For the first time in his career, George Russell took lead the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship after winning the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, and the Mercedes driver is showing no signs of giving up that advantage. On Friday in Shanghai, Russell claimed pole position for the first Sprint race of the 2026 season at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Mercedes continued their dominance under the new 2026 engine regulations, finishing 1-2 in the only Free Practice session before locking out the front row for the Sprint, with Kimi Antonelli securing P2 in qualifying.
Ferrari, who had drawn plenty of attention after introducing their much-talked-about “Macarena” rotating wing, did not quite meet the expectations in Sprint Qualifying. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finished fourth and sixth respectively.
For the seven-time world champion, the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint holds special memories. Hamilton took pole and won the Sprint race here last year, handing Ferrari their first-ever Sprint victory. However, this time the Briton will start from fourth on the grid, behind Lando Norris.
Russell led every phase of the session at the Shanghai circuit to take his first career sprint pole in a time of one minute, 31.520 seconds. Antonelli was 0.289 slower.
Nice work Team 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/hRrXmE6Pzw
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 13, 2026
McLaren’s Lando Norris was third fastest but the Briton could move up to the front row with Antonelli under investigation and facing a possible grid drop for allegedly impeding the reigning world champion in the second phase.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who started the 100km race on pole in China last year, was fourth fastest ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
The race on Saturday brings eight points to the winner with the top eight scoring. The main grand prix is on Sunday.
“The car has been feeling amazing,” said Russell, winner of the Australian season-opener last weekend. “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.
“It felt really quick and that was pretty cool, very different to Melbourne.”
Russell was the third successive British sprint pole-sitter in Shanghai after Norris in 2024 and Hamilton in 2025.
He had also been fastest in the day’s sole practice session, ahead of Antonelli, with Mercedes comfortably ahead of the rest.
Pierre Gasly was seventh fastest for Renault-owned Alpine but under investigation for apparently impeding Red Bull’s four-times world champion Max Verstappen, who ended up eighth.
Haas’s Oliver Bearman took the ninth slot on the grid and Verstappen’s new teammate Isack Hadjar completed the top 10 but a massive2.2 seconds off Russell’s pace.
Norris said he was happy with his lap.
“P3 is as good as we can do for the time being,” he said.
“I’m actually pretty happy to beat both the Ferraris today because they seemed pretty good the whole day. So I’m satisfied. Good position for tomorrow.”
Also Read: Chinese GP 2026: Why Shanghai is a Weekend Lewis Hamilton Can’t Forget — What Happened Last Year?
Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying Result:
1 George Russell (Mercedes) 1m31.520s
2 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.289s
3 Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.621s
4 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.641s
5 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.704s
6 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +1.008s
7 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1.368s
8 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +1.734s
9 Ollie Bearman (Haas) +1.889s
10 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +2.203s
SQ2:
11 Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +0.015s to SQ3
12 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +0.019s
13 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +0.094s
14 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +0.154s
15 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +0.428s
16 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +0.707s
SQ1:
17 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +0.169s to SQ2
18 Alex Albon (Williams) +0.713s
19 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +0.989s
20 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1.559s
21 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) +2.786s
22 Sergio Perez (Cadillac) no time
(With Reuters input)
