Formula 1
ChinaSeason 2026
George Russell continued his perfect start to the 2026 season by winning a breathless Sprint in Shanghai, holding off a fierce challenge from the Ferrari pair. The strategic narrative was dominated by an early "ding-dong" battle between Russell and his former teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton made a lightning launch from P4 to lead into the opening corners, but Russell reclaimed the position with a decisive move at the Turn 14 hairpin on Lap 5. The primary hurdle for the field was a late Safety Car triggered by Nico Hülkenberg’s stranded Audi, which led to a frenetic final-lap restart.
Charles Leclerc utilized the restart to snatch second place from Hamilton, finishing just 0.6 seconds behind Russell. Lando Norris claimed fourth for McLaren, while Kimi Antonelli recovered to fifth despite a disastrous start and a 10-second penalty for an opening-lap collision with Isack Hadjar.
Oscar Piastri followed in sixth, while Liam Lawson and Ollie Bearman rounded out the points-paying positions. Max Verstappen's struggles continued as he finished outside the points in ninth, marking a rare difficult day for the Red Bull camp in this new era of Formula 1.