Only one grid position has scored in every Chinese Grand Prix to date, while no wins have been taken from further back than sixth on the grid. Here’s everything you need to know about the history of each grid position at Shanghai International Circuit!
CHINESE GRAND PRIX GRID STATS IN BRIEF
- Polesitter has not retired since 2007
- 3rd has never failed to score
- 20th has never scored
- 13th and 15th have had the most DNFs
CHINESE GRAND PRIX RESULTS: GRID OVERVIEW
| Position | Last Win | Last Podium | Last Points | Last DNF | Best Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2025 | 2025 | 2025 | 2007 | 1st |
| 2 | 2019 | 2025 | 2025 | 2012 | 1st |
| 3 | 2013 | 2025 | 2025 | - | 1st |
| 4 | - | 2024 | 2025 | 2013 | 2nd |
| 5 | 2010 | 2014 | 2024 | 2008 | 1st |
| 6 | 2018 | 2018 | 2024 | 2009 | 1st |
| 7 | - | 2012 | 2024 | 2011 | 3rd |
| 8 | - | - | 2025 | 2019 | 5th |
| 9 | - | 2005 | 2024 | 2017 | 3rd |
| 10 | - | - | 2025 | 2024 | 5th |
| 11 | - | - | 2025 | 2019 | 5th |
| 12 | - | - | 2019 | 2024 | 5th |
| 13 | - | - | 2019 | 2025 | 7th |
| 14 | - | - | 2025 | 2014 | 5th |
| 15 | - | - | 2025 | 2019 | 10th |
| 16 | - | 2017 | 2017 | 2015 | 3rd |
| 17 | - | - | 2025 | 2013 | 4th |
| 18 | - | 2011 | 2024 | 2017 | 3rd |
| 19 | - | - | 2009 | 2024 | 7th |
| 20 | - | - | - | 2010 | 12th |
- 11 of 18 races won from pole
- 2024 was first win since 2017
- Only retirement in 2007
11 of the 18 Chinese Grands Prix held since 2004 have been won from pole. Max Verstappen’s victory in the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix was the first for the Shanghai polesitter since 2017.
Sebastian Vettel finished eighth having started from pole in 2018, while Valtteri Bottas finished as runner-up from pole in 2019. Those two results followed a streak of four successful pole to win conversions in Shanghai from 2014 to 2017.
Lewis Hamilton’s pit-entry disaster in 2007 is the only time that a polesitter has failed to finish here, while 2010, 2013 and 2018 are the only other occasions that the polesitter has not finished in the top two.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM POLE POSITION AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
- Only two wins from 2nd
- 2012 is only DNF
- Only two failures to score
A win from the front row is highly likely, with 13 of the 18 wins coming from there – but only two wins have come from second on the grid. Kimi Raikkonen was first to win from second on the grid, in 2007, and Lewis Hamilton was the second driver to do so in 2019.
Michael Schumacher’s retirement in 2012 is the only time that the driver starting second has failed to finish, while Fernando Alonso’s ninth place in 2009 is the only other time that the driver lining up second has failed to score.
The driver starting second has finished on the podium at all but two of the last nine Chinese Grand Prix weekends.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 2ND ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| DNF | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
- Scored in every race so far
- 11 podiums in total
- Only two finishes outside of the top 6
Third is the only grid position to have scored in every Chinese Grand Prix so far, and is the only one to have never recorded a DNF. Drivers starting here have finished on the podium on 11 occasions.
In 2024, Fernando Alonso’s seventh place finish saw him become only the second driver to finish outside of the top six having started here. Kamui Kobayashi finished tenth from this position in 2012.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 3RD ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 10 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
- Only grid slot in top 6 to have never won
- Two non-top 8 finishes
- 5 podium finishes
Fourth is the only grid slot in the top six to have never won a Chinese Grand Prix. The driver starting from fourth has finished on the podium five times, including finishing as runner-up four times in 2007, 2014, 2016 and 2024.
Nico Rosberg’s DNF in 2013 and Kimi Raikkonen’s 14th place in 2012 are the only times that the driver starting fourth has failed to finish in the top eight at Shanghai International Circuit.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 4TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 14 | DNF | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
- No retirements since 2008
- Points in every race since 2009, aside from 2025 DSQ
- Four podium finishes
While fifth on the grid has recorded the third-most DNFs of any grid slot at the Chinese Grand Prix, with four retirements from the first five Grands Prix at the Shanghai track, no driver has retired from this grid position since Heikki Kovalainen in 2008.
In every Chinese Grand Prix since 2009, the driver starting fifth has gone on to finish in the points – though in 2025 Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from a sixth place finish. Fifth on the grid has supplied four podium finishes, most recently for Fernando Alonso in 2014.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 5TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 2 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 8 | DSQ |
- Won twice – furthest back wins at track
- Only three failures to score in last 12 races
Sixth on the grid holds the record for the furthest back win at the Shanghai International Circuit, and the position has won twice.
Michael Schumacher was the first driver to win from this slot in 2006, securing his 91st and final F1 victory, while Daniel Ricciardo won the 2018 Chinese Grand Prix from this grid position.
There have been just three occasions in the past 12 Shanghai races on which the driver starting from sixth has failed to score – including in 2025, when Charles Leclerc was disqualified from a fifth place finish. The last DNF from this grid slot was in 2009.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 6TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 4 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 4 | DSQ |
- No retirements since 2011
- Points in 7 of the last 10 races
No driver has retired from seventh since Jaime Alguersuari in 2011. That’s one of only two times that the driver starting seventh in China has retired, the other time being Jarno Trulli in 2008.
In the last ten races at the track, the driver starting here has scored seven times, including a podium finish for Lewis Hamilton in 2012 – the only top three finish to date from this grid position.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 7TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 3 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 11 |
- No retirements until 2019
- 5th is best result
- Only top 9 grid slot with no podiums
Eighth is the only grid slot in the top nine from which a podium finish has not come. Until 2019, the driver starting eighth had never failed to finish the Chinese Grand Prix. Nico Hulkenberg ended that streak in 2019 as he retired from the race.
The driver starting here never failed to score between 2013 and 2017, but there were no points scored from eighth in either 2018 or 2019. In 2024, George Russell recorded the first top six finish for the driver starting here since 2014, while Kimi Antonelli recorded another sixth place finish in 2025.
The best finish for a driver starting from eighth is fifth, which happened for Robert Kubica in 2010 and Jenson Button in 2013.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 8TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 11 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 12 | DNF | 6 | 6 |
- One podium, in 2005
- 3 top 5 finishes
- Points in 4 of the last 7 races
There has been a single podium finish from ninth on the grid. That was for Ralf Schumacher, who finished third in 2005. A further two top five finishes have followed, in 2008 and 2013.
The driver starting here has scored four times in the last seven races at the circuit. During that time, Daniil Kvyat recoded the second retirement from this grid position in 2017 – the first since Robert Kubica ten years previously.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 9TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 9 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 8 | DNF | 9 | 13 | 10 | 16 |
- First points since 2016 in 2025
- Best result of 5th
- 2024 was third retirement
In 2025, Alex Albon became the first driver to score points from tenth on the grid at the Chinese Grand Prix since Felipe Massa in 2016. At the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas became the third driver to start in this position and retire, after Romain Grosjean in 2014 and Lance Stroll in 2017.
The best finish from tenth on the grid at the Shanghai International Circuit is fifth, recorded by Juan Pablo Montoya in 2004 and Jenson Button in 2007.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 10TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 6 | 10 | DNF | 10 | 6 | DNF | 17 | 11 | DNF | 7 |
- Only two DNFs
- Points on 6 occasions
- Best result of 5th
The 11th grid position in Shanghai has a relatively low DNF rate, with Daniil Kvyat recording only the second retirement from here in 2019.
In the last ten races at the Shanghai International Circuit, the driver starting here has scored points on six occasions, including fifth place finishes for Sebastian Vettel in 2012 and Esteban Ocon in 2025 – the best result recorded to date from 11th on the grid.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 11TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 5 | 8 | 8 | DNF | 12 | 7 | 10 | DNF | 15 | 5 |
- 2 points finishes in last 5 races
- 4 points results in total
- Only two DNFs
In 2024, Daniel Ricciardo became only the second driver – after Daniil Kvyat in 2015 – to retire having started 12th on the grid at the Chinese Grand Prix.
While the driver starting here is likely to make it to the end of the race, points are harder to come by, with only four points-scoring appearances to date. Two of those have been in the last five races at the track, with eighth place finishes for Kevin Magnussen in 2017 and Sergio Perez in 2019.
Heikki Kovalainen recorded the best result to date for the driver starting 12th in China in 2009, coming home in fifth place. Timo Glock is the only other driver to score points having started here, finishing seventh in 2008.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 12TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 13 | 11 | 11 | DNF | 13 | 8 | 11 | 8 | DNF | 15 |
- Seven retirements in total
- Points in two of the last four races
- Best result of 7th
13th on the grid has supplied seven non-finishes, though Antonio Pizzonia was classified in the final result of the 2005 Chinese Grand Prix, as he completed all but one lap of the race, in what would turn out to be his final F1 appearance.
In both 2018 and 2019, the driver starting 13th scored points, including Fernando Alonso recording a best-ever result of seventh place for this grid slot in 2018. There have been five points finishes in total from 13th on the grid.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 13TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 8 | DNF | 10 | 17 | 15 | DNF | 7 | 9 | 11 | DNF |
- First points since 2012 in 2025
- Best result of 5th
- Finished all of the last 7 races
Lance Stroll’s ninth place finish at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix made him the first driver to score points from this position in Shanghai since 2012.
The best result for 14th is fifth, for Christian Klien in 2005. The driver starting here has crossed the finish line in all of the last seven Chinese Grands Prix.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 14TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 7 | 14 | DNF | 13 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 9 |
- Retirements in 3 of the last 5 races
- First points finish in 2025
With a tenth place finish, Carlos Sainz became the first driver to score points from 15th on the grid at the Chinese Grand Prix in 2025. Until then, it was the only grid position in the top 19 to have never scored a point here.
This grid position has had more DNFs than any other, with seven in total – including three in the last five races at the track.
The best finish for a driver starting from here is tenth, recorded by Sainz in 2025 and David Coulthard in 2008, before the position offered points.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 15TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 12 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 16 | DNF | DNF | DNF | 13 | 10 |
- Last points in 2017
- Recorded a podium finish that year
The most recent points scoring race for the driver starting 16th was in 2017, when Max Verstappen finished in third position – one of only two podium finishes to have come from below ninth on the grid at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Sergio Perez is the only other driver to have scored from 16th. He finished ninth in 2014.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 16TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 15 | 13 | 9 | DNF | 20 | 3 | 15 | 12 | 14 | DSQ |
- Two points finishes in last 14 races
- Only one DNF in last 13 races
- Best result is 4th
Between 2008 and 2024, the driver starting 17th in Shanghai scored only one point. Esteban Ocon’s tenth place in 2017 was the only top ten finish in those 13 races, despite there being just one DNF from this position since 2011. In 2025, Ollie Bearman finished eighth, recording the position’s second-best result.
All of the first three Chinese Grands Prix resulted in retirements for the driver starting 17th. That streak was ended in 2007, when Sebastian Vettel scored the best result for the grid slot with fourth place for Toro Rosso.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 17TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 17 | DNF | 16 | 14 | 17 | 10 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 8 |
- Furthest back podium at track
- Three points finishes
18th on the grid in China holds the record for the furthest back podium finish at the event. Mark Webber finished third having started here in 2011. In 2024, Lewis Hamilton’s ninth place finish marked the first points scored by the driver starting 18th in China since Webber’s podium.
Takuma Sato is the only other driver to score from here, having finished sixth in the very first race at the track in 2004.
In the 18 races here, Antonio Giovinazzi’s DNF in 2017 is the only time that the driver lining up 18th has failed to finish.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 18TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 23 | 15 | 18 | 12 | 14 | DNF | 14 | 17 | 9 | 13 |
- 11th is best result in last 12 races
- Scored only once – 7th in 2009
Yuki Tsunoda’s retirement in the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix marked the first non-finish for the driver starting 19th in China since 2010, when Timo Glock failed to even start the race. Adrian Sutil recorded the position’s only other DNF, having retired when starting here back in 2008.
Glock is the only driver to have scored points here, with a seventh place finish in 2009. In the last 12 races at the track, Romain Grosjean’s 11th place finish in 2017 is the only time that the driver starting here has finished higher than 14th.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 19TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 18 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 22 | 11 | 19 | 15 | DNF | 14 |
- No points scored
- No top ten finishes
The driver starting from 20th on the grid has never scored a point at the Chinese Grand Prix. It’s also the only grid slot in the top 20 to have never finished in the top ten.
While the driver starting here has finished at all of the last eight races in which the 20th grid slot has been filled, the best finish from here during that time is a rather lowly 13th, by Jolyon Palmer in 2017.
That finishing position has been bettered by a driver starting from 20th once, when Michael Schumacher finished 12th in the inaugural Chinese race.
2019 was the first time that this grid slot was left vacant, as Alex Albon started from the pit lane. It was also vacant in 2024 and 2025, when Logan Sargeant and Liam Lawson started from the pit lane.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 20TH ON THE GRID AT THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
| 19 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 21 | 13 | 16 | – | – | – |
There have been just three pit lane starts at the Chinese Grand Prix. Alex Albon was the first, after crashing in Free Practice 3 and being unable to take part in qualifying in 2019. He finished tenth in the race.
Logan Sargeant became the second driver to start from the pit lane in Shanghai in 2024 after his car was modified under parc ferme conditions. He finished 17th. Liam Lawson started from the pits in 2025 for the same reason, coming home in 12th.