George Russell has continued his dominant start to the 2026 Formula 1 season with victory in the Sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Russell, driving for Mercedes, finished ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton after an early battle for the lead and a late Safety Car intervention. The Sprint race took place at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Early Lead Changes and Russell’s Decisive Move
Russell started the 19-lap Sprint from pole position. Unlike the previous week in Australia, he managed to maintain his lead through the first few corners. However, Hamilton, starting from fourth, quickly moved up, overtaking Kimi Antonelli off the line and then passing Lando Norris into Turn 1.
Hamilton then took the lead with a move to the inside at Turn 9, but Russell fought back, regaining the position at the Turn 14 hairpin on Lap 5. This proved to be the decisive move, as Russell then pulled away from Hamilton and Leclerc.
Leclerc Overcomes Hamilton After Safety Car
A Safety Car was deployed late in the race to recover Nico Hulkenberg’s stricken Audi. This led to a flurry of pit stops. Leclerc eventually overtook his team mate, finishing just 0.6 seconds behind Russell.
Hamilton recovered to third place, having initially dropped behind Lando Norris. The seven-time World Champion was forced to stack behind Leclerc during the pit stops.
Points Finishers and Final Positions
Lando Norris finished fourth, followed by Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes. Antonelli had a difficult start from the front row and received a 10-second penalty after a collision with Isack Hadjar on the opening lap.
Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren finished sixth, having been overtaken late on by Antonelli. Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls and Ollie Bearman of Haas claimed the final points.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Esteban Ocon (Haas) completed the top 10. They were followed by Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Carlos Sainz (Williams), Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) and Franco Colapinto (Alpine).
Hadjar finished P15, ahead of Alex Albon (Williams) and the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Sergio Perez was the final classified runner for Cadillac.
Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) and Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) failed to finish. Lindblad suffered a spin on the opening lap, while Bottas experienced a loss of power.
Opening Lap Drama
As the Sprint began, Russell held his lead from pole through the opening corners. Hamilton was quickly on the attack from his P4 starting position, passing Antonelli off the line and then overtaking Norris into Turn 1.
Hamilton then took the lead at Turn 9 before Russell fought back at the Turn 14 hairpin. The pair continued to trade places over the opening laps, allowing Leclerc to move within striking distance, with Norris and Piastri further back.
Antonelli made contact with Hadjar at Turn 4 during the opening lap.
Russell’s Sprint triumph marks a continuation of his winning form in the 2026 Formula 1 season.