F1: Will Ferrari’s Shanghai curse halt Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in China?

Although Lewis Hamilton secured an impressive sprint race victory in China back in 2025, Ferrari have somewhat of a curse around the Shanghai International Circuit. Despite decent qualifying results throughout the years, Ferrari haven’t been on the Chinese podium in a non-sprint race since 2019. Charles Leclerc scored the Scuderia’s first podium of the season in Australia, with Hamilton closely behind in fourth. However, could the Shanghai curse derail Ferrari’s great start to the 2026 F1 season?

Who Got Ferrari’s Most Recent Podium In China?

As mentioned, Lewis Hamilton won the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix sprint race, but in the actual race, Ferrari haven’t even been on the podium since 2019. One of the greatest Ferrari drivers of all time, Sebastian Vettel, is the most recent Ferrari driver to secure a podium finish at the Shanghai International Circuit. The former Scuderia driver came 3rd in the 2019 Chinese GP. Hamilton won the race for Mercedes, with his teammate Valtteri Bottas finishing 2nd. Charles Leclerc came 5th in 2019, but Leclerc has recently come close to breaking the curse.

In 2024, after a few years of the Chinese Grand Prix being absent from the Formula 1 schedule, Charles Leclerc came 4th in the feature race, missing a spot on the podium thanks to Sergio Perez. However, 2025 was an even more “cursed” year, with both drivers being disqualified from the Shanghai GP after failing post-race technical inspections. This doesn’t bode well for Ferrari, as we need to keep the momentum flowing all-season, especially after a strong result in Melbourne. But will Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc break Ferrari’s Shanghai curse in 2026?

Can Lewis Hamilton Or Charles Leclerc Break The Curse This Weekend?

I think it’s pretty safe to say that Lewis Hamilton is the most likely candidate to get on the podium for Ferrari. Hamilton is a sprint race winner in Shanghai for the Scuderia, and given he missed out on a podium finish in the opening race of the season, the British driver will be keen to get his season going. Obviously, Charles Leclerc has also looked competitive in China in previous years, and that 3rd-place result in Australia will have filled him with confidence heading into the second-round of the 2026 F1 season. The race weekend hasn’t started yet, so we don’t know for sure how competitive our car will be in the race. However, if we can improve on our qualifying pace, and get a decent result in the sprint race, I believe Ferrari can get on the podium come race day - finally breaking a curse that’s lurked over the team since 2019.

F1 Academy is also racing in China this weekend, with the season opener taking place in Shanghai! Get the lowdown on everything Alba Hurup Larsen and F1 Academy here.