2026 Chinese GP FP1: Russell leads Mercedes one-two IN SOLE PRACTICE

George Russell picked up exactly where he left off after his season-opening victory in Australia, topping the timesheets during the only practice session of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend and leading a Mercedes one-two ahead of rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli. The pair set the early benchmark at the Shanghai International Circuit, with McLaren’s Lando Norris completing the top three as teams began navigating the second round of the 2026 F1 World Championship.

With China hosting the first Sprint weekend of the season, the field had just a single hour of track time to prepare before competitive running begins later on Friday. When the green light appeared at the end of pitlane, teams wasted no time sending cars onto the circuit, forming a queue at the pit-lane exit as drivers rushed to log valuable laps and gather data.

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The opening phase of the session quickly delivered drama. Franco Colapinto spun his Alpine at Turn 9, bringing early attention to the tricky nature of the Shanghai layout. Shortly afterwards, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton briefly went wheel-to-wheel, the McLaren attempting a move that resulted in light contact between the two. Race control noted the incident but ultimately deemed that no further investigation was necessary. Hamilton then had a moment of his own moments later, spinning off the track at Turn 6.

2026 Chinese Grand Prix FP1 Results

2026 Chinese Grand Prix FP1, 13 March 2026

A short Virtual Safety Car period followed to allow marshals to clear debris, before running resumed — though traffic quickly became a talking point around the 5.451km circuit. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar voiced his frustration over team radio, describing the congestion as “unbearable” as drivers fought for clean laps during the tightly packed session.

Further disruption arrived soon afterwards when Arvid Lindblad pulled his Racing Bulls machine off the circuit at Turn 14, triggering yellow flags and another Virtual Safety Car phase. The stoppage proved costly for the British rookie, whose session effectively ended early during his first Sprint weekend in Formula 1, with around 40 minutes remaining once the track returned to green conditions.

As the session approached its halfway point, Russell sat comfortably at the top of the timing screens thanks to a 1:34.169, holding a slender margin of just over two-tenths ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Antonelli occupying third. One driver notably missing from the early running was Carlos Sainz, who spent much of the opening half in the garage after completing only a single lap.

With the clock ticking down into the second half of the hour, teams began switching to the soft tyre compound to chase performance laps. Lewis Hamilton was among the early runners to do so, climbing into third behind his Mercedes team-mate. At Williams, Sainz eventually returned to the circuit with roughly 20 minutes remaining, the team appearing to have resolved a suspected data issue.

Racing Bulls later confirmed that Lindblad would not return to the track, leaving the young driver without further running. Meanwhile, Russell continued to lead the field as the session moved toward its closing stages, followed by Hamilton and Leclerc, while Oscar Piastri had placed his McLaren in fourth. Notably, much of the field had still completed their laps using medium tyres, suggesting the fastest times were still to come.

The session’s closing quarter saw a flurry of improvements as more drivers bolted on the soft compound. Russell immediately responded with a quicker 1:32.807, while Antonelli jumped to second place behind his team-mate. Both McLarens also began moving up the order, with Piastri and Norris climbing into the top five — though still several tenths shy of the Mercedes benchmark.

There was one final interruption when Colapinto briefly stopped in the pit lane, bringing out the yellow flags as Alpine mechanics rushed to assist before the Argentine was able to continue.

In the final minutes, Russell lowered the benchmark once again to 1:32.741, securing top spot when the chequered flag fell. Antonelli completed the Mercedes one-two just 0.120 seconds behind, while Norris jumped up the order late on to claim third place, ahead of Piastri, Leclerc and Hamilton.

Further down the order, Haas rookie Ollie Bearman impressed with seventh place, finishing ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. Liam Lawson placed 11th for Racing Bulls, followed by Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, Hadjar, Haas driver Esteban Ocon and Colapinto.

Williams endured a difficult hour as Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz ended the session 16th and 17th, respectively, after limited running. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished 18th and 20th, with Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas between them. Lindblad was classified 21st following his early stoppage, while fellow Cadillac driver Sergio Perez completed the order.