Mercedes’ George Russell will start the Sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix from the front of the grid after beating team-mate Kimi Antonelli by just under three tenths of a second. Lando Norris took third in Sprint Qualifying more than six tenths behind the lead Mercedes. 

There was a faller before the session had even got underway, with Cadillac’s Sergio Pérez ruled out due to a technical problem on his car.

When the track went green for the start of SQ1 it was Russell who led the way, with the Mercedes driver going quickest on 1:33.030. That put him a tenth clear of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton with the seven-time champion’s team-mate Charles Leclerc in P3 ahead of Antonelli, Norris and the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri. 

Further back, Red Bull Racing were struggling. Max Verstappen was complaining of “horrendous driveability” on his RB22, and the four-time champion progressed in a relatively lowly 11th place, some 1.8s off Russel’s P1 time. It was a similar story for Verstappen’s new team-mate Isack Hadjar woe went through in P14. 

Ruled out the end of SQ1 were Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon in P17 and P18, with the Williams pair being followed to the exit by the Aston Martin’s of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll and the Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas.

Russell was again in control in SQ2 and this time it was the Australian Grand Prix winner’s opening run that netted him top spot on the timesheet. He put in a 1:32.241 to seize P1 ahead of Antonelli though this time the Italian was just 0.05s off his team-mate. Antonelli was in trouble, however, with the stewards flagging in for post-session investigation for allegedly impeding Norris. The McLaren driver finished SQ2 in P3 ahead of Hamilton and Piastri. 

There were again nervous moments at Red Bull Racing. Verstappen went wide in the final corner of his last effort, and he went through in P9. The off might have been explained, however, by a lapse in concentration following a moment at the exit of Turn 14 where he came across the slow Alpine of Pierre Gasly on the racing line. Like Antonelli, the Frenchman was set to be investigated after the session. Behind Verstappen, Hadjar scraped into the top 10 shootout, just 0.015s ahead of 11th-placed Nico Hülkenberg.

The Audie driver was the first out of the session then, followed by Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, the second Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto, the second Racing Bulls car of Arvid Lindblad and the second Alpine of Franco Colapinto. 

Russell’s first Q3 run earned him top spot on 1:31.520. That put him clear of Antonelli, Hamilton, Leclerc and Verstappen. The other five cars, including the McLarens and Hadjar, remained in the garage, targeting a single run with the track at its best.

Antonelli improved by 0.07s on his second attempt, not enough to trouble Russell, while Leclerc shaved two hundredths off his time. However, it was Norris who jumped up the order, with the world champion posting a lap of 1:32.141 to take P3 ahead of Hamilton and Piastri. Leclerc was left with sixth ahead of Gasly, while Verstappen took a disappointing P8 ahead of Bearman and Hadjar.

2026 FIA Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying
1 George RUSSELL Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team 1:31.520 
2 Kimi ANTONELLI Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team 1:31.809 
3 Lando NORRIS McLaren Mastercard F1 Team 1:32.141 
4 Lewis HAMILTON Scuderia Ferrari HP 1:32.161 
5 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren Mastercard F1 Team 1:32.224 
6 Charles LECLERC Scuderia Ferrari HP 1:32.528
7 Pierre GASLY BWT Alpine F1 Team 1:32.888 
8 Max VERSTAPPEN Oracle Red Bull Racing 1:33.254 
9 Oliver BEARMAN TGR Haas F1 Team 1:33.409 
10 Isack HADJAR Oracle Red Bull Racing 1:33.723 
11 Nico HULKENBERG Audi Revolut F1 Team 1:33.635 
12 Esteban OCON TGR Haas F1 Team 1:33.639 
13 Liam LAWSON Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team 1:33.714 
14 Gabriel BORTOLETO Audi Revolut F1 Team 1:33.774 
15 Arvid LINDBLAD Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team 1:34.048 
16 Franco COLAPINTO BWT Alpine F1 Team 1:34.327 
17 Carlos SAINZ Atlassian Williams F1 Team 1:34.761 
18 Alexander ALBON Atlassian Williams F1 Team 1:35.305 
19 Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team 1:35.581 
20 Lance STROLL Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team 1:36.151 
21 Valtteri BOTTAS Cadillac Formula 1 Team 1:37.378