F1 Chinese GP sprint race and qualifying as it happened

If you did happen to catch sprint qualifying as it happened yesterday, you will have seen some waved arms over Norris being held up by Antonelli.

The Italian was exiting the pits and touring on the inside line just as Norris was coming across to hit the apex of Turn 1. Norris backed out, got on the radio and the grabbed the attention of the stewards.

However, stewards would decline to penalise Antonelli - who starts second - because Norris was on a pre-push lap, rather than a full time attack.

So, as you were, boys!

While there hasn't been much time to readjust from Australia, it would seem McLaren looks more in the mix this weekend than they were in Melbourne with Lando Norris starting third. Oscar Piastri starts fifth and will no doubt be itching to get off the line to firmly put last weekend's disaster - when he crashed on the sighting lap before his home race - to the back of his mind.

Red Bull, meanwhile, reasserted its status as one of the perceived 'big four' but Verstappen in eighth and Hadjar tenth leaves it with some work to do.

Amid them will be Pierre Gasly, whose strong effort put Alpine seventh on the grid, while Oliver Bearman was typically solid again in ninth.

A year ago it was, of course, Lewis Hamilton reigning supreme in the sprint race. At the time it seemed the seven-time F1 World Champion was on the cusp of something exciting right at the start of his Ferrari tenure, but it would prove the scant highlight of disappointing year.

However, though he starts from fourth today, there is the sense he is in a better place this year... and, let's face it, a happy Hamilton is a fast Hamilton

As we say, Mercedes once again flexed its muscles in sprint qualifying to consolidate its excellent start to the season in Melbourne less than a week ago.

That's no surprise, but while Mercedes had the clear advantage in qualifying - in Australia and here in China so far - it was much closer with Ferrari come race day in Melbourne.

On that occasion some strategic fumbles took Ferrari out of contention, but there is less chance of that happening today, even if Hamilton and Leclerc have work to do from fourth and sixth.

That said, this was where they started in Melbourne too - albeit Leclerc ahead of Hamilton - but both were rapid off the line as expected (feared) so don't discount a similar situation here. With just 19 laps to count down, if Ferrari can get up there at the start, they might pose a threat

Whether you've stayed up into the wee small hours, or you're just waking up, get yourself a pot of coffee on the go and settle in for what should - at the very least - be an intriguing 19-lap dash around the Shanghai International Circuit.

George Russell starts from pole position at the head of another all-Mercedes front row that also features Kimi Antonelli as the Briton continues to make hay while the sun shines in what we now know is the car to beat in 2026