George Russell continued his commanding start to the 2026 F1 season by comfortably beating Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli to take pole position in the Chinese Grand Prix sprint.
After winning last weekend’s season opener in Australia, Russell led all three segments of short-format qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit, finishing with a time of 1 minute 31.520 seconds, nearly three tenths ahead of Antonelli.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was the best of the rest, but the reigning world champion was six tenths off Russell’s time, finishing third ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli faced a post-session investigation for interfering with Norris during SQ2, but was spared a penalty after the McLaren driver admitted he had not set a fast lap.
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Kimi Antonelli is threatened with his third grid spot in the Chinese GP sprint after blocking Lando Norris!
“The car felt great,” Russell said. “After Melbourne we knew we had a really good car, the engine was working really well and it was really fun to drive today.”
The third row was also McLaren-Ferrari, with Oscar Piastri taking fifth place ahead of Charles Leclerc, who appeared to be aiming for third place despite suffering energy deployment issues in SQ3.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen could only settle for a disappointing eighth place as the four-time world champion surprisingly lost out to Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in seventh place.
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George Russell takes his first sprint pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix!
“Pace-wise it was terrible all day. There was no grip. That’s the biggest problem. No grip, no balance,” Verstappen said.
“You just lose a lot of time in the corners. That starts to cause other little problems, but the big problem for us is that the cornering is completely out.”
Haas’ Oliver Bearman beat Verstappen’s teammate Izak Hajjar to ninth place, in another blow for Red Bull.
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Ride along with George Russell as he attempts pole position for the Chinese GP Sprint.
Williams, who were at the back of the grid, were eliminated in the first stage along with Aston Martins and Cadillax, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon knocked out in SQ1.
Aston Martin continues to be plagued by problems with its trouble-prone Honda power unit, while Cadillac, new to F1 in 2026, was only able to field one car as Sergio Perez was sidelined due to a fuel system issue.
Russell focused on the start after an intimidating display
Russell was similarly dominant in last weekend’s Melbourne qualifying, but lost the lead at the start as he was one of several drivers struggling to get off the line amid the complex challenges posed by F1’s all-new power unit for 2026.
Perhaps the biggest threat could come from Hamilton in fourth place after both Ferraris got a strong start in Australia with Leclerc taking the lead.
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George Russell welcomes his Mercedes car after securing qualifying pole for the Chinese GP Sprint.
“Expect the unexpected,” Russell said.
“You never know what’s going to happen. We had a much better start to practice this morning. One of our best this season. We’ve improved a lot in that regard.”
“Ever since Melbourne I’ve been focusing all my efforts on how I can improve my starts. Thankfully the two guys around me have two Mercedes engines, so I’m hoping the fast-starting Ferraris can catch up.”
Sky Sports F1 China GP Schedule
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A look back at some of the most dramatic moments that took place around the Shanghai International Circuit.
Saturday, March 14th
2:25am: Chinese GP sprint build-up*
3am: Chinese GP Sprint*
4.30am: Ted’s Sprint Notes*
5:30am: F1 Academy Race 1*
6:30am: Chinese GP qualifying build-up*
7am: Chinese GP Qualifying*
9am: Ted’s Qualification Notebook*
Sunday March 15th
2:35am: F1 Academy Race 2*
5:30am: Preparation for Chinese Grand Prix: Grand Prix Sunday*
7am: Chinese Grand Prix*
9am: Chinese GP reaction: Checkered flag*
10am: Ted’s Notes*
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
F1 will hold its first sprint weekend of the 2026 season in Shanghai starting this Friday with the Chinese Grand Prix, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
