Race report
Formula 1 Chinese GP
F1 Chinese GP: George Russell outduels Ferrari drivers on way to sprint win
George Russell survived an early attack from Lewis Hamilton to win the Shanghai sprint
Jake Boxall-Legge
Edited: Mar 14, 2026, 4:54 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Jade Gao - Getty Images
George Russell claimed victory in an eventful Formula 1 sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, despite losing the lead to Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap.
As seen in Melbourne, Russell found himself under immediate fire from a fast-starting Ferrari in the opening array of corners; this time, it was Hamilton rather than Charles Leclerc who played the role of aggressor at the start of the lap.
Hamilton duly made his move down the inside of Russell at Turn 9 to pick up the lead, with the hope of converting it into a second consecutive China sprint win. However, Russell put some of his battery charge into retaliating at Turn 14, coming up for air with the lead but ultimately without the tools to defend into Turn 1.
As a result, Hamilton was able to repass his former team-mate; Russell's next attempt was effectively a carbon copy of that on the previous lap, one that the Ferrari driver could again leverage into a return to the lead.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Russell eventually made the Turn 14 move work at the end of the fifth lap, and managed to hold it into the first corner of the following lap. Hamilton soon started to lose ground as his tyres were graining, his front left looking particularly fierce, which allowed Leclerc to pick up second place.
Just as it seemed that the action had dwindled, a safety car emerged at the end of lap 13 as Nico Hulkenberg pulled up at Turn 1; the top six all elected to pit, giving Leclerc an opportunity to offer Russell a late challenge. Yet, the Monegasque had a slide out of Turn 14 on the restart, all but converting Russell's lead into victory.
Read Also:
Formula 1Peace in our time: Why Mercedes is playing down rift with F1 engine customers
Formula 1Why Ferrari ditched its ‘Macarena’ rear wing after FP1 at F1 Chinese GP
Leclerc claimed second, while Hamilton got over the time and position loss to Lando Norris – accrued in double-stacking behind Leclerc in the pits – to finish third ahead of the McLaren driver.
Kimi Antonelli was fifth, despite enduring a poor start in which he slipped from the front row to eighth. Subsequent contact with Isack Hadjar's Red Bull on the opening lap sent a 10-second penalty Antonelli's way, one that the Italian served in the pits after making his way back past the Ferrari pair.
Although Antonelli had been passed by Oscar Piastri on the restart, the Australian appeared to have made the move before the start-finish line and was asked to move aside for the Mercedes driver.
Piastri finished sixth as a result, as Liam Lawson made the hard tyre work to claim seventh ahead of Oliver Bearman. Neither Lawson nor Bearman pitted, which offered track position but left them vulnerable late on to a hard-charging Max Verstappen – who missed out on points.
Verstappen dropped to the back of the field after a very sluggish getaway, but recovered to sit on the cusp of the top eight after dicing past Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly in the final stages of the race.
Chinese Grand Prix - Sprint results
SPRINT
All Stats
Cla Driver # Laps Time Interval km/h Pits Points Retirement Chassis Engine 1 G. Russell Mercedes 63
19
-
1 8 Mercedes Mercedes 2 C. Leclerc Ferrari 16
19
+0.674
0.674
0.674 1 7 Ferrari Ferrari 3 L. Hamilton Ferrari 44
19
+2.554
2.554
1.880 1 6 Ferrari Ferrari 4 L. Norris McLaren 1
19
+4.433
4.433
1.879 1 5 McLaren Mercedes 5 A. Antonelli Mercedes 12
19
+5.688
5.688
1.255 1 4 Mercedes Mercedes 6 O. Piastri McLaren 81
19
+6.809
6.809
1.121 1 3 McLaren Mercedes 7 L. Lawson Racing Bulls 30
19
+10.900
10.900
4.091 2 RB Red Bull 8 O. Bearman Haas F1 Team 87
19
+11.271
11.271
0.371 1 Haas Ferrari 9 M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 3
19
+11.619
11.619
0.348 1 Red Bull Red Bull 10 E. Ocon Haas F1 Team 31
19
+13.887
13.887
2.268 Haas Ferrari View full results
Photos from Chinese GP - Saturday
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Chinese GP - Saturday, in photos
Formula 1
68
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article How to watch F1 2026 Chinese Grand Prix: weekend schedule, race start time, TV and streaming
Next article “Very scary moment” cost Charles Leclerc chance of F1 Chinese GP sprint win
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jake Boxall-Legge
Kimi Antonelli: "Weird" spin and car instability cost F1 Brazilian GP win
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
4 d
Kimi Antonelli: "Weird" spin and car instability cost F1 Brazilian GP win
Latest news
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 41 min
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 1 h
Myers Riley Motorsports adds Andretti alongside returning Fraga for 2027 IMSA GTD campaign
Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Las Vegas GP
1 h
Las Vegas GP reveals neon sign-inspired trophy design
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe