2026 Chinese Grand Prix – Qualifying F1 results (Shanghai International Circuit)

Thomas Maher 14 Mar 2026 7:26 AM

Here are the complete F1 qualifying results from the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Mercedes has claimed a 1-2 in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, with Kimi Antonelli beating a long-standing Sebastian Vettel record to become the youngest pole-sitter in F1 history, a feat made slightly easier by a compromised Q3 for George Russell.

Q3:

The final part of qualifying started dramatically as Russell ground to a halt in the first sector just after peeling out onto the circuit.

Reporting a loss of power and battery, Russell managed to get his car moving again but struggled to get back to the pits as the W17 was stuck in first gear. This came after he had also needed a front wing change at the end of Q2, as the British driver had felt his original wing had been damaged.

While Russell was going through his issues, Kimi Antonelli popped in the time to beat as he clocked a 1:32.3 to go three-tenths of a second clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton had made a small error in the second sector, repeating a sideways moment that he’d had in Q1.

McLaren then joined in the action at the front as first Lando Norris, then Oscar Piastri, climbed into second place behind Antonelli.

Behind the two Ferraris, Max Verstappen led the Red Bull battle as he took sixth place, 0.020 ahead of Isack Hadjar, and a second off the front.

In the Mercedes garage, Russell’s mechanics and technicians pored over his W17 to attempt to reset his electronics, including giving him a new steering wheel, as the timer ticked below three minutes to go.

As Antonelli started his second flying run, Russell emerged back onto the circuit under intense pressure to try putting in a lap to move him up from 10th place.

The Italian improved his time to a 1:32.064, while Leclerc climbed into second, only to be beaten by Hamilton just seconds later.

Russell did manage to get a time on the board, slotting in behind Antonelli to make it a Mercedes 1-2, as the 19-year-old became the youngest polesitter in F1’s entire history.

Antonelli’s improvement on his second run proved decisive, and meant he beat the record set by a 21-year-old Sebastian Vettel when the then-Toro Rosso driver took pole for the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

Behind the two Mercedes, Hamilton came out on top against Leclerc to take third place, while Piastri got the better of Norris to take fifth.

Pierre Gasly claimed seventh on the grid to highlight Alpine’s improvement since last year, ahead of the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Hadjar.

Oliver Bearman was the lowest of the 10 drivers in Q3, 1.2 seconds down on Antonelli’s time.

1. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:32.064
2. George Russell Mercedes +0.222
3. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.351
4. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.364
5. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.486
6. Lando Norris McLaren +0.544
7. Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.809
8. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.938
9. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing +1.057
10. Oliver Bearman Haas +1.228

FULL REPORT: Antonelli becomes youngest ever F1 pole-sitter after eventful quali for Russell

Q2:

Antonelli popped in a 1:32.950 to kick off Q2, only to be immediately pipped by Russell as the British driver put in a 1:32.523.

The two Ferraris then separated the Mercedes drivers as Hamilton went into second with a time three-tenths behind Russell, and 0.068 clear of Leclerc in third.

Verstappen’s first attempt wasn’t enough to get him in the mix, as he went fifth-fastest and almost seven-tenths behind Russell’s time, but it was enough to just keep him clear of Bearman.

Piastri’s time was only enough for 10th after the first runs, meaning McLaren opted to put fresh soft tyres on his car to try to put in a better time, sending him back out with six minutes remaining.

This he achieved, just pipping Verstappen’s time on the same tyre, with Norris in fifth.

At the very front, Leclerc took over from Russell as the Monegasque did a 1:32.486 to half a tenth clear of Russell, before Antonelli went quickest of all.

With just over a tenth separating the top four cars, Verstappen moved up into sixth to split the two McLarens.

As the chequered flag fell, the yellow flags were shown as Gabriel Bortoleto spun his Audi at the final corner, but his quick recovery meant some of the cars behind had their laps affected.

Lindblad, Lawson, Ocon, and Russell all had their times deleted due to the yellow flags, while a driver who did manage to improve was Gasly, who climbed up to sixth and ahead of Verstappen.

Eliminated were Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, and Bortoleto down in 16th.

1. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:32.443
2. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.043
3. George Russell Mercedes +0.080
4. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.124
5. Lando Norris McLaren +0.467
6. Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.560
7. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.655
8. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.687
9. Oliver Bearman Haas +0.754
10. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing +0.909
11. Nico Hulkenberg Audi +0.911
12. Franco Colapinto Alpine +0.914
13. Esteban Ocon Haas +1.095
14. Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.322
15. Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +1.341
16. Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +1.522

Q1:

Hamilton and the two Red Bull drivers opted for the medium tyre for the first runs of Q1, with Verstappen’s time proving enough to go quicker than the two Ferraris and many of the midfield runners.

Replays showed Hamilton had had a sideways moment in the middle sector, contributing to a slow lap time that kept him in the drop zone, and enticing him back out on a set of soft tyres for his second run.

On the soft tyres, both McLaren drivers then went quicker, with Piastri in first, as Audi joined in the act in second and third with Hulkenberg and Bortoleto, respectively.

Antonelli was first of the Mercedes to put in a time, jumping to the top with a 1:33.305, before Russell went quickest with a 1:33.262.

Hamilton’s second attempt then moved him into P3 behind the two Mercedes, popping him ahead of Norris, while Gasly moved up to fifth.

With four minutes remaining, Leclerc set a 1:33.175 to go quickest, less than a tenth clear of Russell, while Piastri moved into sixth place behind Norris.

The drop zone consisted of Williams’ Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll in the second Aston Martin, and Perez in the second Cadillac as the final runs began, while Red Bull had to look with some trepidation at that bottom six as their medium-tyre runs only placed them in 14th and 15th by this time, forcing a soft tyre attempt.

Verstappen’s lap pulled him up to fourth place, a quarter of a second off Leclerc’s pace, while Hadjar rose to ninth place.

The bottom six remained the same, albeit with Sainz getting ahead of Albon to take 17th, prompting Albon to take to team radio to exclaim, “Terrible!” as he returned to the garage.

1. Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.175
2. George Russell Mercedes +0.087
3. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.130
4. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.242
5. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.347
6. Lando Norris McLaren +0.360
7. Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +0.374
8. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.415
9. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing +0.457
10. Franco Colapinto Alpine +0.459
11. Oliver Bearman Haas +0.512
12. Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.613
13. Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +0.731
14. Esteban Ocon Haas +0.799
15. Nico Hulkenberg Audi +0.941
16. Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +0.964
17. Carlos Sainz Williams +1.142
18. Alex Albon Williams +1.597
19. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +2.028
20. Valtteri Bottas Cadillac +2.261
21. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +2.820
22. Sergio Perez Cadillac +3.731

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George Russell Kimi Antonelli Lewis Hamilton

Q3:

Q2:

Q1:

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