FP1 at the 2026 F1 Chinese GP has been completed, view the full report here. George Russell heads into the weekend as championship leader for the first time.
A dramatic start in FP1 at the 2026 F1 Chinese GP
On an out lap, Franco Colapinto had a bizarre spin heading into turn 9, in a very similar style to Max Verstappen’s in qualifying last Saturday. Fortunately for the driver from Argentina, he did not end up in a wall.
It continued to be a strange start as Lando Norris locked up in the last corner trying to go down the inside of Lewis Hamilton, making light contact with the Ferrari. Then at turn 6 on his first push lap, the seven-time World Champion had rear brake locking issues and had a massive spin. All four tyres were flat spotted.
At the 10-minute mark, George Russell led the way as he did a 1:35.065, 0.029s faster than Kimi Antonelli. Charles Leclerc was 0.478s away. The Italian was set to reclaim P1 but a VSC was thrown for debris on the back straight.
Back down at turn 6, Gabriel Bortoleto locked up both his front tyres and took to the escape road.
VSC as Arvid Lindblad stops
Having had a great debut in Melbourne, Arvid Lindblad stopped on track at turn 14. Replays showed the fire extinguisher went off in his car, eventually leading to him stopping.
Russell led the way at this point on a 1:34.169. Kimi Antonelli had done two purple sectors before yellow flags scuppered him again. He had to back off and was P2, 0.625s away. Bearman, Leclerc, Hadjar, Gasly, Verstappen, Piastri, Hamilton and Albon rounded out the top 10 before it went green again.
Down into the very long turns 1 and 2, Lando Norris had a snap of oversteer, leading to him locking up his right front and going into the run-off. Teammate Oscar Piastri had it later in the session, although he avoided a lock-up. Gabriel Bortoleto would have a similar moment in the Audi.
Mercedes fastest halfway through in FP1 at the 2026 F1 Chinese GP
A 1:34.169 from George Russell continued to be the benchmark, 0.240s ahead of Charles Leclerc. Antonelli remained in P3.
Lewis Hamilton switched to soft tyres very early after the spin on his first set, moving up to P5, just behind Ollie Bearman.
Down at Williams, the team confirmed an issue on Carlos Sainz’s side of the garage: “We have a data issue that we are looking into”. The Spaniard finally joined the circuit with 24 minutes left.
With 20 minutes to go, Russell led Hamilton, Leclerc, Piastri and Antonelli. Everyone was on mediums bar the seven-time World Champion.
Having stopped on pit road, a reboot saw Franco Colapinto get going again.
Soft tyres appear for qualifying simulations
Championship leader George Russell smashed in a 1:32.807, briefly putting 1.5s into the field. Kimi Antonelli then went P2, finishing up 0.156s slower. A purple sector 3 made up for not improving in the opening one.
On a second push, the Brit lowered the P1 mark to a 1:32.741. His Italian teammate did go better on a third push, ending up 0.120s slower. Behind the dominant Mercedes cars, Norris (0.555s), Piastri (0.731s), Leclerc (0.858s) and Hamilton (1.388s) completed the big six. Bearman, Verstappen, Hülkenberg and Gasly completed the top 10.
In the dying moments of the session, Charles Leclerc found the gravel trap in the final corner but continued. Ollie Bearman also had a big spin out of turn 4.
It was a chaotic FP1 at the 2026 F1 Chinese GP.
