F1 LIVE: Thrilling Chinese Grand Prix qualifying as it happened

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F1 live: 2026 Chinese Grand Prix qualifying.

As the cars are dusted down from the Sprint, it's time to set the grid for the main event.

After the drama of the Sprint, the next F1 live action saw a return to a standard format as qualifying sets the grid for Sunday’s race.

Kimi Antonelli became Formula 1’s youngest ever polesitter with an excellent lap for Mercedes, as George Russell recovered from Q3 drama to set a lap good enough for second.

F1 LIVE: Qualifying recap for the Chinese Grand Prix

Just after the chequered flag fell in the Sprint, parc fermé reopened for the teams to make whatever changes they wanted to their cars in order to optimise for Sunday’s race.

But a matter of hours later, everyone was straight back into action with qualifying, with an excellent session unfolding in Shanghai.

Recap it all with our live blog: