2026 Chinese GP: Sprint Qualifying report

Mercedes 1-2

That’s all for the report of the Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying, thank you for being with us. Enjoy the rest of your day with FormulaPassion.it, we leave you with the starting grid for the Sprint which will start tomorrow at dawn at 04:00 Italian time.

Read more 2026 Chinese GP, the Sprint starting grid: Mercedes dominates again, Russell on pole. Antonelli 2nd at risk of penalty, then Norris and Hamilton. Leclerc 6th

09.22 – Hamilton, on the other hand, is stunned by the gap to Russell as he knows he did a good lap. Over the radio, Carlo Santi told him that the difference is mainly due to straight-line performance.

09.20 – Verstappen was blunt towards Red Bull: “We have never had such an undriveable car.”

09.18 – Leclerc said over the radio that he couldn’t explain how he lost so much in the third sector; in the first two sectors, he was on the pace of Norris and Hamilton.

09.16 – The situation at the end of SQ3.

Checkered flag

09.15 – Third time for Norris, fifth for Piastri.

09.14 – Leclerc remains fourth, four tenths behind Hamilton.

09.13 – Antonelli shaves something off his time and moves to within 289 thousandths of Russell.

09.12 – The Mercedes cars go again; in the first sector, they are close to their previous times.

09.11 – The McLarens are coming out of the pits now.

09.10 – Russell stops the clock at 1’31″520, Antonelli is second by three tenths, Hamilton third by six tenths. Leclerc is fourth at 1″2. Verstappen fifth at 1″7.

09.09 – 23″9 in T1 for both Mercedes.

09.08 – Charles Leclerc starts his flying lap.

09.06 – Green light at the end of the pit lane, SQ3 begins.

09.04 – We will see if the possibility of using soft tires will shuffle the deck in SQ3.

09.03 – Just a few thousandths between Verstappen and Hadjar; the two Red Bulls entered SQ3 with the last two available spots, behind Gasly and Bearman as well.

09.02 – The situation at the end of SQ2.

09.01 – Eliminated: Hulkenberg, Ocon, Lawson, Bortoleto, Lindblad, and Colapinto.

09.00 – Checkered flag

08.59 – Good lap by Antonelli, who is second, 50 thousandths behind Russell.

08.58 – Hamilton moves into fourth position, eight tenths behind Russell.

08.57 – Currently eliminated: Ocon, Bortoleto, Lawson, Bearman, Lindblad, and Colapinto.

08.56 – Clear impeding by Antonelli on Norris at Turn 1.

08.55 – Russell confirms he is the driver to beat, 1’32″241. Antonelli is 329 thousandths back, Leclerc 361.

08.54 – 1’32″602 for Leclerc, a second faster than Verstappen. Hamilton is second by six tenths.

08.53 – 1’33″571 is currently Gasly’s best time.

08.52 – Two warm-up laps for the drivers.

08.51 – Timed laps begin.

08.50 – The Mercedes cars remain in the pits for now.

08.49 – With 10 minutes available, there is obviously already heavy traffic on track.

08.48 – Green light at the end of the pit lane, SQ2 begins.

08.46 – SQ2 will be much tighter to get into the top 10; it’s not certain that the Red Bulls will make the top 10.

08.45 – Very good for Ferrari so far, close to George Russell’s Mercedes. Verstappen asked to check the driveability upon returning to the pits after calling it “horrible”.

08.44 – This is the situation at the end of SQ1.

08.43 – Eliminated: Sainz, Albon, Stroll, Alonso, Bottas, and Perez. Thus, Williams, Aston Martin, and Cadillac are out as a block.

Read more Hamilton via radio: “Crazy to be 6 tenths off Russell”, Santi: “Gap due to the engine”

08.42 – Checkered flag

08.41 – Ocon moves up to eighth position ahead of Verstappen.

08.40 – Error at the last corner for Bortoleto.

08.39 – Currently eliminated: Albon, Colapinto, Stroll, Alonso, Bottas, and Perez.

08.38 – Hamilton is second, 118 thousandths behind Russell; Verstappen is eighth and complains that the gear shifts are terrible.

08.37 – Russell takes the lead in 1’33″030, four tenths faster than Antonelli.

08.36 – Hulkenberg has moved into second position, 267 thousandths behind Hamilton.

08.35 – Lewis Hamilton takes the lead in 1’33″730, half a second faster than Leclerc, who is second.

08.34 – Isack Hadjar stopped the clock at 1’34″447, Verstappen is second.

08.32 – Remember that drivers are required to use the medium compound in SQ1 and SQ2. In SQ3, softs can be used.

08.31 – There is already the first elimination: Sergio Perez will not participate in this SQ1 due to a fuel system problem found in Free Practice.

08.30 – Green light at the end of the pit lane, SQ1 begins.

08.25 – SQ1 will last 12 minutes; the last six drivers will be eliminated.

08.20 – Air temperature 16°C, track temperature 30°C.

08.15 – The use of the ‘Macarena’ wing ‘only’ in free practice, according to reports from the Ferrari garage, was planned to collect data for future weekends.

08.10 – Images of the Macarena wing in action during the free practice session.

08.00 – Our correspondent Carlo Platella reports that inside the Ferrari garage, the rear wings have been replaced on Leclerc’s and Hamilton’s cars, which will not use the Macarena wing in this Sprint Qualifying.

Good morning dear readers of FormulaPassion.it and welcome back to our live text coverage of the Sprint Qualifying for the 2026 Chinese GP.

In the only Free Practice session, the Mercedes cars were half a second faster than the reigning world champion Lando Norris. George Russell was the fastest in 1’32″741, Andrea Kimi Antonelli is not far from his teammate.

Fifth and sixth place for the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. The SF-26s took to the track equipped with the ‘Macarena’ rear wing.

Read more Verstappen resigned: “Undriveable car”. And Mekies apologizes over the radio.