George Russell has taken Sprint Pole for the Chinese Grand Prix. Image: XPB Images
George Russell continued Mercedes’ perfect weekend in China, taking Sprint Pole with a 1m31.520s to lead a one-two for the Brackley-based team ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli.
Lando Norris was third for McLaren, more than half a second behind Russell, with Oscar Piastri just behind in fifth after losing time in the final sector.
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth for Ferrari, splitting the pair from Maranello, while Pierre Gasly impressed in seventh ahead of Max Verstappen and teammate Isack Hadjar.
Oliver Bearman ended up ninth for Haas, rounding out the top 10. Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Arvid Lindblad, and Franco Colapinto were eliminated in SQ2, while the Williams pair of Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon fell at the SQ1 stage.
The Sprint Race for the Chinese Grand Prix gets underway at 11am local time on Saturday (2pm AEDT).
Results: Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, Sprint Qualifying
Pos.
No.
Driver
Team
Q1
Q2
Q3
Laps
1
63
George Russell
Mercedes
1:33.030
1:32.241
1:31.520
13
2
12
Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
1:33.455
1:32.291
1:31.809
13
3
1
Lando Norris
McLaren
1:33.783
1:33.086
1:32.141
13
4
44
Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
1:33.148
1:33.042
1:32.161
15
5
81
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
1:33.813
1:33.038
1:32.224
13
6
16
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
1:33.194
1:32.602
1:32.528
16
7
10
Pierre Gasly
Alpine
1:33.970
1:33.405
1:32.888
15
8
3
Max Verstappen
Red Bull Racing
1:34.170
1:33.564
1:33.254
17
9
87
Oliver Bearman
Haas F1 Team
1:34.280
1:33.501
1:33.409
16
10
6
Isack Hadjar
Red Bull Racing
1:34.447
1:33.620
1:33.723
15
11
27
Nico Hulkenberg
Audi
1:33.997
1:33.635
14
12
31
Esteban Ocon
Haas F1 Team
1:34.087
1:33.639
13
13
30
Liam Lawson
Racing Bulls
1:34.110
1:33.714
13
14
5
Gabriel Bortoleto
Audi
1:34.291
1:33.774
14
15
41
Arvid Lindblad
Racing Bulls
1:34.495
1:34.048
13
16
43
Franco Colapinto
Alpine
1:34.592
1:34.327
12
17
55
Carlos Sainz
Williams
1:34.761
6
18
23
Alexander Albon
Williams
1:35.305
6
19
14
Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
1:35.581
5
20
18
Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
1:36.151
7
21
77
Valtteri Bottas
Cadillac
1:37.378
8
22
11
Sergio Perez
Cadillac
No Time
0
