F1 Chinese Grand Prix - Starting grid for the sprint

George Russell led a Mercedes 1-2 in sprint qualifying at the 2026 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, to grab his first sprint pole. 

The first sprint weekend of the season has picked up where the Australian Grand Prix left off, with Mercedes once again looking like the team to beat. 

Mercedes had a commanding sprint qualifying session, with Russell leading all three segments to take pole ahead of team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli. 

Reigning world champion Lando Norris will start from third after a more encouraging day for McLaren, though it still has a big gap to Mercedes. 

Lewis Hamilton will hope to add to his sprint victory from last year in China from fourth on the grid in the leading Ferrari, with Oscar Piastri starting on row three in the sister McLaren. 

Charles Leclerc will go from sixth in the second of the Ferraris, while Pierre Gasly got his Alpine into the top 10 in sprint qualifying in seventh. 

Max Verstappen could only manage eighth in the leading Red Bull, with Ollie Bearman ninth for Haas and Isack Hadjar 10th in the second of the Red Bulls. 

Aston Martin managed to get both cars onto the circuit for qualifying, but Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll fell out of Q1 along with both Williams' and both Cadillacs. 

Sergio Perez couldn't take part in the session due to a technical issue with his Cadillac. 

The sprint will start at 3am GMT on Saturday.

Full starting grid for the 2026 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix sprint