Source:REUTERS/RULA ROUHANA
[Saba Sports News] From March 13 to 15, the 2026 F1 Heineken Chinese Grand Prix will be held at the Shanghai International Circuit, and the F1 Academy events will also return to China as scheduled. Shi Wei, the first Chinese wildcard driver in the F1 Academy, has once again secured a wildcard entry due to her rapid growth over the past year. Reflecting on her journey from her debut in the F1 Academy in 2025 to being invited again in 2026, Shi Wei speaks with calmness.
Last year, during her first appearance at the Shanghai International Circuit, her performance was not ideal. After the race, facing a barrage of online scrutiny, she admitted that the pressure caused her insomnia. Errors in vehicle tuning during the race and negative comments afterward led her to doubt herself, and she even refrained from touching the steering wheel for a month. However, her love for racing ultimately helped her overcome the confusion.
Now, when discussing the negative external opinions, Shi Wei is at ease, as she clearly understands how much she has trained and grown, and she is even more aware of her responsibility in promoting motorsports. In this regard, some fans have expressed that the journey to becoming a female F1 driver involves unimaginable sacrifices. Just in terms of funding, the daily expenses are astronomical. Costs such as coaching and rehabilitation, track training fees, along with tire wear, amount to over ten thousand dollars in expenses for a single day of training.