The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship makes its return to Sanya, China for Round 10 of the 2025/26 season. This will mark the first time the all-electric Championship has raced in Sanya in the GEN3 era, with the last and only visit in 2019.
Located at the southernmost tip of China’s Hainan Island, Sanya is not only renowned for its tropical charm of coconut groves and ocean breezes, but also for integrating a challenging street circuit into its urban fabric, creating a unique racing stage for the Formula E teams that blends natural beauty with high-speed competition.
As the core engine of the Hainan Free Trade Port and a benchmark international tourism destination, Sanya is leveraging this world-class sporting platform to showcase its dual strategic value: it is both the ‘Oriental Hawaii’, home to world-class coastal areas such as Yalong Bay and Haitang Bay, attracting global travelers with sun-kissed beaches, diverse cultural experiences, and duty-free shopping; and an open gateway for China to the world.
The Sanya street circuit offers 2.52km of competitive racing across 12 turns, with the layout lending drivers strong overtaking opportunities throughout. Formula E’s last outing in Sanya in 2019 saw a thrilling race, with a late-breaking move from Jean-ÉEric Vergne’s Techeetah-DS seeing him pass the Nissan of pole-sitter Oliver Rowland to take victory.
The 2026 Lianxin Sanya E-Prix marks the opening round of an exciting Asian triple-header for Formula E’s twelfth season, followed by a double-header at the Shanghai International Circuit. Hosting three rounds in China celebrates the Championship’s origins, with Formula E’s inaugural race held in Beijing back in 2014. Since then, the series has raced in four different Chinese cities, including Hong Kong and now both Shanghai and Sanya. Across these eleven races, there have been ten different winners, showcasing the unpredictable and competitive nature of the championship.
The 2026 Lianxin Sanya E-Prix starts at 15:05 local time on Saturday 20 June.
Jean-Éric Vergne, No.25, Citroen Racing, said:
“Sanya is a circuit I remember well. The last time Formula E raced there, it was an important moment in my season, but a lot has changed since then. The cars are different; the championship is even more competitive and the level across the grid is incredibly high.
“It’s a track that can create interesting races because energy management plays such a big role. As always in Formula E, the challenge is to find the right balance between pushing and being efficient. We know where we need to improve after Monaco and the objective now is to put ourselves in a position to fight at the front again.”
Sébastien Buemi, No.16, Envision Racing, said:
“It’s great to be returning to Sanya after seven seasons away. The hot conditions will make it a tough race, but I’m looking forward to the challenge. For us as a Chinese owned team, it’s brilliant to kick start the Asian leg of the calendar with two events in China.”
THE SEASON SO FAR
The nine rounds of the 2025/26 season contested so far have been filled with drama, unpredictability and eight different race winners.
Opening the season in Brazil saw an end to Jake Dennis’ almost two-year-long winless streak as he converted his Julius Baer Pole Position into a commanding victory for Andretti. Heading to Mexico City, Nick Cassidy fought his way from 13th to first to achieve Citroën Racing’s first single-seater in only their second appearance in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
Miami welcomed Round 3 at the city’s International Autodrome, where Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans cemented himself into the history books with a record-breaking 15th career victory in some tricky wet conditions. Season 10 champion Pascal Wehrlein won the opener of the first double header of the season in Jeddah, to launch himself to the top of the drivers’ standings with Porsche Formula E Team. 24 hours later António Félix da Costa clinched his first win for Jaguar TCS Racing, making it five wins with five different manufacturers for the 2019-20 Season Champion.
The Portuguese driver continued his winning streak as the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship headed to the track to race for the first time. Porsche’s Nico Müller gained his first win in Formula E on home soil during the first of two races in Berlin, on a special weekend for the German manufacturer as they celebrated 75 years of Porsche Motorsport.
Most recently in Monaco, Nyck de Vries ended Mahindra Racing’s winless streak in Round 8, securing their first win of the GEN3 era. Round 9 saw Oliver Rowland secure a second consecutive win in Monaco – his first of the season so far – having also taken victory the year prior.
SUSTAINABILITY TAKES CENTRE STAGE AT THE 2026 LIANXIN SANYA E-PRIX
Sustainability news and activations for the 2026 Lianxin Sanya E-Prix include:
- Diversified Energy Mix: The Lianxin Sanya E-Prix will be powered by a resilient, multi source energy mix designed to minimise operational emissions. By combining local grid energy with HVO fuel, the event eliminates on-site standard fossil fuel reliance.
- Circular Infrastructure and Experiential Rentals: To support a closed loop economy, the event avoids the environmental impact of new manufacturing by utilising a rental model for the majority of assets. This includes all Fan Village furniture, interactive reaction games – which keeps entertainment hardware in rotation and prevents e-waste – and the Kids Area activations.
- Better Futures Fund: Formula E is investing in the launch of ‘Green Link Sanya’, a pioneering, youth-led STEM initiative that transforms local students into data-driven climate advocates – deploying smart tech and composting infrastructure to reduce community food waste by 20% or more and inspire over 500 residents to embrace sustainable living.
- Community Tour: Breaking barriers in motorsport, the Sanya Community Tour integrates the FIA Girls on Track framework into an immersive behind-the-scenes experience for 250 local youth and parents and ensures a gender-balanced cohort.
WHERE TO WATCH THE 2026 LIANXIN SANYA E-PRIX
Fans can find out where to keep up with the action here, with the race starting at 15:05 local time.
The 2026 Lianxin Sanya E-Prix will also be broadcast live on talkSPORT.
Race Centre powered by Infosys: Follow every moment of the race from Free Practice to Chequered Flag by visiting the Race Centre, where intelligent insights, AI commentary and immersive race tracking will have you feeling at the centre of the action.
