Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying: Unchallenged George Russell on pole, Mercedes supreme
F1 NewsFriday, 13 March 2026 at 09:14
George Russell took pole for the first Sprint Qualifying session of the 2026 Formula 1 season over the Chinese Grand Prix weekend as Mercedes flexed their muscles.
It appears to be 2014 all over again as Russell took pole for the Sprint Race in China with a lap time 1:31.520, almost three tenths clear of teammate Kimi Antonelli.
While Ferrari appeared to be the closest challengers at the start of Sprint Qualifying, McLaren took over in SQ3 as they led the Formula 1.5
Lando Norris was third fastest over six tenths away from pole with Lewis Hamilton less than a tenth further behind in fourth.
Hamilton should be satisfied that he outqualified Charles Leclerc for a change as the latter was down in sixth as the Ferraris - who did not use their Macarena wing - were split by Oscar Piastri who took fifth.
Pierre Gasly delivered a superb session for Alpine and qualified in seventh beating four-time F1 Champion Max Verstappen who had a miserable session and managed only eighth on the starting grid.
Ollie Bearman was another excellent performer and was ninth fastest while Isack Hadjar was only tenth. What a difference one week has made for the Frenchman.
"The car has been feeling amazing," Russell said. "We knew after Melbourne we had a really good car, the engine is performing really well, and today it was a real joy to drive.
"I'm intrigued to know what the lap times are compared to last year because it felt very quick, really cool, and very different to Melbourne," he added.
With Hamilton lurking behind in fourth, Russell will have a challenge to keep the lead into Turn 1 given Ferrari's lightning starts.
But the Briton claims Mercedes have been working on their starts, he said: "Since Melbourne everything we have been working on is just trying to get off the line better. I think we have found some improvements.
"Melbourne was obviously dicier in the opening laps than we would have liked. I guess we'll find out in the morning [what it's like here]," Russell concluded.
SQ1: No major surprises
After just one practice session, F1 teams and drivers dived into the first competitive session of the Chinese Grand Prix which was Sprint Qualifying.
Clear and dry conditions the reigned over FP1 remained as SQ1 started with track temperatures rising to 30 degrees Celsius as air temperature was 16 degrees.
With the green light illuminated at the end of the pitlane, the drivers head out on track with the mandatory new Medium tyres bolted to their cars for the 12-minute session.
🟢 SQ1 IS UNDERWAY 🟢
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 13, 2026
It's time for the first part of Sprint Quali, and Valtteri Bottas leads us out in the Cadillac! 🤩#F1Sprint #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/qiuTuY0ZrC
Valtteri Bottas led the pack following by the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Hadjar as Sergio Perez stayed behind with a fuel systems issue meaning he was not taking part at all.
Bottas posted the first time but then Hadjar went fastest with Verstappen second fastest and Liam Lawson in third with Arvid Lindblad fourth.
The Leclerc went to the top with Hamilton going even faster by half a second then Piastri taking second with Norris taking the position from him.
Then came Antonelli taking the top spot but not for long as Russell went over four tenths faster than him.
The drivers kept goin putting in lap after lap on the same set of Mediums and the times kept changing as Verstappen was complaining saying the shifts on his RB22 were "terrible".
He then asked his team to do something about the driveability of his power unit which he described as "horrendous".
Gabriel Bortoleto had a moment in the last corner and had to go straight into the gravel before rejoining the track. Bearman also had a moment at the same place.
In the end, Russell led the way with a lap time of 1:33.030, 0.118s clear of Hamilton who was second fastest with Leclerc third fastest.
The rest of the top 16 were: Antonelli - Norris - Piastri - Gasly - Nico Hulkenberg - Esteban Ocon - Lawson - Verstappen - Bearman - Bortoleto - Hadjar - Lindblad - Franco Colapinto.
Out of Sprint qualifying were: Carlos Sainz - Alex Albon - Fernando Alonso - Lance Stroll - Bottas - Perez.
SQ2: Red Bulls make it by the skin of their teeth
The remaining 16 drivers set out on track for the 10-minute SQ2 with Medium tyres still the compound allowed by the rules with Norris and Piastri leading the way.
Several driver went for timed laps but then aborted and continued to warm up with Bearman finally posting a representative time fastest but then dropped by Gasly with Hadjar behind him.
The Verstappen went to the top as Leclerc and Hamilton came along. Leclerc went fastest with Hamilton slotting behind him in second.
Piastri then went second fastest with Norris going third as Antonelli went to the top with Russell bettering him by over three tenths of a second.
Top ten after first runs: Russell - Antonelli - Leclerc - Piastri - Norris - Hamilton - Verstappen - Gasly - Hadjar - Hulkenberg.
The Top 3️⃣ after the first SQ2 runs...
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 13, 2026
Russell. Antonelli. Leclerc. 💨
A notable mention to Gasly too with an impressive time for P8 in the Alpine 👀#F1Sprint #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/xfWK1Ky3eG
The drivers then went on for more runs trying to improve their times and make sure they made it into SQ3.
In the end, Russell kept his control on proceedings with a lap time of 1:32.241, with Antonelli in second, less than a tenth behind with Leclerc in third but over three tenths slower than the best time.
The rest of the top ten were: Piastri - Hamilton - Norris - Gasly - Bearman - Verstappen - Hadjar.
Out of SQ2: Hulkenberg - Ocon - Lawson - Bortoleto - Lindblad - Colapinto.
📻 "He blocked me... I was going to push that lap!"
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 13, 2026
Lando Norris seemingly gets held up by Kimi Antonelli at Turn 1 👀#F1Sprint #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/hi54pW6csu
Antonelli and Norris were being investigated after the session for impeding by the Italian against the Briton.
SQ3: Mercedes' pace devastates rivals
The remaining ten drivers started the final stage of Sprint Qualifying and they had eight minutes to set the starting grid for the Sprint with the Soft tyre finally making their debut.
Both Mercedes drivers made their way out on track with Verstappen following them.
🟢 SQ3 IS GO! 🟢
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 13, 2026
We're onto the soft tyres for this session! 🛞
Let's decide the all-important grid for the Sprint tomorrow... 😎#F1Sprint #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/UTFXw1BsYU
Antonelli went for his lap first with Russell behind him and Verstappen further behind on the track.
Antonelli went fastest but Russell went even faster with Verstappen going third, a whopping 1.7s slower.
The came Leclerc who went third but was then dropped by Hamilton who took over third.
With three minutes remaining, the rest of the drivers started their runs.
In the end of SQ1 Russell was on pole with quite a margin over Antonelli and a huge gap to the competition.
Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying Provisional Grid
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