Russell fastest in sprint qualifying in China in 2026

George Russell was the fastest in the sprint qualifying before the 2026 Chinese GP. The Briton beat Kimi Antonelli by nearly 0,3 seconds. McLaren and Ferrari drivers followed in the subsequent positions. 

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Friday’s sprint qualifying was held in very stable weather conditions; the track temperature slightly dropped from 28 to 25 degrees Celsius during the session. The qualifying proceeded without any interruptions, and everyone drove efficiently. Pirelli stated that the track grip was far from ideal and would improve day by day.

Sprint qualifying results before the 2026 Chinese GP

Due to a fuel system failure, Sergio Perez did not participate in the qualifying at all.

Discussion of the sprint qualifying before the 2026 Chinese GP

The drivers’ pace in the sprint qualifying was excellent. The Shanghai track record from 2025 is 1:30,641. Russell came within 0,9 seconds of it – 1:31,520. For comparison, a week ago in Australia, the qualifying pace relative to the track record was 3,5 seconds worse. We must wait to judge other tracks, but it will likely be as expected. That is, on tracks where energy recovery is easy and its limit is higher, lap times are very good. On tracks where there are recovery problems, lap times will be much worse than in 2025.

The qualifying in China largely confirmed what we saw in Australia. The factory Mercedes drivers are clearly the fastest, capable of setting lap times that are out of reach for their rivals. The key point is that Mercedes is strong everywhere. Competitors are able to partially compete, for example, in a specific sector or in specific types of corners, but not over the entire track. Mercedes has a versatile car that works everywhere, powered by an excellent engine. If Mercedes’ advantage drops in the sprint and the race, as it did in the Australian GP, we will have confirmation that their engine has a greater advantage in qualifying mode. Russell was the fastest in every segment of qualifying, winning with a safe margin; Antonelli tried to fight but was slower.

McLaren performed better than in Australia; through the first two sectors, Norris’s and Piastri’s pace was truly competitive, on par with the Mercedes drivers. However, they lost a lot in the third sector. McLaren has made progress in engine utilization, which translated into qualifying pace. They are still far from their full potential, though; we must wait a few weeks for them to lighten the car.

Ferrari must be disappointed. They introduced a rotating rear wing in China, but only used it in practice. Apparently, it is not yet an ideal solution. Leclerc lost 0,4-0,5 seconds on his final lap on the long straight, likely due to a battery-related fault. The Monegasque should have been third with a small gap to Antonelli. Hamilton drove well, but in SQ2 he also had some power issues. Ferrari’s starting positions are a bit too far back to be certain of taking the lead.

Read more Intra-team F1 duels in sprints in 2026

In qualifying, we saw an awakening of the Alpine team, or rather Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman took seventh place, beating the Red Bull drivers by a clear margin. I am very curious whether this is a one-off “awakening” for Alpine or a sign of permanent improvement.

A big negative surprise was Red Bull’s form; both drivers lost a lot of time to the winner. Importantly, this loss cannot be blamed solely on the engine, for example, because Red Bull was losing time in all sections of the track, most notably in slow and medium corners. It looks similar to previous years when they had setup problems during sprint weekends. In 2026, their default deficit is larger, so in case of problems, it grows to a very high value. We will see if they manage to change the settings for the main qualifying.

It is interesting that both teams with the Red Bull Ford engine performed much worse than in Australia. There is a theory that this engine recovers electrical energy better, meaning on tracks where this is difficult (Australia), it performs better against rivals. In China, where there are many places for energy recovery and everyone does it without problems, they lose their advantage. We will see throughout the rest of the weekend if this is true.

Williams performed terribly in qualifying, with both drivers eliminated in SQ1. For this team, the start of the season looks very bad. Aston Martin had both drivers on track this time, but their form is still very poor. Alonso lost over a second to advance to the next segment. The “lantern rouge” of qualifying was Bottas in the Cadillac, who lost over 1,8 seconds to Alonso, a result that places his team at the very back of the grid.

Summary and predictions for the sprint

The qualifying did not bring any significant surprises; we will see how they translate into the sprint and whether it will look similar to a week ago in Australia. In the sprint, drivers should run on medium tires. I wouldn’t even rule out someone choosing a used set from the sprint qualifying, as tire wear is not high. There shouldn’t be any tire issues, so drivers will be able to push very hard. In my opinion, if one of the Mercedes drivers maintains the lead at the start, they will win comfortably. Ferrari will be counting on their excellent starts, which can make a big difference in China. If Mercedes pulls away, we should at least expect a battle between the McLaren and Ferrari drivers.

The comparison of internal duels in sprint qualifying and the sprints themselves can be checked at this link. It also includes a table of points scored this year solely in sprints.

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