During the three days of the 2026 Formula One Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai last week, Metro Line 11 became the unofficial fan highway to the Shanghai International Circuit.

The carriages were packed with supporters in team colors — Ferrari red caps, McLaren papaya T-shirts and Mercedes teal jackets. Some carried handmade signs, and a few had Labubu dolls dressed as their favorite drivers dangling from their backpacks. They were part of a much larger surge in support for the race, with the total three-day attendance of the Chinese Grand Prix surpassing 230,000, the highest in nearly two decades, according to official data.

Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion who now drives for Ferrari, said at a fan meeting on March 13: "I've been coming here for 20 years, and this is the biggest crowd I've ever seen. Amazing."

Fans scrambled for hard-to-get tickets across every price category, the strongest demand in decades. Tickets that ranged in price from 42,800 yuan ($6,212) for premium packages to 330 yuan for a practice day sold out quickly. Gate revenue totaled 190 million yuan, a 35 percent increase on last year.

Those 230,000 visits didn't just break a record — they also represented a redefining of the traditional F1 fan base in China. Walking through the grandstands, you could see the difference: younger faces, more women, and groups of friends who seemed more interested in photos than lap times. F1 in China has long been described as a "niche" sport, appreciated by a dedicated few. That description no longer fits. The audience has expanded — in size, in demographics, and in the reasons they come. This shift didn't happen by accident.

Gateway opens

The global expansion of interest in F1 can be credited in large part to Netflix's Drive to Survive series.

Unlike traditional race coverage, which focuses on lap times, tyre strategies and technical specifications, Drive to Survive built narratives around the racers. Team rivalries, driver struggles, moments of raw resilience — each story spoke to a different audience. And together, they pulled millions of new fans into the sport.

Another acceleration in interest happened in the summer of 2025, when F1: The Movie roared into theaters. Produced by Lewis Hamilton and starring Brad Pitt, the film brought F1 to the big screen with gear-crunching authenticity — shot on real tracks during actual race weekends.

The film grossed over $633.3 million, becoming the highest-earning sports film in history. In China alone, it pulled in $44.9 million.

Rory Barlow and Philip du Toit, both engineers from South Africa who work in Shanghai, were easy to spot in the crowd on the race weekend — they were wearing the racing suits of APXGP, Pitt's fictional team in the movie.

Barlow has been following F1 for years. For him, the film was another way for new fans to be exposed to the sport.

"I think the movie is a good starting point for people to know the sport and get involved," he said. "If that's what it takes to get other people engaged in something exciting and to bring more eyes and money, of course, it's good."

Du Toit's passion for F1 started through the Netflix series. "I started watching F1 races after Drive to Survive came out," he said. "Not everyone can grasp the intricacies of F1, but when you watch the series, you build a relationship with the drivers and get to know their personalities."

"The sport wouldn't be as popular if it weren't for the series," he said.

Loyal base

While F1: The Movie brought a wave of new fans to race circuits, dyed-in-the-wool F1 aficionados don't need red carpets and Hollywood glitz to entice them to the track.

Near the entrance to the Shanghai circuit, a group of fans in Aston Martin green gathered for a photo. The members of the Fernando Alonso Chinese fan club — 21 years old and still going strong — unfurled a banner, adjusted their caps and posed in front of a massive backdrop.

The career of the 44-year-old Spaniard stretches across two decades. He has won two F1 titles, switched teams, retired, and returned to the top tier of the sport.

Alonso has lived through different eras of F1 — from V-8 engines to hybrids, and the new regulations are already shaping the 2026 season.

At the beginning of his career he went wheel-to-wheel with seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, and today he lines up alongside drivers who grew up watching him. He is more than twice the age of Sunday's race winner 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes.

Fu Fuya, 37, runs a design company and a furniture manufacturing business. She is the head of the club, and has been following Alonso since 2003, when he was widely labeled F1's "new rising star". She remembers him fighting to the last lap in one race, refusing to give up.

Another member, Lu Xiangyu, a 35-year-old finance professional, started watching F1 because of Schumacher, but over time he found himself favoring Alonso.

"So many things have changed over the years," he said. "Through it all, he's been the one constant — still there, still on the grid, still racing."

The members gathered for dinner afterward, raising glasses to another F1 season. For them, it's not just fandom, it's a ritual — a way of marking time together.

Today, there are fan clubs for every driver and for every team. The stands are filled with handmade banners, custom merch and fans' knowledgeable inside jokes.

Commercial tentacles

The Shanghai race has maintained its strong corporate sponsorship, but also partnered with other companies to spread its grassroots appeal.

Twenty delivery riders from Alibaba Group's leading on-demand delivery platform, Taobao Instant Commerce — formerly known as Ele.me — were invited to the stands to watch the race. They were recognized for their exceptional safety and punctuality records.

But why an F1 event? In August, the company unveiled a new uniform for its riders — orange and black with sleek, streamlined tailoring. Netizens immediately spotted the resemblance to McLaren's team colors, and the company took note of the marketing synergy. On March 9, Taobao Instant Commerce was officially announced as a partner of the F1 Chinese Grand Prix.

"Capitalizing on the market's spontaneous hot spots enables a company to showcase its market sensitivity and foster a stronger connection with the public," said Lang Yue, an associate professor at Beijing Sport University's China Sport Development Academy.

"A brand's culture is no longer a monologue from the provider to the audience; it's a dialogue, and the public's voice is essential to shaping it," he added.

Taobao Instant Commerce is far from the only brand tapping into F1's marketing potential — global big names were out in force in Shanghai. Heineken, renewing its decade-long partnership, had its green logos plastered everywhere; Disney continued its multiyear collaboration, blending storytelling with immersive fan experiences; while Lego released authentic replicas of F1's most iconic cars.

Akshai Lodhia, an Australian fan, flew into Shanghai for the race, and carried a Lego bag. "I wanted to buy merchandise here at the event. I could get it cheaper online, but I came all the way from Australia and I want to take the memory back with me," he said.

Liu Weiyu, a scholar at Beijing Sport University's School of Management, said: "Traveling to a city for a single event reshapes consumer behavior. This requires local market players to actively integrate resources and create more compelling consumer packages, maximizing the event's spillover effect."

"It also tests the capacity of city management," Liu added. "As event-driven consumption becomes increasingly integrated across sectors — including commerce, tourism, culture, sports and exhibitions, government agencies must establish more efficient and effective coordination mechanisms to upgrade event-related products and services and sustain the momentum of the event economy."

Rules rewritten

Liu Yao, a Tencent Sports commentator, has been calling F1 races for years, and has witnessed the strong growth of the Shanghai race.

"I came to the Chinese Grand Prix for the first time in 2016. After a decade in this industry, I've seen F1 in China reach heights I never imagined," Liu said.

However, it was off the racetrack that he noticed something different this year.

"The audience is more diverse than ever — that's a good thing. Different groups of fans find different things to love — the cars, the technology, the drivers, and even the story lines. You see fans making their own flags and designs. The level of creativity is striking," he added.

This year marks the first season under the biggest regulation changes to F1 cars in a decade. The cars are lighter, more agile, and powered by a 50-50 split between fuel and the battery, with active aerodynamics replacing DRS — the rear-wing device used since 2011 to aid overtaking.

Teams are scrambling to adapt, and the chaos on track has already begun to show — seven cars retired from this year's Chinese Grand Prix, including last year's three title contenders.

Before the race started, McLaren found itself on the sidelines. The cars of reigning world champion Lando Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri both retired with electrical issues related to their power units and never made it to the starting grid.

By the time the checkered flag fell, four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull had also joined the retirement list.

But amid the chaos came a breakthrough. While the established names fell, an unfamiliar one moved up. Franco Colapinto, the young Argentine driver for Alpine, finished 10th — securing his first point since joining the team. In the stands, an Argentine fan erupted, waving a national flag and chanting Colapinto's name. For him, it was a victory in itself.

While the new rules have brought uncertainty and angst for some teams, the new regulations mean anyone on the grid can have their moment.

"That brings in new fans, and new fans bring new ways of watching," Liu, the commentator, said. "Fans from different cultures come together. As a commentator, you have to keep learning — what they care about and what's trending."

For many, F1 is about ordinary people finding something extraordinary to cheer for and believe in — for a weekend, and often much longer. On the track and off, the passion runs just as deep.

pingyujie@chinadaily.com