Russell wins China sprint after big Ferrari battle Formula 1 2026 championship leader George Russell took victory in an entertaining sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, after a prolonged scrap with former team-mate Lewis Hamilton.What looked like it was eventually going to be a comfortable win for Russell looked to have been complicated by a late-race safety car for Nico Hulkenberg's Audi, but Russell was never really troubled in the three-lap ... Read more:

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Russell wins China sprint after big Ferrari battle

George Russell won an entertaining sprint Chinese Grand Prix sprint, after a prolonged scrap with former team-mate Lewis Hamilton

Trackside view: How China showcases F1 2026 cars at their best Sprint qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit shows us the best yet of this new generation of Formula 1 cars thanks to what is, relatively speaking, an energy-rich circuit inhibiting the drivers and machinery less than Albert Park or the scattered run plans of Bahrain testing. That becomes emphatically clear watching trackside. This does not wipe out the justified concerns about the limi... Read more:

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Our trackside verdict of the 2026 F1 cars at the Chinese GP

Sprint qualifying at Shanghai shows us the best of this new generation of F1 cars

Nine things we learned from sprint qualifying at F1's Chinese GP The first sprint qualifying of Formula 1’s new 2026 era has given us a new picture of the pecking order.Here’s everything we learned from Friday at the Chinese Grand Prix…Unwieldy Red Bull's 'disaster' daySo limited has the Red Bull looked at Shanghai that it was honestly flattered by a dual SQ3 appearance and Max Verstappen's place on the fourth row - had both he and Hadjar gone a tenth worse on ... Read more:

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Nine things we learned from sprint qualifying at F1's Chinese GP

The first sprint qualifying of Formula 1’s new 2026 era has given us a new picture of the pecking order

F1 2026 Chinese GP sprint race grid after Antonelli avoids penalty George Russell and Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Kimi Antonelli will line-up on the front row of the grid for the first sprint race of 2026, after Antonelli escaped sanction in a post-session investigation for alleged impeding of McLaren's Lando Norris.Mercedes will head into Saturday's sprint as favourite for victory considering the large pace gap between pole-sitter Russell and the third-placed c... Read more:

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F1 2026 Chinese GP sprint race grid after Antonelli avoids penalty

George Russell and Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli will line-up on the front row of the grid for the first F1 sprint race of 2026

Why Ferrari's parked radical wing after 'premature' debut Ferrari has parked its radical upside-down rear wing for the rest of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, after a debut Lewis Hamilton described as a “little bit premature”.The unique wing made its first race weekend appearance in FP1 on Friday, having grabbed the headlines in pre-season testing.But Ferrari removed it for sprint qualifying in China, with both cars reverting to its more traditional rear... Read more:

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Why Ferrari's parked radical wing after 'premature' debut

Ferrari has parked its radical upside-down rear wing for the rest of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, after a debut Lewis Hamilton described as a �...

China F1 sprint qualifying 2026 winners and losers The first sprint qualifying session of Formula 1’s new era produced some notable form swings from the 2026 season opener just a week ago.Here’s our pick of the Chinese Grand Prix sprint qualifying winners and losers.Loser - Red Bull (8th & 10th)Red Bull can be happy that Isack Hadjar has started life at Red Bull close to Max Verstappen, but that’s where the positives end today.Verstappen repeatedl... Read more:

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Winners and losers from F1's 2026 China sprint qualifying

For some teams, China sprint qualifying was a very different story to Australia a week ago. We pick the stars and flops

McLaren explanation saves Antonelli from China grid drop Mercedes Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli has kept his front-row starting spot for the Chinese Grand Prix sprint following an investigation after sprint qualifying.Norris had found Antonelli right on the racing line, tipping into the first corner and reporting the Mercedes driver for blocking, telling his McLaren team: "I was going to push that lap, but he got in my way."It sounded in the moment li... Read more:

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Norris explanation saves Antonelli's front row grid spot

Lando Norris has helped Kimi Antonelli keep his second place on the grid for F1's China sprint race

What happened in China F1 2026 sprint qualifying George Russell’s clean sweep of every competitive 2026 Formula 1 session continued as he took a dominant sprint qualifying pole at the Chinese Grand Prix - but there's a question mark over the Mercedes' 1-2 on the grid.Russell claimed his first-ever sprint race pole with a 1m31.520s, just under three tenths clear of Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli.However, Antonelli’s second place on the grid ha... Read more:

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What happened in China F1 2026 sprint qualifying

George Russell’s clean sweep of every competitive 2026 F1 session continued as he took a dominant sprint qualifying pole at the Chinese Grand Pri...

How F1 2026 team-mates are comparing in qualifying The 2026 Formula 1 season will allow each driver to compare themselves to their team-mate in full qualifying trim up to 30 times - 24 in grand prix qualifying, and six more in sprint qualifying.Here's how this year's team-mate pairings are stacking up over one lap so far.*Right now, this is raw data. We've discounted comparisons only where one driver can't compete in qualifying. Further adjustment... Read more:

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How F1 2026 team-mates are comparing in qualifying

The 2026 Formula 1 season will allow each driver to compare themselves to their team-mate in full qualifying trim up to 30 times

What's really going on with Mercedes' Alpine buy-in talks It’s been known for a while that a stake in the Alpine Formula 1 team is up for grabs, with minority shareholder Otro Capital looking to offload its interest.Having purchased a 24% buy-in, back in 2023, Otro and its influential celebrity backers, including actors Ryan Reynolds and Michael B. Jordan, believe the time is right to cash out with F1 team valuations upwards of $1 billion.Several parties... Read more:

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What's really going on with Mercedes' Alpine buy-in talks

You'd have seen Toto Wolff and Mercedes have been linked to buying into Alpine - but what's really going on? Our analysis...

F1 Chinese GP 2026 sprint qualifying results Formula 1 championship leader George Russell took pole position for the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix.Team-mate Kimi Antonelli is facing a post-session investigation for impeding, as is Alpine driver Pierre Gasly.Twenty-one cars took part in the session, with Sergio Perez's Cadillac kept in the pits by a fuel pump issue.1 George Russell (Mercedes) 1m31.520s2 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.28... Read more:

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F1 Chinese GP 2026 sprint qualifying results

See the results from qualifying for the sprint race at Formula 1's Chinese Grand Prix in 2026

Chinese Grand Prix 2026 F1 practice times George Russell led team-mate Kimi Antonelli in another Mercedes 1-2 in the sole practice session at the Chinese Grand Prix, the first sprint weekend of the 2026 Formula 1 season.Results1 George Russell (Mercedes)2 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.120s3 Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.555s4 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.731s5 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.858s6 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +1.388s7 Ollie Bearman (Ha... Read more:

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Chinese Grand Prix 2026 F1 practice times

Mercedes started with a 1-2 again in the sole practice session at the Chinese Grand Prix

Everything that happened in Chinese Grand Prix practice Mercedes continued its early 2026 Formula 1 domination with a 1-2 in the sole practice session of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.George Russell ended up 0.120 seconds clear of team-mate Kimi Antonelli with his 1m32.741s effort on soft tyres, and they were half a second ahead of everyone else.A last-gasp lap from Lando Norris brought him within 0.555s of Russell and cemented McLaren as best of the ... Read more:

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Everything that happened in Chinese Grand Prix practice

Mercedes 1-2 and plenty of problems and incidents elsewhere in the sole Shanghai practice session

Haas adds version of Ferrari wing innovation for China The Haas Formula 1 team has followed Ferrari's lead in fitting an innovative exhaust wing from this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.Ferrari raised some eyebrows in the final pre-season test in Bahrain when its SF-26 ran with a unique wing at the rear of the tail pipe, which makes use of exhaust flow to deliver a downforce boost in this area of the car.Mounted on top of the rear crash structure to cap... Read more:

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Haas adds version of Ferrari wing innovation for China

The Haas Formula 1 team has followed Ferrari's lead in fitting an innovative exhaust wing from this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix

F1 increases start practice but rejects formation lap change Formula 1 drivers are to be allowed extra practice starts at the Chinese Grand Prix as part of new procedures introduced by the FIA to alleviate concerns about safety.But the formation lap recharge limit highlighted as a problem by championship leader George Russell will not change despite calls from some teams.The chaotic start to the season opener in Australia, especially the near-miss involving... Read more:

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F1 increases start practice but rejects formation lap change

The FIA moves to address start safety concerns, but doesn't budge on a situation Mercedes wanted to change

9 things we learned on day one of F1's Chinese GP Formula 1's teams and drivers have only had a few days to pick through the massive data load that was the first race of 2026 in Australia, and work out how different things will be this weekend in China.Here is what we have learned from day one in the Shanghai paddock.Where Russell’s impressed rivals alreadyThe Mercedes power unit and the works team's mastery of exploiting it are currently driving... Read more:

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9 things we learned on day one of F1's Chinese GP

Here's what F1 drivers and teams have let slip about the state of F1 2026 and their individual campaigns ahead of the Chinese GP

The 'quirky' rule adding to early F1 2026 race start chaos Formula 1 teams and drivers knew before the start of the season that race starts were going to be particularly challenging this year.The requirement to spool up the turbo for around 10 seconds to ensure that it was in the perfect spot for the launch, while not overcharging the battery, proved to be quite a headache for a lot of drivers in testing.It was the difficulties in getting this right consi... Read more:

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The 'quirky' rule adding to early F1 2026 race start chaos

Formula 1 teams and drivers knew before the start of the season that race starts were going to be particularly challenging this year

Mercedes and Ferrari row over F1 race starts explained George Russell seemed to indicate Ferrari is against the FIA from making 2026 Formula 1 race starts less chaotic, amid multiple drivers expressing safety fears at the Chinese Grand Prix.Franco Colapinto narrowly avoided slamming into the back of Liam Lawson’s slow-moving Racing Bulls at the start of the Australian GP, raising concerns about the safety of race starts.Many drivers believe it’s an ac... Read more:

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'Selfish and silly?' Mercedes and Ferrari's F1 race start row explained

George Russell seemed to indicate Ferrari is against the FIA making the 2026 Formula 1 race starts less chaotic, with multiple drivers expressing s...

Verstappen’s ‘conflicting’ F1 feelings and why he needs distractions Max Verstappen says entering races like the Nurburgring 24 Hours is a positive distraction from not enjoying driving the 2026 generation of Formula 1 cars - which he admits is a “conflicting” feeling.The four-time world champion has been a vocal critic of the limitations of this year’s ruleset and the impact that the excessive energy management demands of the new engines have had.Verstappen dislik... Read more:

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Verstappen's 'conflicting' F1 feelings and why he needs distractions

Max Verstappen has "conflicting" feelings about F1 right now

Aston Martin has 'very fragile' battery situation for Chinese GP Aston Martin remains in a “fragile” state with its battery allocation for Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix, despite reliability progress being made on Honda’s dyno this week.Technical problems that marred last weekend’s season-opener in Australia put two of its four available batteries out of action, and meant Aston Martin was left with no spares for the Melbourne event.That situation is understood ... Read more:

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Aston Martin has 'very fragile' battery situation for Chinese GP

The team remains in a “fragile” state with its battery allocation for the second round of 2026