© Getty Images / Red Bull Content PoolReviewing Our Weekend In ChinaNo breaks here...we're back racing again
Heyfolks,toldyouwe’dbebackpronto,forRound2ofthe2026FIAFormulaOneWorldChampionshipinShanghai,China
It was a weekend of firsts: the first Sprint Race, the first time racing these new cars in China and the first F1 Academy round of the year, meaning Rafaela Ferreira was back in action to represent VCARB.
Let’s get things going and run you through the Shanghighs and Shanglows of the weekend.
First things first: our most recent Creator Platform poster, courtesy of the fabulous @alexefrancis. It’s making us hungry just looking at those dumplings.
We also welcomed the third-youngest points scorer in F1 history to Shanghai. You might know him as Arvid Lindblad. This was before striking a deal to dodge social filming with some b-ball shooting that even LeBron James would be proud of. Thankfully, Liam and Arvid are better drivers than they are basketball players, and they both needed to psych themselves up for what we had in store.
On track, the boys had their only practice session of the weekend, and despite Arvid having to stop, they were both prepped and ready to go for Sprint Qualifying. Meanwhile, Rafa had her career-best qualifying in F1 Academy, starting P5 for Race 1 and running P3 for most of the race before finishing in P4 and scooping up five points. A solid start to the season for our Brazilian superstar. After P13 and P15 were secured in Sprint Quali for Liam and Arvid, our resident Kiwi gave us a rundown on Friday in Shanghai.
Saturdays meant sprinting in Shanghai, Arvid had a spin on the first lap while battling with Bortoleto and Colapinto. Liam was making steady progress up the field and was soon in P7, defending against Bearman and Gasly. After the Safety Car restart on Lap 13 due to Hulkenberg’s retirement at Turn 1, Liam was up to P5 on his Hard compound tyres and finished the race in P7, claiming two championship points and climbing six positions (!!!) in the first Sprint of 2026.
VCARB - 2026 Edition© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Meanwhile, Rafa was back out on track in Race 2 for F1 Academy and running in P5 before a small hit with Granada pushed her back to P7. After a Safety Car restart, Rafa fought back up to P6 to finish the race and add another eight points to her China tally. A solid start to the season for Rafa!
For all of you F1 Academy enjoyers, Rafa is back at the end of May for the next round of the 2026 season, brought to you from Montreal, Canada.
Liam x Rafa Combonation© VCARB Admin
Liam and Arvid made it through to Q2 in Qualifying for the Grand Prix, but could go no further after double-waved yellows for Bortoleto’s crash brought their final push laps to a premature end. But let’s not dwell on Qualifying and get straight into the race.
Despite a small lockup from Arvid, it was a solid start for both of our drivers, who were both up seven positions to P7 and P8. Arvid lost a couple of positions in battles with Ocon and Verstappen. With Liam starting on Mediums and Arvid on Hards, we opted for alternate strategies to be best prepared for any potential Safety Cars. And would you believe it? On Lap 11, the Safety Car was deployed for Lance Stroll’s DNF. Arvid remained out on his Hards, but Liam pitted for fresh rubber.
Red Bull Family Photo© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
On the race restart, Liam defended against Leclerc, Bearman and Verstappen before finishing the race in P7 for another six championship points. Arvid brought his VCARB 03 across the line in P12, just shy of the points. But P7 in both races for our New Zealander, how about that?!
Catch Us If You Can© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Here’s what our drivers had to say on the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix weekend :
Liam #30
“I'm really happy with our result today. To be honest, we didn't quite expect it, but our pace was strong towards the end. We had a poorly timed Safety Car, and at that moment, I thought our race might be over. It turned out to be a really enjoyable race, and we managed to pull off a few overtakes. Bringing it home in P7 feels great. Full credit to the team from a strategy standpoint, we did everything right this weekend and securing two-point finishes shows how well the team executed. We'll keep pushing to find a bit more speed for next week and the coming races, and hopefully we can fight even further up the grid."
Arvid #41
"It wasn't the easiest weekend for us. I had a good start and the race was going okay until the Safety Car came out. Unfortunately, that wasn't the ideal timing for our strategy as it was too early to pit onto the Mediums, so we were forced to stay out on the Hards. It was a different weekend compared to Melbourne. It was built differently, as this was a Sprint event on a new track for me, and with only a few laps completed during practice. There are definitely learnings I can bring forward, as well as things I can improve and look at together with the team before going to Japan."
Rafa #18
"I'm really happy with how the first Fl Academy weekend went. It was my best ever Qualifying result, putting the car on the second row, giving us a great position for the reverse-grid race. I was very close to the podium, but it was still a strong result and we managed to score some important points.
Today we started P5 and swapped a few places off the line, but we still came away with points in both races, which is the kind of consistency we're aiming for this year. Now we have a break before Canada, which is a track I really enjoy, so I'm looking forward to it. I want to take everything we've learned here and push for another positive weekend."
Box Box, Box Box© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
“Where are we off to next, admin?” We’ll be jetting off to Suzuka in two weeks for the FORMULA 1 ARAMCO JAPANESE GRAND PRIX 2026. Join us again in 2026 for more on-track action and sensational social media filming content.
See you soon!
Lawblad On Queue© VCARB Admin
