George Russell takes Chinese Grand Prix Sprint pole as Max Verstappen and Red Bull struggle

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George Russell has taken the first Sprint race pole position for the 2026 season ahead of his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli, in another display of dominance for the Brackley-based squad.

Ahead of the qualifying session, Cadillac confirmed that Sergio Pérez would not take part after his car developed a fuel system issue that could not be repaired in time.

Following complaints from both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc about the instability of the so-called ‘Macarena wing’, Ferrari opted to switch back to a more conventional rear wing design for Sprint Qualifying.

Early laps in SQ1 saw George Russell set the pace ahead of both Ferraris, while Red Bull found themselves under pressure to deliver after a difficult practice session earlier in the day.

Max Verstappen, who finished the first part of qualifying in P11, asked his engineers to check the drivability of the RB22, describing the car as “horrendous”.

There were unsurprising SQ1 exits for both Cadillac drivers and the Aston Martin duo, while Williams impressed at the top of the timesheets with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.

George Russell sets the pace in FP1 at the Chinese Grand Prix

Lando Norris was 0.555s adrift in P3. Can anyone get close to Mercedes?

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Early flying laps in SQ2 saw George Russell once again top the timing sheets, finishing three tenths clear of his teammate Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc.

Lando Norris appeared to be starting a push lap with just minutes remaining, but felt he had been blocked by Antonelli at Turn 1. Commentator David Coulthard likened the incident to a football match, suggesting Norris may have exaggerated the moment in hopes of gaining a penalty.

Opinion remained divided over whether Norris was actually on a push lap, though it appeared there may have been a communication error at Mercedes. The incident has been noted by the stewards and could yet result in a penalty.

Verstappen lost the rear at the final corner on his last flying lap, sending him through the gravel trap. Despite the moment, both Red Bulls narrowly scraped through into the final part of qualifying by less than a tenth of a second.

Both Mercedes drivers were first out of the garages for the start of SQ3 to get in early flying laps, with Russell pipping Antonelli to provisional pole.

Early flying laps saw Hamilton six tenths of a second behind the Mercedes cars, with Leclerc and Verstappen finding themselves over a second behind. The Dutchman found himself 1.734 seconds behind the leading Russell, which suggested Verstappen had made a mistake during his run.

Mercedes secured another front-row lockout after doing the same at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend. The pair were followed by Norris who will be joined on the second-row by Hamilton.