Mercedes continued their dominance from Melbourne at Sprint Qualifying at the F1 2026 Chinese GP. The pace was set by George Russell with an impressive lap of 1:31.520.
The second race weekend of the 2026 F1 season is underway at the F1 2026 Chinese GP. As it is a Sprint weekend, there was only one Free Practice session. The sole Free Practice session of the weekend had George Russell on top with a 1:32.741. Following his teammate was Kimi Antonelli with a 1:32.861. The rest of the field were over half a second behind the Mercedes pair, as Lando Norris took P3. After the dominant pace Mercedes displayed at the Australian GP persisted, the drivers were eager to see if anyone could surpass the pair.
Green lights out for SQ1 at the F1 Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying
As the drivers lined up in the pit lane, the first F1 Sprint Qualifying of the year was underway. All the drivers headed out on the medium tyre for SQ1.
Isack Hadjar set the first benchmark of the day with a 1:34.447. He was quickly knocked down by Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, the latter setting the pace with a 1:33.730. The joy was short-lived for the rest of the pack as Mercedes’ Russell took the top spot with a 1:33.030. Antonelli followed 0.425 seconds behind his teammate, while Leclerc was seven tenths away. However, the Ferrari pair kept improving throughout the session, closing in on the Mercedes.
Surprisingly, Max Verstappen did not look very quick as he stayed around the P10 mark, with little improvement throughout the session.
At the end of SQ1, Russell still held the top spot, as no one could beat his time. The Ferrari duo followed closely behind, with Hamilton taking second and Leclerc third. The seven-time World Champion was 0.118 seconds away from the Mercedes. The Aston Martin pair failed to improve, leaving them in the elimination zone.
Sergio Perez did not set a time as a fuel system issue identified in FP1 could not be fixed in the short window to Sprint Qualifying.
Out in SQ1: Sainz, Albon, Alonso, Stroll, Bottas, Perez
SQ2
As the second part of the session got underway, the 16 drivers remaining headed back out on track. All the drivers headed out on the medium tyre to start the second part of the session. The top of the timing sheets kept changing rapidly as the drivers kept improving. Max Verstappen took the top spot from Pierre Gasly with a 1:33.564.
Charles Leclerc set the new benchmark of the Sprint Qualifying session with a solid lap of 1:32.602. He was quickly knocked down by Antonelli and then Russell with a 1:32.241. Meanwhile, Lando Norris took to the radio to note Antonelli impeding him in Turn 1 during a flying lap. If the stewards agree, the mistake could potentially be costly for the young driver.
The last minute of SQ2 saw many attempting to improve, though few succeeded. Ollie Bearman was one of the drivers who improved and put himself into the top ten.
Max Verstappen made a mistake at Turn 16, after reporting an Alpine on the racing line, and took a trip through the gravel trap. After his remarkable performance at the Australian GP, rookie Arvid Lindblad was out in SQ2 this time around. Notably, Pierre Gasly put in a strong lap and kept himself in the top ten.
Once again, Mercedes was at the top. Russell set the pace with a 1:32.241, closely followed by Antonelli, just 0.050 seconds behind. Behind the duo was Leclerc, three tenths away. Then came Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton in fifth.
Out in SQ2: Hülkenberg, Ocon, Lawson, Bortoleto, Lindblad, Colapinto
Final push for pole in SQ3 at the F1 Chinese GP
The final part of F1 Sprint Qualifying at the 2026 Chinese GP was set to deliver action, with the rest of the best separated by narrow gaps. The top 10 drivers headed out on soft tyres for the final push for the Sprint pole.
The Mercedes duo quickly lit up the timings, setting purple sectors in their first effort. Early on, the battle looked to be between the two Mercedes. Russell took the top spot early on with a 1:31.520. Antonelli followed three tenths behind. The early battle for third was between the Ferraris as Hamilton took provisional third place from his teammate, 0.641 seconds behind Russell.
With drivers scrambling to find extra pace, the battle for the top spots was intense. Despite this, Mercedes still appeared too dominant for anyone to challenge. Although the Ferrari cars looked quick, McLaren provided strong competition. The Mercedes dominance continued as George Russell took pole. His early lap in SQ3 was enough to take his first Sprint Qualifying pole. Two-tenths behind him was teammate Antonelli, followed by Norris in third, 0.621 seconds behind.
