With an eventful Sprint in the books, focus in the F1 paddock shifted to qualifying for the Chinese GP. George Russell hoped to retain his form, whereas the likes of Max Verstappen hoped to turn around their fortunes with parc fermé being lifted between the two sessions.
Q1: Bottas out-qualifies Stroll
Cadillac was the first out on track with Valtteri Bottas, but his early effort was quickly bested by Franco Colapinto. Verstappen goes to the top next with medium tyres. Charles Leclerc fails to beat his time on softs, something both McLarens do succeed in.
Replay shows Lewis Hamilton had a big drift into turn 10, and after both Mercedes drivers set their times the seven-time world champion is in the elimination zone. He however quickly changes to softs and puts his Ferrari in third.
F1 rookie Arvid Lindblad has a difficult Chinese GP weekend so far, as he is called to the pits with an issue. He can however continue his qualifying.
At the back Verstappen and Isack Hadjar are the only two drivers yet to set a time on soft tyres, as Leclerc has taken the top spot. Hadjar goes to seventh, followed by Verstappen to fourth a few moments later.
At the back Carlos Sainz has forced his way into Q2, but with Lindblad to 11th, Franco Colapinto to ninth and Gabriel Bortoleto to seventh, his qualifying attempt ends in Q1. Eliminated with him were his team mate Alex Albon, both Aston Martins and both Cadillacs. However, Bottas managed to get ahead of Lance Stroll, providing a little win for the new team.
Q2: Bortoleto spins out
Mercedes sat out the initial phase of Q1, but decided they wanted to be out first in Q2. They were closely followed by both Ferrari drivers, who split George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Verstappen goes to provisional fifth ahead of both McLaren drivers and his team mate. Ollie Bearman manages to go to sixth. Nico Hülkenberg closes out the top 10 before Pierre Gasly slots into eighth. This puts Oscar Piastri in tenth and on the brink of elimination.
In the second round of qualifying runs, Piastri puts his car in fifth. Team mate Lando Norris takes that place a little later as Leclerc goes to first.
At the back of the top 10 Hülkenberg looks to demote Hadjar, but misses out by 0.002 seconds. Verstappen goes to sixth, before Bortoleto spins out of the final corner.
The yellow flag hinders a few attempts, but he manages to get into the pits before the clock expires. This provides an opportunity for Gasly who goes to fifth. Franco Colapinto tries to get into the top 10 but misses out by 0.005 seconds to Hadjar.
This means eliminated from further qualifying for the 2026 F1 Chinese GP were Hülkenberg, Colapinto, Esteban Ocon, both Racing Bulls and Bortoleto.
Q3: Antonelli capitalises on Russell’s technical gremlins in 2026 F1 Chinese GP Qualifying
In the break between the two sessions Russell has his front wing changed. His final attempt in Q2 was way of the mark, and the team identified the wing was the culprit indeed.
The front runners go out immediately yet again, but for Russell it is only a few corner. The Sprint winner manages to restart the car, but there is no speed in the W17 whatsoever.
Team mate Antonelli passes his crawling team mate in turn 13 and goes to provisional pole ahead of both Ferrari’s. Russell manages to get back to the pit, as Hamilton again has a drift into turn 10.
Bearman is currently fourth, before Norris and Piastri manage to demote both Ferrari’s. Both Red Bull drivers slot in behind the Maranello squad.
At Mercedes they scramble frantically to get Russell out, hooking up the car on the so-called ‘umbilical cord’ and swapping the steering wheel. However, he remains in the garage when everyone goes out for their final attempt in qualifying for the 2026 F1 Chinese GP.
As Antonelli crosses the line for his final run, Russell’s car is released. The young Italian improves by more than 2 tenths. Norris does not improve, which opens up the door for first Leclerc and then Hamilton to take P2. Gasly takes sixth before Bearman, Hadjar and Verstappen all claim P7.
Russell managed to get a lap started, but it was too little too late for pole position, meaning his team mate Antonelli breaks Sebastian Vettel’s record for the youngest pole-sitter in F1 history.
