arand🇪🇪Sharjah Team–820–8036
35Jonas Andersson🇸🇪Team Abu Dhabi–9510–731
=46Erik Stark🇸🇪Team Abu Dhabi–339–1530
=419Grant Trask🇦🇺Sharjah Team–615DSQ–930
677Bartek Marszalek🇵🇱Strømøy Racing8–12–7027
=73Alec Weckstrom🇫🇮Victory Team7–4–9121
=750Marit Stromoy🇳🇴Strømøy Racing4–0–51221
99Ben Jelf🇬🇧Atlantic Team–577–019
=1017Rusty Wyatt🇨🇦Sharjah Team–1004–418
=1011Sami Selio🇫🇮Comparato Racing–708–318
1244Alberto Comparato🇮🇹Comparato Racing2–9–6017
1374Alexandre Bourgeot🇫🇷Maverick Racing5–26–013
=1435Rashed Al Qemzi🇦🇪Team Abu Dhabi–40–3512
=148Brent Dillard🇺🇸China CTIC Team6–0–4212
167Peter Morin🇫🇷China CTIC Team9–0–––9
1788Stefan Hagin🇱🇻China CTIC Team–––5–05
1873Cédric Deguisne🇫🇷Maverick Racing–013–04
1910Duarte Benavente🇵🇹Atlantic Team3–0–DNS03

Full Championship Standings

Every driver’s points, round by round, updated after each Grand Prix.

View Full Standings

Grand Prix of Shanghai Timetable

SessionLocal Time (CST, UTC+8)Your Time
Sunday, October 4
Free Practice 108:00 – 08:45
Free Practice 209:30 – 10:15
Qualifying12:15 – 13:15
F1H2O 2-Seater13:30 – 14:30
Parade Lap, Sprint Race 115:20
Sprint Race 115:35 – 15:50
Parade Lap, Sprint Race 216:05
Sprint Race 216:20 – 16:35
Sprint Races Podium16:45
Monday, October 5
Drivers’ Briefing09:00 – 09:30
Warm Up10:00 – 11:00
F1H2O 2-Seater11:15 – 13:00
Parade Lap14:50
Grand Prix of Shanghai15:05 – 15:50
Prize Giving Ceremony15:50

All times shown in China Standard Time (CST, UTC+8). Your local time is calculated automatically.

For UK viewers, Shanghai is seven hours ahead of BST. First practice starts at 01:00 BST on Sunday, qualifying at 05:15 BST and Sprint Race 1 at 08:35 BST. The Grand Prix starts at 08:05 BST on Monday.

Venue

The racing is in Shanghai’s Baoshan district. Baoshan’s district government confirmed in September that Shanghai would host the UIM F1H2O World Championship and the UIM-ABP Aquabike World Championship in the same October window.

UIM F1H2O World Championship Coverage

Full results, championship standings, driver profiles and event previews.

All UIM F1H2O Coverage
John Moore

John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.

His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.

He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.

In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.