Mercedes’ George Russell wins the first sprint race of the season while Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton round out the podium with Ferrari. This is the first time the Scuderia have two cars in the top three of a race since Abu Dhabi 2024.
Russell continued his flawless start to the 2026 Formula 1 season by securing a hard-fought victory for Mercedes in the first Sprint Race of the year at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Starting from pole position, the Briton was immediately put under pressure by the fast-starting Ferraris. He managed to escape the spectacular early scrap and held his nerve to cross the finish line just 0.674 seconds ahead of Leclerc. Hamilton, driving the sister Ferrari, rounded out the podium in third place to cap off a strong showing for the Scuderia over the short format.
The 19-lap dash featured a late Safety Car that bunched up the pack. Russell’s Mercedes teammate, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, started alongside him on the front row but suffered a poor launch off the line. Antonelli’s afternoon was further complicated when he received a 10-second penalty during the Safety Car phase. Despite these hurdles, he managed a solid recovery drive to finish fifth.
Lando Norris drove a clean race in his McLaren to claim fourth, finishing comfortably ahead of the penalized Antonelli. Oscar Piastri took sixth in the second McLaren, while Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) and Oliver Bearman (Haas) battled their way into the final two points-paying positions in seventh and eighth. Notably, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished just outside the points in ninth.