George Russell carried over his winning F1 momentum from Australia to land a crushing pole position for Saturday's sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Russell laid down a championship marker to win Formula One's season-opening race and he now looks set to dominate the second round in Shanghai. The British driver finished 0.289 seconds clear of team-mate Kimi Antonelli as Mercedes ominously locked out the front row for Saturday's 19-lap dash to the chequered flag.
FOLLOW LIVE: F1 Chinese GP latest updates
Behind the all-conquering Silver Arrows will be world champion Lando Norris, albeit 0.621 seconds slower than Russell. Lewis Hamilton won the sprint race for Ferrari a year ago - the sole highlight of a bitterly disappointing first season in red - and he will at least be in the mix again after qualifying fourth.
Hamilton will be the meat in a McLaren sandwich with Oscar Piastri fifth on the grid. Charles Leclerc lines up in sixth, a full second off the pace, with Alpine's Pierre Gasly an impressive seventh.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Chinese Grand Prix.
Full Chinese GP sprint qualifying results:
1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 1:31:520
2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.289*
3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.621
4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.641
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.704
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +1.008
7. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1.368*
8. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +1.734
9. Ollie Bearman (Haas) +1.889
10. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +2.203
Out in Q2
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) - 1:33:635
12. Esteban Ocon (Haas) - 1:33:639
13. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 1:33:714
14. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) - 1:33:774
15. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) - 1:34:048
16. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) - 1:34:327
Out in Q1
17. Carlos Sainz (Williams) - 1:34:761
18. Alex Albon (Williams) - 1:35.305
19. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 1:35.581
20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - 1:36.151
21. Valtteri Bottas (Cadilac) - 1:37.378
22. Sergio Perez (Cadillac) - DNS
*Antonelli and Gasly are under investigation for potential impeding in sprint qualifying
When is the Chinese Grand Prix?
All times GMT
Saturday 14 March
- Sprint race: 3am
- Qualifying: 7am
Sunday 15 March
- Race: 7am
How can I watch it online and on TV?
The Chinese Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom. Sky’s coverage of Sunday’s race starts at 5:30am (GMT).
Sky Sports subscribers can watch all the action in Shanghai on the Sky Go app. If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
In the United States, every practice, qualifying and race session will be streamed on Apple TV this year. You can stream Apple TV for FREE, with Apple TV’s seven-day free trial.
If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch the Chinese Grand Prix then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help.
Driver standings ahead of Chinese GP
1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 25 points
2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 18 points
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 15 points
4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 12 points
5. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 10 points
6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 8 points
7. Ollie Bearman (Haas) - 6 points
8. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) - 4 points
9. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) - 2 points
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 1 point
11. Esteban Ocon (Haas) - 0 points
12. Alex Albon (Williams) - 0 points
13. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 0 points
14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) - 0 points
15. Carlos Sainz (Williams) - 0 points
16. Sergio Perez (Cadillac) - 0 points
17. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - 0 points
18. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 0 points
19. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) - 0 points
20. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 0 points
21. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) - 0 points
Constructor standings ahead of Chinese GP
1. Mercedes - 43 points
2. Ferrari - 27 points
3. McLaren - 10 points
4. Red Bull - 8 points
5. Haas - 6 points
6. Racing Bulls - 4 points
7. Audi - 2 points
8. Alpine - 1 point
9. Williams - 0 points
10. Cadillac - 0 points
11. Aston Martin - 0 points
What is the 2026 race calendar?
ROUND 2 - CHINA (sprint weekend)
Shanghai International Circuit, 13-15 March
ROUND 3 - JAPAN
Suzuka International Racing Course - 27-29 March
ROUND 4 - BAHRAIN
Bahrain International Circuit - 10-12 April
ROUND 5 - SAUDI ARABIA
Jeddah Corniche Circuit - 17-19 April
ROUND 6 - MIAMI (sprint weekend)
Miami International Autodrome, Hard Rock Stadium - 1-3 May
ROUND 7 - CANADA (sprint weekend)
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal - 22-24 May
ROUND 8 - MONACO
Circuit de Monaco - 5-7 June
ROUND 9 - SPAIN (Barcelona)
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - 12-14 June
ROUND 10 - AUSTRIA
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - 26-28 June
ROUND 11 - GREAT BRITAIN (sprint weekend)
Silverstone Circuit - 3-5 July
ROUND 12 - BELGIUM
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 17-19 July
ROUND 13 - HUNGARY
Hungaroring, Budapest - 24-26 July
ROUND 14 - NETHERLANDS (sprint weekend)
Circuit Zandvoort - 21-23 August
ROUND 15 - ITALY
Monza Circuit - 4-6 September
ROUND 16 - SPAIN (Madrid)
Circuito de Madring - 11-13 September
ROUND 17 - AZERBAIJAN
Baku City Circuit - 25-27 September
ROUND 18 - SINGAPORE (sprint weekend)
Marina Bay Street Circuit - 9-11 October
ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES
Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 23-25 October
ROUND 20 - MEXICO
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City - 30 October-1 November
ROUND 21 - BRAZIL
Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 6-8 November
ROUND 22 - LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas Street Circuit - 19-21 November
ROUND 23 - QATAR
Lusail International Circuit - 27-29 November
ROUND 24 - ABU DHABI
Yas Marina Circuit - 4-6 December
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