Chinese GP Sprint race: George Russell wins again as Ferrari pushes hard in Shanghai

The Shanghai International Circuit hosted the first Sprint race of the 2026 Formula 1 season, delivering an action-packed short race that once again saw George Russell come out on top. The Mercedes driver secured victory after a tense battle with the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who completed the podium after a fiercely contested race.

The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix represents the first Sprint-format weekend of the season. Friday’s schedule featured only one free practice session before drivers returned to the track later in the day for Sprint Qualifying. That session saw George Russell secure pole position, with Kimi Antonelli lining up alongside him on the front row and McLaren’s Lando Norris starting from third place.

The two Ferrari drivers lined up slightly further back on the grid, with Lewis Hamilton starting fourth and Charles Leclerc sixth. The key question heading into the Sprint race was which driver would get the best launch off the line and potentially fight for victory. For the Shanghai weekend, Pirelli made the C2, C3 and C4 compounds available to the teams.

Chinese GP Sprint race: how the action unfolded

The first Sprint race of the 2026 season was scheduled to last 19 laps. Conditions at the Shanghai circuit were relatively cool, with the air temperature at 15 degrees Celsius and the track temperature dropping to around 13 degrees. Almost the entire grid opted to start the race on the medium compound tyres.

The green lights went out at 04:00 CET, with George Russell making an excellent start from pole position. Both Ferrari drivers also launched well, as Lewis Hamilton quickly moved up to second place while Charles Leclerc climbed into fourth. It was a difficult start, however, for Kimi Antonelli, whose getaway mirrored the one he experienced in Australia: the Mercedes rookie bogged down off the line and dropped back to sixth place.

The opening lap immediately delivered intense action between George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. The Ferrari driver managed to take the lead around Turn 4, but Russell reclaimed the position along the long back straight before the start-finish line. The same pattern repeated itself over the next laps: Hamilton would briefly take the lead after Turn 1, only for the Mercedes driver to fight back and regain first place on the long straight.

From lap seven onwards, tyre management began to play a key role in the race. The two McLaren drivers appeared to suffer slightly more graining than their rivals, while the positions at the front began to stabilize. At the same time, the two Ferrari drivers became involved in their own battle on track. Charles Leclerc managed to overtake his teammate and move into second place, but the duel between the two continued for several laps. One of the drivers benefiting from this situation was Kimi Antonelli, who used the opportunity to close the gap to the Ferrari cars ahead.

After ten laps, George Russell was still leading the race with Charles Leclerc running second, about four seconds behind. Lewis Hamilton followed in third place, with Kimi Antonelli just behind in fourth. Fifth and sixth positions were held by the McLaren drivers. Kimi Antonelli, driving the #12 Mercedes, soon began appearing in the mirrors of Hamilton’s Ferrari, and the gap between the two shrank rapidly. The Italian driver eventually completed the move at the end of lap 11, overtaking Hamilton on the long back straight.

A yellow flag was shown at the end of lap 13 after the Audi of Nico Hülkenberg stopped on track. There was also an aggressive move from Max Verstappen, who attempted to overtake Isack Hadjar on the inside of Turn 4. However, the four-time world champion locked the right front tyre and ran wide, forcing him to abandon the attempt.

Mercedes and Ferrari took advantage of the neutralized situation to make a pit stop, switching to the soft compound tyres as only a few laps remained before the chequered flag. The race was set for a short sprint to the finish, with only two laps remaining once the action resumed.

The race restarted on lap 17, with Russell again dictating the pace at the front while Leclerc and Norris followed behind. Because of the pit stops, Lewis Hamilton had dropped to fourth position, while Antonelli was down in seventh place. As the Italian battled with Oliver Bearman further back, Hamilton began to fight his way forward again and managed to get back ahead of Lando Norris before closing the gap to his Ferrari teammate.

After 19 intense laps, the first Sprint race of the 2026 Formula 1 season ended with George Russell taking victory once again. Completing the podium were the two Ferrari drivers, with Charles Leclerc finishing second and Lewis Hamilton securing third place.