Russell storms to victory in Chinese Sprint Race

Written by Maham Mir

After 19 action-packed laps, it was George Russell who emerged victorious ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in P2 and Lewis Hamilton in P3. 

Russell takes his second career sprint victory | Credit: Formula One

Formula One kicked off the second day of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend with the first sprint race of the 2026 season. Throughout the season, there are six sprint race weekends planned with new and old venues returning to host the alternative format.

Mercedes had a front-row lock out, their first in the sprint format since Monza 2024 whilst Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and McLaren’s Lando Norris occupied the second row. After a difficult sprint qualifying, Alex Albon opted for a pit-lane start. 

With a phenomenal start, Hamilton was able to make up places and battled with former teammate Russell for the lead in the opening laps. Meanwhile, further down the grid, Antonelli and Hajdar made contact after a difficult start for the Italian driver saw him drop down seven places.

Arvid Lindblad, after running for only six laps ahead of yesterday’s sprint qualifying session, was spun around in the opening lap and sustained damage which he carried for the rest of the sprint. In the senior Red Bull team, Max Verstappen also had a difficult start as he dropped out of the points and into P14 by the end of Lap 2.

Behind the action of Russell and Hamilton swapping the lead four times in the first five laps, the McLaren pair of Norris and Oscar Piastri were running their own race as they lacked the pace of the front-runners. The Papaya pair were clear of Ollie Bearman’s Haas in P7.

Antonelli, who was steadily making his way back up the field, was then given a 10 second time penalty for his contact with Hadjar in the opening lap. 

Meanwhile, Antonelli's teammate Russell took the lead from Hamilton and was able to steadily build his lead out front as the inter-teammate battle for position on track continued. Leclerc was able to get past Hamilton as Antonelli continued to gain behind. 

Hamilton and Leclerc battling on track | Credit: Formula One

Due to the contact sustained in the opening lap, Lindblad was called into the pits to retire the car. Following closely after, Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas was also called in to retire his car after a sudden loss of power. The Finnish driver is yet to finish a competitive session with his new team.

On track, Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg also came to a stop which brought out the Safety Car. Although not required for a sprint race, many of the drivers on the grid, who were running the medium tyres, came into the pitlane for a cheaper pit-stop. 

All four Mercedes and Ferrari drivers came into the pitlane with the teams intending to double-stack. Mercedes were able to release Russell back into the lead whilst the Prancing Horses struggled with their double-stack as, after staying stationary for too long, Hamilton was released but behind Norris. 

For the final few laps remaining in the sprint once the safety car was called in, Russell was able to regain his lead at the front with Hamilton able to get past Norris and back into the top three. The remaining Cadillac in the race, Sergio Pérez, was noted and penalised with a five second time penalty for a safety car infringement.

Continuing from just before the safety car was called, Piastri was advised to give a position back to Antonelli after he was noted for a potential safety car infringement with the Australian finishing P6 and Antonelli in P5. Further down the field, Liam Lawson finished P7 after an impressive drive and Bearman in the final points position.

Looking Ahead

All 22 cars will return to the grid for qualifying for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix. With Russell having led every session since his victory in Melbourne last weekend and the Mercedes proving to be a formidable race car, it will be all to do for Leclerc and Hamilton.