George Russell storms to Chinese Grand Prix Sprint pole ahead of Kimi Antonelli

George Russell was imperious throughout Sprint Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix as he topped every session before taking pole position ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli.

From the get-go, it seemed there was only one result as Russell didn’t even bother with a second run in SQ1, such three-tenths ahead of the nearest non-Mercedes driver in SQ2 and went on to clinch pole by three-tenths.

Double Williams, Aston Martin and Cadillac elimination in SQ1

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Ferrari lined up in the pit for the start of Q1 with its Melbourne-spec rear wing on the grid after the team decided to remove the ‘Macarena’ wing, reportedly due to reliability concerns.

Only 21 drivers participated in SQ1 as Cadillac reported: “Checo won’t be participating in this sprint quali session. The team identified a fuel system issue at the end of the earlier practice session that could not be fixed in time.”

Isack Hadjar set the benchmark time, a 1:34.4, with the Red Bull driver receiving a welcome tow from Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac.

George Russell and Kimi Antonelli made it a Mercedes 1-2, seven-tenths up on Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. But as the track continued to rubber in, Hamilton and Charles Leclerc closed in on the championship leader.

Gabriel Bortoleto went flying off the track at the final corner, the Audi driver running off rather than flat-spot his tyres. Oliver Bearman also had an off at Turn 16.

Russell finished the session fastest of all with his 1:33.030 despite only doing one flying lap, such is the pace of the Mercedes W17. Hamilton in second was a tenth down, with Leclerc a further half a second off the pace.

Max Verstappen was down in 11th place, 1.1s slower than Russell.

Eliminated: Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez

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Max Verstappen sneaks through in ninth place

16 drivers remained in the running in SQ2 facing a tough challenge to make it through with positions 10 to 16 in the previous session separated by four-tenths. Bearman began proceedings with a 1:33.999, while Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris went for a double preparation lap.

Verstappen put in a 1:33.564, his fastest time in Sprint Quali, taking the initial top spot — only for Leclerc to go almost a full second quicker. The Mercedes teammates were the last two drivers to set times, Russell clocking a 1:32.241 with Antonelli P2, 0.3s slower than his teammate.

Norris complained about Antonelli, saying he “boxed me”. Race Control noted the potential impeding. Pierre Gasly was also noted for impeding Verstappen.

Russell made it two from two in Sprint Quali, his 1:32.241 putting him 0.050s ahead of Antonelli with Leclerc third, three-tenths down. Verstappen made it through in ninth place.

Eliminated: Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto

George Russell’s pole position run continues in Shanghai

The drivers swapped to the mandatory soft tyres for SQ3 where Antonelli was the first out, clocking a 1:31.880 only for Russell to blitz his teammate in the final sector and take provisional pole by 0.360s.

Hamilton survived a hairy moment at the final corner to slot into third place ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen. They were the only five drivers to have two shots at pole position.

As the others joined the track, the action heated although neither Mercedes driver was able to improve on their previous run.

Norris and Piastri, both doing just one run, went third and fifth with Hamilton splitting the McLaren teammates.

Russell’s 1:31.520 remained the time to beat, the Briton taking pole position by 0.289s ahead of Antonelli with Norris third. Verstappen was eighth for Red Bull.

Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying Times

1 George Russell Mercedes 1:31.520
2 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:31.809
3 Lando Norris McLaren 1:32.141
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:32.161
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:32.224
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:32.528
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:32.888
8 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:33.254
9 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:33.409
10 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 1:33.723
11 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:33.635
12 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:33.639
13 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:33.714
14 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:33.774
15 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 1:34.048
16 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:34.327
17 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:34.761
18 Alex Albon Williams 1:35.305
19 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:35.581
20 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:36.151
21 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1:37.378
22 Sergio Perez Cadillac no time

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