Formula One Gradebook: Chinese Grand Prix
- Maham Mir
- Mar 21
- 15 min read
The second round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship took place in Shanghai, China and the sport celebrated its 116th different race winner as Kimi Antonelli took his maiden Grand Prix win.
The battle between Mercedes and Ferrari continues to define the fortunes of the front-runners whilst the fight for best of the rest seems to be coming down to Haas and Alpine. Elsewhere on the grid, it was a weekend to forget for McLaren and Red Bull as both former championship winning teams struggled to find their footing in the new regulatory era.
Here’s how all 22 drivers performed on race day:
Mercedes
George Russell - A
Russell looked set to pick up right where he left off in Melbourne after taking a dominating sprint pole position ahead of his teammate who joined him on the front row. After a tense battle with Lewis Hamilton, his former teammate at Mercedes, Russell crossed the line ahead of the rest to take a commanding sprint win.
However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for the British driver after a front wing issue in Q2 and a power related issue in Q3 left him unable to deliver a lap time to beat Antonelli.
Although he initially got away well in the race, he was forced to battle with both Ferraris which potentially cost him the chance at a race win as Antonelli carefully built his lead out in front.
Russell still leads the World Driver’s Championship by four points and has contributed to Mercedes’ healthy advantage of 31 points in the World Constructors Championship. He will be hoping for a return to the top step of the podium next time out in Suzuka.
Kimi Antonelli - A+
There’s no doubt who the lead Mercedes was in Shanghai this time around with Kimi Antonelli consistently keeping his teammate honest across all the competitive sessions. Ending a 20 year drought, Antonelli became the first Italian driver to win an F1 Grand Prix since Giancarlo Fischicella’s win at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Although he struggled in the sprint race and was only able to finish P5 despite starting P2 after a 10 second time penalty, Antonelli’s performance was nothing short of exemplary from qualifying onwards.
Ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix, the young Italian driver became the youngest ever pole sitter for a Grand Prix in F1 history. This record comes the season after he became the youngest ever pole sitter in the sprint format in the Miami sprint in his rookie season.
Despite struggling with his race starts in Melbourne and the sprint, Antonelli was able to hold it together for the opening lap of the Chinese Grand Prix even if it was Lewis Hamilton who led the first lap.
After an excellently timed safety car where Antonelli was able to pit and emerge as the race leader, there was nothing stopping him from taking the chequered flag even if an ill-timed lock up saw his lead from his teammate reduce three laps from the end.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc - A
This has proven to be somewhat of a difficult track for Charles Leclerc with less than ideal results for him in Shanghai in the past. All things considered, the runner’s up position in the sprint and a respectable P4 allowed Leclerc to walk away with a healthy haul of points.
With the margins incredibly close to Russell in front during the Sprint as Leclerc crossed the line only six-tenths down on the Silver Arrows car ahead, it was all to play for in Sunday’s race. Ferrari’s second row lockout, in which Leclerc was the second car, gave the Monegasque driver every opportunity to challenge the Mercedes in front, which he briefly did before the pace advantage on Antonelli’s Mercedes meant he pulled away in front.
While both Ferraris were hoping to challenge the Mercedes for the lead of the race, it was their inter-teammate battle which kept fans entertained. That close battle did end up with Leclerc finishing behind Hamilton on this occasion, a reversal of the result in Melbourne last time out.
Lewis Hamilton - A+
Outside of the race winner, it’s safe to say that perhaps no other driver enjoyed the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix weekend as much as Lewis Hamilton. The seven time former world champion ended a podium drought that began after the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix as he finally returned to the top three at a circuit that he holds many records at.
Although he ended the sprint as the Ferrari further down the timesheets in P3, Hamilton made up for the gap in qualifying as he was the only Ferrari in the top three on that occasion.
After lights out on Sunday, Hamilton briefly took the lead of the race on Lap 1 however had to yield to Antonelli’s faster moving Mercedes behind. Once the teenager got past Hamilton and the remaining Mercedes of Russell also got past, the fight was on between the two Prancing Horses.
It’s safe to say that there was nothing left in their fight in Shanghai and the close margins between the two championship hopefuls will be expected to continue throughout the rest of the season.
McLaren
Lando Norris - DNS
The reigning world champion had a weekend of two halves after a successful Saturday saw him line up P3 for the sprint and ultimately finish P5 for yet another decent haul of points. However, any learning that may have been done after Saturday’s 19 lap dash to the chequered flag was never seen on track after Sunday’s disappointment.
Only reported an hour before lights out, Norris’ car revealed an electrical issue which saw him unable to start the race. This recorded the British driver’s career first DNS and the lack of points scored has seen him drop down to P6 in the World Drivers’ Championship.
Oscar Piastri - DNS
On the other side of the McLaren garage, things were looking equally as positive on Saturday as Piastri finished the sprint in P6 and was set to start the race as the lead McLaren in P5. However, like with Norris, Piastri’s car was also pulled from the race due to a separate electrical issue.
The Australian driver is yet to complete a racing lap in 2026 having crashed on the reconnaissance lap in Melbourne and now be forced to the sidelines due to an electrical issue in Shanghai. This unfortunate record makes Piastri the first McLaren driver since Bruce McLaren in 1969 to record back to back DNS results.
Even more unfortunate for the Woking based team is the fact that their double DNS from the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix weekend is the second time in their history to have recorded this result; the first was in 2005 in Indianapolis.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen - DNF
On the 11th anniversary of his F1 debut at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, Verstappen was forced to accept a DNF as he did on the day he joined the grid for the first time. A difficult weekend for the Red Bull team saw them fail to score points in the sprint, for the first time since the format was introduced in 2021.
Race starts seem to be an issue for the new Red Bull power unit as Verstappen lost places in Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s race as soon as the lights went out. Verstappen finished only P10 in the sprint and therefore out of the points. In qualifying, he was not able to set a lap time quick enough to start ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
Although the four time former world champion was caught out as he pitted a lap before the safety car was brought out therefore losing track position with no advantage, he was still able to make it back into the points. However, his successful drive through the pack was brought to a premature end as he was forced back to the garage with an ERS issue.
Isack Hadjar - B
The second Red Bull seat did not enjoy a much easier time in Shanghai with Hadjar the victim of a first lap incident with Antonelli in the Sprint. Red Bull’s gamble on starting Hadjar with soft tyres in the sprint did not pay dividends in the way they would have hoped, and he scored no points, having completed a pit-stop under the safety car.
Whilst he made it into Q3 by the barest of margins, an unfortunate lock-up on the first lap of the race meant that Hadjar’s pit stop strategy was entirely out of sync with the rest of the field. A focused drive back up the pack meant that the French driver was able to score his first points for Red Bull however the team has now dropped behind Haas in the WCC.
Haas
Oliver Bearman - A+
Outside of the top three podium finishers, there can be no doubt that Oliver Bearman was the best driver on the grid in Sunday’s race. A second only to his career best finish of P4 in the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix, Bearman demonstrated racecraft and consistency that almost made everyone forget that he’s only in his sophomore season in F1.
An alternative tyre strategy in the sprint meant that Bearman was able to make it home in the final points scoring position of P8, holding off cars behind who were on much fresher tyres.
Having qualified in P10 for the main race, he was in the middle of the action particularly with his battles with his teammate and both of the Alpine drivers. In the end, Bearman was able to finish best of the rest in P5 which marked a jump up from his P7 finish in Melbourne.
The two main highlights for Bearman after this weekend has to be the fact that not only has he been in the points for every competitive session so far in 2026 but also that he is clearly outdriving his more experienced teammate.
Whilst it is looking more and more like the battle for the best of the rest will come down to Haas versus Alpine, there can be no doubt that for the moment, there’s a clear driver who is leading the American outfit forward.
Esteban Ocon - C
If Bearman enjoyed success this weekend, Esteban Ocon’s weekend was filled with nothing but close calls and frustration as the French driver was unable to score points across both competitive sessions.
Starting the sprint in P12, he was only able to make his way up to P10 at the end of the 19 laps. During the sprint, Ocon had a very close call with Williams’ Carlos Sainz when the pair almost came together while under safety car conditions.
In qualifying, Ocon’s frustrations continued as his final timed lap in Q2 was deleted after double yellow flags were waved due to Lindblad’s incident and so he had to settle for P13.
An alternative strategy for the race meant that Ocon was, at one point, running in the top three however when he stopped, he fell down through the order.
Similar to his sprint, he attempted to make his way back up through the field however a collision with Colapinto resulted in a 10 second time penalty. The collision and its subsequent damages meant that Ocon had to come back into the pits and so a points finish remained out of reach.
Racing Bulls
Arvid Lindblad - B-
It was an incredibly unfortunate weekend for 2026’s only rookie as he arrived at a track that he hadn’t previously visited and wasn’t quite ever able to get into a good rhythm. An issue in the sole hour of practice on Friday left him on the backfoot as he had only completed six laps.
In the sprint, Lindblad was again recalled to the garage and so was unable to collect crucial data required for the race. In qualifying, he was unable to repeat the heroics of his debut race weekend and an off-track excursion which brought out the yellow flags meant that he could do no better than P15.
Race day brought another opportunity to move up the field in a Racing Bulls car that seems to be a decent package on the right circuit. However, another alternative strategy meant that when Lindblad did pit he was no longer able to compete for points.
Liam Lawson - B+
The fortunes of both drivers for Racing Bulls seems to have swapped as Liam Lawson enjoyed a more successful weekend this time out in Shanghai. Scoring points in both the sprint and the main race as well, Lawson was finally able to get the upper-hand on his rookie teammate.
Coming in to swap tyres at the same time as Verstappen, a lap before the safety car, Lawson almost lost out however his pace meant that he was able to make quick work in getting back into the top 10. After a few battles with drivers across the midfield, Lawson was able to bring the car home in P7, where he also finished in the sprint.
Although the race pace was good for Lawson, he was forced to contend with a few hiccups in qualifying. On his final timed lap in Q2, Lindblad’s swerve off-track meant that Lawson’s final timed lap was deleted and he had to settle for not progressing into Q3.
Audi
Gabriel Bortoleto - DNS
While Audi got off to a blistering start in F1 with Bortoleto last time in Melbourne having scored points on debut, their success didn’t follow them to Shanghai. Saturday’s sprint saw Bortoleto unable to fight the midfield drivers in the same way as he did in Australia and an untimely spin in Q2 meant that the Brazilian could not progress any further than P16.
Ahead of the race, it was Bortoleto’s turn to experience reliability issues as his Audi failed to even take to the starting grid. Although unfortunate, these issues aren’t surprising and instead are characteristic of the beginning stages of a regulation change especially when using a new power unit as well.
Nico Hülkenberg - C
After an unfortunate DNF in the sprint due to a technical failure, missing out on Q3 by only 0.002s was an even worse way to end an already difficult day for the German driver. As the only Audi to start the race in Shanghai, Hülkenberg had the dual role of trying to score points if possible and to maximise data collection.
While he was unable to make way on the former, finishing his first race of the season meant that the German driver was able to convey a decent amount of data back to the pitwall and also add some much needed mileage onto his car.
The gap to Colapinto, the car ahead of Hülkenberg at the end of the race, was big enough that he couldn’t challenge for the final points position, however the new team will at least find satisfaction in making it to the end of the race.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly - A
There can simply be no doubt that this was one of Gasly and the team’s best weekends since the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix where they recorded a double podium finish.
Although the sprint wasn’t the most successful for the French driver, he was able to dial in during qualifying and the main race. In qualifying, he was able to put his Mercedes powered Alpine ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull.
With both Alpine cars trying something new behind the safety car, opting to prioritise track position over changing tyres, they were able to momentarily gain positions. Once Gasly did come back into the pits, he was forced to fight his way through the pack and eventually finished P6 as a reward for his clever racing.
Franco Colapinto - A
Like Gasly, Colapinto’s weekend only got off to a good start after the sprint had concluded - although he couldn’t follow his teammate into Q3, having missed out on the final part of qualifying by 0.005s. Lining up in P12, Colapinto was right there in the mix and at one point second only to Antonelli in front after staying out behind the safety car.
Eventually those on fresher tyres behind him were able to make it past and Colapinto came into the pits himself to put on a fresh set of tyres. However, when emerging from the pitlane, he was hit by Ocon which cost the Argentine time but this didn’t stop him from a late charge back into the top 10.
Scoring points for the first time since the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Colapinto finally opened his points tally with his new team having joined them after replacing Jack Doohan in the early part of last season.
Williams
Carlos Sainz - A-
Opting to start the sprint on the preferred hard tyre, Sainz was able to make good progress however was unable to translate that progress into a valuable finish. Struggling with the lack of performance in the car, the Spaniard could only manage P12, keeping him ahead of his teammate but too far back to make a true difference to his fortunes.
Starting P17, Sainz was one of the drivers who pitted just before the safety car came out. Despite the less than ideally timed pit stop, the Spaniard was able to manoeuvre himself into the points and defend against Colapinto’s faster Alpine behind to score Williams’ first points of the season.
Alex Albon - DNS
A pitlane start for the sprint meant that Albon was already on the back foot and unable to do anything except try to fight his way through the field, albeit for a pointless finish. In qualifying, like with Sainz, Albon didn’t have the car required to make it out of Q1 and therefore was set to start from P18.
Announced as starting the race from the pit-lane after changes were made to the car post qualifying, it was later updated that a hydraulic issue would keep Albon from competing in the race altogether. Challenges seem to arise faster than solutions can be found over at Williams with the team failing to have both cars compete in a race since the start of the season.
Cadillac
Sergio Pérez - C+
Pérez’s sprint was determined by the late penalty given due to a safety car infringement and although he wasn’t challenging for points at any stage, it hampered any potential progress that could have been made. Nevertheless, the Mexican driver acknowledged that the 19 lap dash to the chequered flag was an excellent opportunity to “gain more information”.
Starting in P22 for the Grand Prix, the final grid spot, Pérez’s race was determined by the opening lap contact with Bottas and then with deployment issues which stopped him from progressing further.
Finishing P15, Pérez was clear in his post-race interviews that the team “should be proud of what we’ve achieved over these two race weekends, and I’m looking forward to building on this at the next race in Japan.”
Valtteri Bottas - C+
Cadillac’s woes continued into Shanghai as Bottas’ sprint was brought to a premature end after he was forced to retire the car in the final stages of the sprint. Bottas ended qualifying as the faster Cadillac in P20, a reversal of the situation where it was his teammate ahead in Melbourne.
Starting close to his teammate, both Cadillac drivers would have been disappointed with the first lap contact they had with each other which was determined to be a racing incident by the stewards.
Whilst the Aston Martins were in the race, they seemed to be the main team that Cadillac were up against and brought the car back in P13 with little more left to challenge anyone else ahead.
After a relatively uneventful weekend, there can be no doubt that the Finnish driver was most likely to have been happy just to see the end of the race, more than he was able to say in the season opener.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso - DNF
There can be no doubt that as it currently stands, Fernando Alonso is outperforming the Aston Martin that he has been given in 2026. Having run in the points on at least one occasion in both Melbourne and Shanghai, the Spaniard is proving that he still has the ability to compete even if his machinery is not quite up to scratch.
Finishing the sprint in P17 and failing to progress past Q1, there were no obvious issues with the car however it’s clear for anyone to see that there is little to none of the performance needed in that car as it currently stands.
Alonso made an excellent start on the hard compound tyres, getting up to P10 at one stage, however the lack of pace meant that he couldn’t fight to keep a hold of that position.
Most concerningly of all, Alonso was forced to retire from the race on Lap 34, not due to any technical issues but because the vibrations were causing physical difficulty and discomfort to the two-time former world champion.
As it currently stands, Aston Martin are yet to complete a race so far in 2026 with either power unit or other technical issues hindering their ability to compete at the highest level.
Lance Stroll - DNF
In a similar position to Alonso, Stroll also struggled during the sprint and qualifying on Saturday as well. The results of both sessions painted a bleak picture for where Aston Martin currently stands when compared to the other 10 teams on the grid as Stroll finished the sprint in P18 and qualified P21.
To very little surprise, Stroll was forced to retire from the race on Lap 10 after a suspected battery issue meant that he was able to go no further with his Honda power unit. Like with Alonso, the emphasis was placed on the team’s ability to collect data through any running and hopefully implement it to good use moving into the rest of the season.
Looking Ahead
With the season opening double header now complete, drivers and teams will have an opportunity to reset and understand all the data collected from the first two races in 2026. After a short break, F1 will return at one of the paddock’s all-time favourite tracks, Suzuka.
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