2025 F1 Chinese GP upgrades list: Who has brought what?

F1 will host its first Sprint format of the 2025 season at the Chinese GP this weekend. The Shanghai International Circuit return to the F1 calendar in 2024 after a five-year gap due to Covid 19 pandemic restrictions in China.

The 10 teams are heading into the first sprint weekend of the calendar with still a lot of unknowns regarding their true potential on the track, despite completing a full race in Australia last weekend.

However, there are still some unanswered questions regarding the teams' performance pecking order, as the Australian Grand Prix weekend presented them with different challenges in terms of weather and track layout.

Teams like Ferrari and Red Bull were not properly able to showcase their pace due to circumstances such as strategy and only one driver running the front. With just one free practice session for the entire weekend before entering competitive sessions, there is less margin for experimentation and setup changes for the teams.

Most of the teams had already brought significant upgrade packages to Melbourne for the season opener and have chosen not to bring new parts to the Chinese GP. However, four teams have brought a few upgrades in their bid to extract maximum performance from their 2025 challengers for the Chinese GP.

List of upgrades brought by teams for the 2025 F1 Chinese GP

McLaren

Rear Corner

The reigning world champions chose to bring a substantial amount of new parts to Melbourne, but have only brought a new rear corner for the Chinese GP this weekend. The new rear brake duct winglet will aid in flow conditioning from the floor to the tires, which will improve aerodynamic performance on the track.

Visa Cash App Racing Bulls

Front Wing

Beam Wing

The two new parts brought by the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls for the Chinese GP are circuit-specific, with the new front wing helping with a better balance of airflow by adding a new gurney. While the beam wing reduces drag on the long straights and medium-speed corners at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Williams F1

Ream Beam Wing

Williams F1 has continued to introduce new parts in the last two weekends to enhance its surprising speed at the beginning of the 2025 season. This weekend, their new beam wing is circuit-specific and would help increase the load on the rear of the car in medium to high-downforce tracks.

Stake F1 Kick Sauber

New Engine Cover

Stake F1 Kick Sauber brought arguably the most amount of upgrades at the 2025 Australian Grand Prix which transformed their car and helped them score points in the race last weekend.

For the Chinese GP, they have just brought a new engine cover to potentially test out the new part in their bid to improve the flow between having more aero efficiency and downforce on the car.