Motorsport TechnologyGeorge Russell made it two wins from two F1 race starts in 2026 by winning the Chinese GP Sprint race before his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli took pole for the feature race.
Just as at the start of the Australian Grand Prix, the racing was frenetic from the outset, Russell and Lewis Hamilton trading several overtakes for lead before the race settled into a rhythm.
When Russell did eventually find himself with more of a gap, the superiority of the Mercedes machine was again evident, and he was able to stretch away and win from the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Hamilton.
Defending champion Lando Norris came home in fourth ahead of Antonelli, who served a ten second penalty for his part in a collision with Isack Hadjar.
Oscar Piastri, Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman rounded out the points scorers.
Later in the day it was Antonelli’s turn to make amends, becoming the youngest pole sitter for a main race at 19 years of age.
Russell lines up second after the team rushed to fix a gearbox issue and get him out for a flying lap just in time.
The Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc start the main race fourth and fifth respectively from the McLarens of Piastri and Norris.
Pierre Gasly is an encouraging sixth for Alpine ahead of the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Hadjar with Bearman tenth.
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Craig Scarborough