By Will Heys
George Russell won the first sprint race of the 2026 season at the Chinese Grand Prix, leading home a fierce battle between both Ferraris to secure maximum sprint points.
Russell’s win continues a strong start to his 2026 campaign.
He led Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, giving Ferrari a double podium in the short-form race and setting up an interesting fight between the two teams ahead of qualifying later in the day.
The opening laps delivered similar drama to Melbourne, as the lead changed four times in the first five laps.
Hamilton reminded us of the Scuderia’s impressive starts, rocketing from P4 and tussling with George for the lead.
But Russell repeatedly fought back into T14 and T1, trading positions early on.
Behind them, Leclerc waited patiently for the leaders’ tyres to begin suffering from heavy graining.
When the moment came, Leclerc used his advantage, passing his teammate to take the fight to the escaping Mercedes.
Kimi Antonelli recovered strongly after a poor start and a 10-second time penalty due to avoidable contact with Isack Hadjar.
The race was neutralised late on when Nico Hülkenberg stopped on track at Turn 1, triggering the first full Safety Car of 2026.
Most of the leading runners opted to pit for fresh tyres.
Russell controlled the closing laps comfortably, while Leclerc held off Hamilton to secure second place.
Elsewhere, reigning champion Max Verstappen endured a nightmare start, dropping to the back of the field after nearly stalling on the grid.
The Dutchman mounted a recovery charge, narrowly missing out on points.
Lap one also caught out Arvid Lindblad, who was spun around in the midfield melee and later retired his Racing Bulls machine, ending a difficult first sprint of the season for the British rookie.
Teammate Liam Lawson was the only Red Bull driver to score points today.
Williams also endured a challenging sprint, with Alexander Albon starting from the pit lane and working his way forward through the pack during the race.
It was a more positive afternoon for Aston Martin.
They may not have scored points yet, but both cars finished following their engine and vibration troubles in Australia.
Meanwhile, Cadillac completed their first sprint race of the season, though their struggles continue as Bottas was forced to retire the car, and Perez finished in P19.
Can George Russell and Mercedes continue their form later today in qualifying, and into Sunday’s race?
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