The Sprint Race at the 2026 Formula 1 (F1) Chinese GP marked the first Sprint event of the season under the revised regulations. George Russell lined up on pole position, with Kimi Antonelli starting alongside him on the front row.
The McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri started from P3 and P5 respectively. However, attention was also on the Ferrari drivers, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc lining up P4 and P6, as both looked to capitalise on strong race starts following their performances at the Australian GP.
Further back, both Red Bull drivers faced a tougher task from the start, lining up P8 and P10, with Ollie Bearman in his Haas car splitting the pair on the grid.
Meanwhile, Antonelli and Pierre Gasly were investigated after the 2026 F1 Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying for separate impeding incidents. However, the stewards dismissed both cases, meaning no penalties were applied to the starting grid.
Alex Albon started the race from the pit lane after Williams opted to make setup changes to his car ahead of the Sprint.
Most cars started on the medium tyres, with Hadjar starting on the softs and Lawson and Sainz on the Hards.
Ferrari quick away at the start of the Sprint
Hamilton surged forward at the start, climbing from P4 to P2. Antonelli endured a more difficult getaway, dropping from P2 to P7. His race became even more complicated when he made contact with Hadjar and ran wide, an incident that stewards placed under investigation.
Hamilton briefly took the lead around the outside of Turn 8 on Russell, but Russell quickly responded and reclaimed the position at the hairpin. Further back, Lindblad ran wide, forcing Stroll to take evasive action to avoid the Racing Bull.
On Lap 2, Hamilton again powered past Russell to retake the race lead. Behind them, Leclerc held P3, followed by Norris, Piastri, Antonelli, Bearman and Gasly to round out the top eight.
Verstappen endured a poor start, dropping to P14, while Albon recovered positions after starting from the pit lane and ran P16 by the end of Lap 3.
Russell and Hamilton fight back and forth
Russell once again overtook Hamilton at the hairpin, but Hamilton immediately fought back and reclaimed the lead into Turn 1. On Lap 4, Antonelli passed Piastri, making the move stick despite McLaren’s strong pace.
By Lap 5, Russell had once again overtaken Hamilton, with Leclerc beginning to close in on the battling pair. Shortly after, stewards handed Antonelli a 10-second time penalty for the Lap 1 collision with Hadjar.
Leclerc then joined the fight for the lead, overtaking Hamilton into Turn 1 on Lap 8. Russell responded by stretching a 1.8-second gap over the Ferrari driver, highlighting Mercedes’ strong race pace. Antonelli also began to close in on Hamilton.
Bearman continued an impressive run in P7, with Hadjar following in P8 despite carrying damage from the earlier collision with Antonelli.
Lawson began charging through the field, overtaking Hadjar on Lap 10 before passing Bearman a lap later. His strategy on the hard tyres proved effective as he climbed to P7 after starting P13.
Safety car bringing the F1 Sprint Race into chaos
Antonelli overtook Hamilton at the hairpin on Lap 11, but the F1 Chinese GP Sprint Race soon took another turn. Lindblad retired on Lap 12, followed by Bottas on Lap 13. Hülkenberg then stopped at the side of Turn 1 after Audi instructed him to retire the car. With yellow flags initially waving, Antonelli briefly gained another position on Hamilton before the Safety Car was deployed.
Most of the top eight pitted during the Safety Car period, with Lawson and Bearman opting to stay out. Once the field returned to the track, Russell led the race ahead of Leclerc and Norris. Hamilton dropped to P4 after Ferrari double-stacked their cars in the pit lane, while Lawson ran P5. Antonelli fell to P7 after serving his 10-second time penalty during the stop.
Pérez was noted for a Safety Car infringement and received a five-second time penalty. Drivers who started on the hard tyres began to benefit from their strategy, with Lawson capitalising on the advantage, while Sainz also made progress further down the order to P12.
Russell keeps the lead at the restart of the Sprint Race
Russell controlled the Safety Car restart for the F1 Sprint Race and quickly opened a gap as Leclerc struggled with wheelspin. Behind them, Piastri moved ahead of Antonelli for P7, with the Mercedes driver struggling to get a strong launch. Bearman, who had stayed out during the Safety Car period, began to slip down the order and dropped to P8.
On Lap 18, Hamilton overtook Norris into Turn 1 to strengthen his position in the top three.
Antonelli soon reported over team radio that Piastri had completed his earlier overtake before the Safety Car restart line. McLaren instructed Piastri to return the position, which he did shortly after. Following the correction, the stewards confirmed the incident would require no further investigation.
Further back, Esteban Ocon overtook Gasly on the inside at the hairpin, with Verstappen also taking advantage of the move. The sequence left Verstappen in P9, Ocon running in P10 and Gasly dropping to P11.
At the chequered flag, Russell secured victory in the F1 Chinese GP Sprint Race, with Leclerc finishing second and Hamilton completing the podium in third. Norris crossed the line in P4, followed by Antonelli, Piastri, Lawson and Bearman to round out the points-paying positions.
Sprint Race Results
