2026 Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying Review

Linus O'Howell
4 days ago
2 min read

The first Sprint Qualifying of 2026 was set to be a massive challenge for all 22 drivers after just 1 practice session of these new cars around the Shanghai International Circuit!

SQ1

In Sprint Qualifying 1, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas, and Sergio Perez were the six slowest drivers! Williams had a torrid afternoon, with both cars getting knocked out, as Carlos Sainz outqualified Alex Albon by over 5 and a half tenths! Aston Martin were just slow, with Fernando Alonso miles clear of Lance Stroll, whilst Valtteri Bottas was easily the slowest driver after Sergio Perez failed to take any part in this session! I really have nothing to say about Cadillac; they’re nowhere (as expected)! George Russell topped SQ1 for Mercedes, about a tenth clear of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari!

SQ2

In Sprint Qualifying 2, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto, Arvid Lindblad, and Franco Colapinto all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout! Nico Hulkenberg was unfortunate to miss out on SQ3 by just 15 thousandths of a second, whilst Esteban Ocon was only 4 thousandths off Hulkenberg! Liam Lawson will start 13th, ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto, whilst Arvid Lindblad managed P15 on his first trip to China (in an F1 car)! Franco Colapinto was easily the slowest driver in SQ2, over 9 tenths slower than his Alpine teammate! Russell again topped SQ2, this time with his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli just 5 hundredths of a second behind!

SQ3

In Sprint Qualifying 3, a 1:31.520 was enough for George Russell to take a dominant Sprint Pole in China! George looks unstoppable right now; he’s faultless! Andrea Kimi Antonelli managed to qualify second, 3 tenths off his teammate, whilst Lando Norris did well to get his McLaren into third! Lewis Hamilton will start P4 after being just 2 hundredths off third, with Oscar Piastri behind him in 5th! Charles Leclerc was well off his teammate in 6th, with Pierre Gasly brilliantly slotting in in P7 after Max Verstappen had a bit of a horror day, finishing over 1.7 seconds off Pole Position! Oliver Bearman earned Haas’ first Q3 appearance of 2026, beating Isack Hadjar to lead the 5th Row!