George Russell will start the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix from pole after edging out his Mercedes team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli in qualifying.
The Mercedes duo locked out the front row in sprint qualifying, with Russell laying down a lap that was 0.289 seconds quicker than Antonelli’s. Over a single lap, the Silver Arrows once again looked seriously sharp, with Russell setting the benchmark for everyone else to chase.
However, that tidy Mercedes one-two could still be shuffled around. Antonelli is currently under investigation by the stewards for allegedly impeding McLaren’s Lando Norris during the session, which means the front row might not stay as it is.
Norris ended up third fastest, 0.621 seconds off Russell’s pole lap. If Antonelli does receive a penalty, the reigning world champion would move up and join Russell on the front row for the sprint.
Russell, meanwhile, was clearly enjoying himself behind the wheel.
George Russell at the Chinese Grand Prix
“The car has been feeling amazing,” he said after grabbing the first sprint pole of his Formula 1 career.
“We knew after Melbourne we had a really good car, the engine is performing really well, and today it was a real joy to drive.
“I’m intrigued to see what the lap times are compared to last year because it felt very quick — really cool, and very different to Melbourne.”
Behind the top three, Lewis Hamilton was Ferrari’s leading driver in fourth. The seven-time champion slotted in between the two McLarens, with Oscar Piastri just behind him in fifth.
Hamilton finished 0.641 seconds down on Russell but will have fond memories of Shanghai, having taken both pole and victory in last year’s sprint race at the circuit.
Charles Leclerc followed in sixth but was over a second off Russell’s pace, while Pierre Gasly impressed by sticking his Alpine in seventh.
Max Verstappen, meanwhile, endured a frustrating session. The Red Bull driver struggled with the car’s balance and pace, eventually qualifying eighth and a hefty 1.7 seconds away from Russell’s pole time.
“The car generally felt great,” Hamilton explained when discussing Ferrari’s performance, “but I think we’re losing on the straights — and it’s a lot of time to be losing.
“So yeah, we have a lot of work to do. We really have to push so hard back in Maranello to improve on power.
“It’s something we were conscious of last year. We thought Mercedes started earlier than us or the rest — which they did back then as well in 2014.”
Rounding out the top 10 in SQ3 were Haas rookie Ollie Bearman and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar.
Just outside the top 10, Nico Hulkenberg could only manage 11th for Audi, finishing ahead of Esteban Ocon’s Haas and the Racing Bulls entry of Liam Lawson.
Gabriel Bortoleto put the second Audi 14th, while Racing Bulls youngster Arvid Lindblad impressed by making it into SQ2 despite completing just six laps in practice on his first-ever visit to Shanghai. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto completed the order.
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