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.
Qualifying and Sprint Update
Alec Weckström took the first pole position of his F1H2O career on Sunday, leading a Victory Team one-two ahead of Shaun Torrente, with Stefan Arand third for Sharjah Team. Sami Selio, Grant Trask and Stefan Hagin completed the top six. Jonas Andersson was eliminated in Q1 with an engine problem and starts the Grand Prix 16th. Full qualifying report and results.
Torrente and Arand meet in Sprint Race 2, starting first and second on the grid, with Weckström on pole for Sprint Race 1. Bartek Marszalek will not race on Sunday after flipping in the first free practice session.
Victory Team won both sprints. Weckström took Sprint Race 1 from Grant Trask and Sami Selio, and Torrente beat Arand by 3.787 seconds in Sprint Race 2 to stretch his championship lead to five points, 50 to 45, going into Monday’s Grand Prix. Full sprint report and results.
Championship Stakes
Shaun Torrente came to Shanghai leading 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 came in 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
Official standings after the Grand Prix of Shanghai, October 5, 2026.
| Pos | # | Driver | Country | Team | Cagliari | Kyrgyzstan | Shanghai | Points | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint 1 30/5 | Sprint 2 30/5 | Race 31/5 | Sprint 1 1/8 | Sprint 2 1/8 | Race 2/8 | Sprint 1 4/10 | Sprint 2 4/10 | Race 5/10 | ||||||
| 1 | 18 | Stefan Arand | 🇪🇪 | Sharjah Team | – | 8 | 20 | – | 8 | DNF | – | 9 | 15 | 60 |
| 2 | 19 | Grant Trask | 🇦🇺 | Sharjah Team | – | 6 | 15 | DSQ | – | 9 | 9 | – | 12 | 51 |
| =3 | 3 | Alec Weckström | 🇫🇮 | Victory Team | 7 | – | 4 | – | 9 | 0 | 10 | – | 20 | 50 |
| =3 | 1 | Shaun Torrente | 🇺🇸 | Victory Team | 10 | – | DNF | – | 10 | 20 | – | 10 | DNF | 50 |
| 5 | 5 | Jonas Andersson | 🇸🇪 | Team Abu Dhabi | – | 9 | 5 | 10 | – | 7 | 7 | – | 9 | 47 |
| 6 | 6 | Erik Stark | 🇸🇪 | Team Abu Dhabi | – | 3 | 3 | 9 | – | 15 | DNF | – | 3 | 33 |
| =7 | 77 | Bartek Marszalek | 🇵🇱 | Strømøy Racing | 8 | – | 12 | – | 7 | 5 | – | DNS | DNS | 32 |
| =7 | 11 | Sami Selio | 🇫🇮 | Comparato Racing | – | 7 | DNF | 8 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 7 | 32 |
| 9 | 50 | Marit Stromoy | 🇳🇴 | Strømøy Racing | 4 | – | DNF | – | 5 | 12 | 6 | – | 4 | 31 |
| 10 | 44 | Alberto Comparato | 🇮🇹 | Comparato Racing | 2 | – | 9 | – | 6 | 0 | – | 6 | 2 | 25 |
| =11 | 9 | Ben Jelf | 🇬🇧 | Atlantic Team | – | 5 | 7 | 7 | – | DNF | 5 | – | DNF | 24 |
| =11 | 17 | Rusty Wyatt | 🇨🇦 | Sharjah Team | – | 10 | DNF | 4 | – | 3 | – | 7 | DNF | 24 |
| 13 | 88 | Stefan Hagin | 🇩🇪 | China CTIC Team | – | – | – | 5 | – | 0 | – | 8 | 5 | 18 |
| 14 | 8 | Brent Dillard | 🇺🇸 | China CTIC Team | 6 | – | DNF | – | 4 | 1 | – | 5 | DNF | 16 |
| 15 | 74 | Alexandre Bourgeot | 🇫🇷 | Maverick Racing | 5 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 0 | – | DNF | DNS | 13 |
| 16 | 35 | Rashed Al Qemzi | 🇦🇪 | Team Abu Dhabi | – | 4 | 0 | – | 3 | 4 | DNF | – | DNF | 11 |
| 17 | 7 | Peter Morin | 🇫🇷 | China CTIC Team | 9 | – | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9 |
| 18 | 73 | Cédric Deguisne | 🇫🇷 | Maverick Racing | – | DNF | 1 | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | DNF | 8 |
| 19 | 10 | Duarte Benavente | 🇵🇹 | Atlantic Team | 3 | – | DNF | – | DNS | DNF | – | 4 | DNF | 7 |
Full Championship Standings
Every driver’s points, round by round, updated after each Grand Prix.
View Full StandingsGrand Prix of Shanghai Timetable
| Session | Local Time (CST, UTC+8) | Your Time |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, October 4 | ||
| Free Practice 1 | 08:00 – 08:45 | |
| Free Practice 2 | 09:30 – 10:15 | |
| Qualifying | 12:15 – 13:15 | |
| F1H2O 2-Seater | 13:30 – 14:30 | |
| Parade Lap, Sprint Race 1 | 15:20 | |
| Sprint Race 1 | 15:35 – 15:50 | |
| Parade Lap, Sprint Race 2 | 16:05 | |
| Sprint Race 2 | 16:20 – 16:35 | |
| Sprint Races Podium | 16:45 | |
| Monday, October 5 | ||
| Drivers’ Briefing | 09:00 – 09:30 | |
| Warm Up | 10:00 – 11:00 | |
| F1H2O 2-Seater | 11:15 – 13:00 | |
| Parade Lap | 14:50 | |
| Grand Prix of Shanghai | 15:05 – 15:50 | |
| Prize Giving Ceremony | 15:50 | |
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. The whole weekend is being shown live in the UK on TNT Sports.
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 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.
