08:02
Russell does his utmost to wrestle his Mercedes around but it is not enough, he goes second
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2026 Chinese GP
© XPB Images
F1 Chinese GP sprint race and qualifying as it happened
Live text coverage of the sprint race and qualifying at the 2026 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Antonelli takes pole for Chinese GP
- Russell second after car issues
- Red Bull makes huge car changes for qualifying
- Racing Bulls, Colapinto, Audi, Ocon out of Q2
- Aston Martin, Cadillac, Williams out in Q1
The 2026 Formula 1 season continues this weekend with the Chinese Grand Prix, which marks the first of six sprint events this year.
F1's new era began just a few days ago at the Australian Grand Prix, as the series' radical new cars split opinion among drivers and fans.
Mercedes led the field across the weekend, with George Russell topping all three qualifying segments, before leading home a team 1-2 ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Russell leads the drivers' standings coming into this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, while Mercedes came away with full points in the constructors' championship in Australia.
This weekend's Chinese Grand Prix will see the teams' understanding of their new cars tested to the absolute limit, with the sprint format meaning they will have just one practice session to get on top of things before launching straight into sprint qualifying.
The Chinese Grand Prix is also set to offer a different view of what the new cars might be capable of, with the maximum allowed 9MJ of battery recharge allowed.
This, coupled with the layout of the track, sees F1 go from one of its most energy-hungry tracks to one of its least.
Mercedes underlined its supremacy on Friday in China as Russell led another dominant Silver Arrows 1-2 in qualifying for the sprint race.
Lando Norris was the nearest non-Mercedes driver in third, but the reigning world champion was over six tenths adrift of Russell's time, while Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were split by the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri.
Red Bull endured a tough sprint qualifying, with Max Verstappen only eighth and a whopping 1.7 seconds off the pace.
Aston Martin's problems were a major talking point in Australia, and there looks to be no immediate end in sight to these as it remains limited on batteries.
2026 F1 Chinese Grand Prix Saturday schedule
Sprint race - 3:00am-4:00am GMT
Qualifying - 7:00am-8:00am GMT
14 Mar 2026
08:01
Nervous wait for Antonelli and his bid to become the youngest F1 pole sitter in history
08:01
Antonelli lowers his benchmark to 1m 32.064s
Norris can't improve as Leclerc lifts himself to second place... briefly, as Hamilton displaces him for a spot on the front row
- Antonelli
- Hamilton
- Leclerc
Norris
Russell still to come...
07:59
And as Antonelli comes round to start his flying lap, Russell is touring out of the pit lane - needs to get a move on though, just two minutes of this session left
07:58
Here we go, the cars pour onto circuit for the crucial second and final time attacks of this Chinese GP qualifying session
The big question is, will George Russell get back on track? The relaxed demeanour in the Mercedes garage suggests he will...
07:54
McLaren punch in their first times with Piastri and Norris squeezing into second and third respectively, both within three tenths of Antonelli
After the first runs in Q3
- Antonelli
- Piastri
- Norris
- Leclerc
- Hamilton
- Verstappen
- Hadjar
- Bearman
- Gasly
- Russell (no time)
07:53
Replays show both Ferraris getting a bit loose on their fast laps.
Enough to justify their +0.3s and +0.7s margins to Antonelli and give them a hope of overhauling the Mercedes on their second runs... perhaps not
07:52
Russell has made it back into the pit lane but there is less than nine minutes on the clock for him to get back out, back round and back up to speed to challenge for pole here
07:51
Leclerc and Hamilton are next round, but they have to slot into second and third behind the young Italian
07:51
As Russell trundles back to the pit lane - where there will be just 10 minutes to make a very quick fix - his team-mate Antonelli steps up to set the benchmark with a 1m 32.322s
07:50
Russell stopped on track
"I've got no battery"
Russell has come to a halt on the exit of Turn 2, prompting some 'turn it back on and off again' messages to get him going again
He has managed exactly that, but he cannot shift up - having complained of issues in Q2, albeit with the active aero malfunctioning, all is not well with that Mercedes
07:48
Q3 and the fight for pole is...
GO!
07:46
No improvements late on for Russell, who is on the radio complaining of sudden understeer - a chance for Ferrari to capitalise in Q3.
Here are your 10 drivers going for pole in China
- Antonelli
- Leclerc
- Russell
- Hamilton
- Gasly
- Norris
- Piastri
- Verstappen
- Bearman
- Hadjar
07:43
Out after Q2
11. Hulkenberg
12. Colapinto
13. Ocon
14. Lawson
15. Lindblad
16. Bortoleto
07:42
Oops, replays show Bortoleto was at fault for his end-of-session demise, losing the Audi on the outside kerb on the entry into the final corner, before being flicked across the gravel and nudging the wall
07:42
Double yellows - chequered flag
Double yellows are out for Gabriel Bortoleto, who for the second qualifying session in three, has stopped right at the end of the session.
That scuppers several laps, which is good news for Hadjar, who gets to live another day in Q3 - just +0.002s ahead of Hulkenberg in 11th and +0.005s ahead of Colapinto
07:40
Antonelli takes over at the top, just +0.080s covering the top three
Hulkenberg improves on his time - from +0.004s behind Hadjar to +0.002s behind him. Ouch.
07:38
Getting into the second runs now and Leclerc goes quicker than Russell, while Piastri and Norris lift to sixth and fifth respectively
07:33
Early scores on the doors - Russell leads Hamilton, Leclerc, Antonelli and Verstappen
Hulkenberg, Ocon, Colapinto, Lawson, Lindblad and Bortoleto need to improve on their second runs to get into Q3
07:31
Hamilton claims Mercedes has a new era take on the famous 'party mode' he used to slip into when it mattered back in the day.
He says it gets switched on during Q2 and - right now - it looks like he is correct, Russell fastest by a comfortable three tenths so far.
Plenty of time on the clock though
07:26
Another tough day at the office for Williams.
07:25
"That's all the car has in it..."
Sainz's race engineer delivers a rather bleak indictment of Williams' issues as his driver fails to progress out of Q1 for the qualifying session in succession.
Lots of focus on the struggles at Aston Martin, but Williams too is facing some tough questions about how it's dropped from the top of the midfield to where it is now without any major changes over the winter
07:22
Incidentally, Leclerc was quickest in Q1 - the first time someone other than Russell has topped a session this weekend
07:21
So it's as you were from Sprint qualifying with a pair of Williams', a pair of Astons and a pair of Cadillacs exiting qualifying at the first stage
However, it's worth noting that Bottas did out-qualify Stroll - a small but significant boost for Cadillac to out-qualify another team for the first time in its young F1 campaign
07:20
Out after Q1
17. Sainz
18. Albon
19. Alonso
20. Bottas
21. Stroll
22. Perez