Wyatt Leads Championship Charge into Shanghai
Championship Battle Intensifies
Indications after the opening round of the UIM F1H2O World Championship on Lake Toba in Indonesia suggest that this year’s series is going to be one of the most exciting on record.
History repeated itself in Sumatra with the Sharjah Team’s Rusty Wyatt earning his second successive win on the world’s largest volcanic lake and the level of competition means that all 10 teams will need to be on top form in Shanghai at the start of a hectic end to the season and a pair of back-to-back races in China.
Wyatt has a new team-mate this season: the young Estonian Stefan Arand has been keeping in race trim by competing in recent rounds of the UIM F2 World Championship in Italy and Portugal. He finished fourth in Indonesia to give the Sharjah Team the early bragging rights in the UIM F1H2O Teams’ Championship.
Defending Champions Face Early Setbacks
The remaining positions in the top 10 came as something of a surprise at the season’s opener with the defending World Champion Jonas Andersson, his Swedish rival Erik Stark and the returning three-time World Champion Shaun Torrente all failing to finish the race. Even though they scored well in their Sprint races – with Andersson and Torrente both claiming a win apiece – none of them can afford another retirement in Shanghai with this year’s series being fought out over just five Grand Prix.
Victory Team Shows Promise
Despite Torrente’s retirement, it was a strong opening weekend for the Dubai-based Victory Team with the returning Alec Weckström running strongly all weekend and finishing second behind Wyatt.
British Breakthrough Performance
The F1 Atlantic Team found themselves in a similar position: Portuguese veteran Durate Benavente fell by the wayside early on but his young British team-mate Ben Jelf followed up a strong qualifying session with a career-best podium finish. Coupled with a third place behind Andersson and Wyatt in Sprint race one, that puts the Maidstone racer into third place in the Drivers’ Championship with the F1 Atlantic Team holding a similar position in the Teams’ series.
Driver Changes and New Additions
Australian Grant Trask is tied in fifth place with Alberto Comparato after the opening round of the championship. Trask stood in for the recuperating Brent Dillard as a member of the China CTIC Team in Sumatra and performed well, but he has since parted company with the team and will represent Team Sweden alongside Andersson in Shanghai with Johan Österberg returning to his role as a team technician.
With a space therefore available alongside Peter Morin in the China CTIC Team, management made the decision to recruit the experienced Canadian Kyle Maskall. He will be making his debut appearance in the UIM F1H2O World Championship in China. The 29-year-old is based out of Chilliwack in British Colombia and will be the second Canadian on the tour alongside Wyatt. Morin, meanwhile, finished fourth in his first Sprint race but retired from the Grand Prix and languishes in 11th place in the Drivers’ Championship.
Mid-Field Battles
Marit Strømøy and Bartek Marszalek of the Strømøy Racing team finished fifth and ninth on Lake Toba and hold seventh and 11th in the early points’ standings with the team holding fifth place. Strømøy was impressed with the speed and handling of the four-stroke V8 360 APX Mercury-engined DAC and is confident that progress will continue.
Both Comparato and his rookie team-mate Damon Cohen performed well in Indonesia. They finished the Grand Prix in seventh and eighth places, although Cohen suffered the disappointment of retiring from his Sprint race. The team holds sixth in the rankings and will be hoping to build on that solid start in Shanghai.
Teams Looking to Rebound
The season’s opener was a disappointing one for Ferdinand Zandbergen and Sami Seliö of the Red Devil-SMC F1 Team. They finished 10th and 11th in the Grand Prix and claimed a seventh-place finish apiece in each of the Sprint races. Both the Dutchman and the Finn are more than capable of challenging for the podium and will be hoping to get back on track in Shanghai.
With Stark retiring on his Grand Prix return with Team Abu Dhabi after a collision with Morin at the first turn buoy on lap one and rookie Mansoor Al-Mansoori finishing outside the points in 12th, the team out of the ADMSC is down in eighth in the Teams’ rankings. Stark finished third in his Sprint race behind Torrente and Weckström but will be far from happy with his current position of 10th in the Drivers’ Championship.
Maverick Racing also suffered a disappointing trip to Indonesia. Neither Cédric Deguisne nor Alexandre Bourgeot were able to finish the Grand Prix, although Bourgeot drove well to finish sixth in his Sprint race and is equal 13th in the points’ standings.
All the key timings for the F1H2O Grand Prix of Shanghai-China.
Sessions, qualification, sprint races and the main Grand Prix — all automatically converted to your device’s time-zone.
F1H2O Grand Prix of Shanghai-China
1–4 October 2025. Venue: Shanghai, China.
| Thursday 2 October | ||
|---|---|---|
| Session | Local time (CST, UTC+8) | Your time |
| Free Practice 1 | 10:00–11:00 | 10:00 |
| Free Practice 2 | 12:00–13:00 | 12:00 |
| Free Practice 3 | 15:00–16:00 | 15:00 |
| Friday 3 October | ||
|---|---|---|
| Session | Local time (CST, UTC+8) | Your time |
| Qualifying | 09:00–10:00 | 09:00 |
| Sprint Race 1 | 15:10 | 15:10 |
| Sprint Race 2 | 15:40 | 15:40 |
| Saturday 4 October | ||
|---|---|---|
| Session | Local time (CST, UTC+8) | Your time |
| Warm-up (Optional) | 10:00–11:00 | 10:00 |
| Grand Prix of Shanghai-China | 15:00 | 15:00 |
The “your time” column automatically converts to your device’s time-zone.
Neil Perkins, is a seasoned sports journalist and PR professional. Educated at Adams’ Grammar School, Newport, he developed a lifelong passion for sport, including football, cricket, golf, and snooker.
Perkins began his career as a trainee accountant before moving into sports journalism in 1986 with Motoring News, covering events worldwide. In 1990, he founded NDP Publicity Services in Shropshire, specialising in sports public relations. Over three decades, he has worked across 114 countries for governments, sporting federations, royalty, celebrities, and major events such as the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and Winter Olympics.
Outside work, he follows Ipswich Town FC, enjoys fishing in Spain and Shropshire, and travels to destinations including Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Catalunya, and Mexico.
