George Russell topped the only practice session of the 2026 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix with a time of 1m32.741s, ahead of Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli. The Silver Arrows duo outpaced rivals by over half a second, with McLaren's Lando Norris third. Several drivers faced issues, including technical problems for Arvid Lindblad and Carlos Sainz.
The sole practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix took place on Friday morning at the Shanghai International Circuit, marking the first sprint weekend of the 2026 season. George Russell set the fastest time of 1m32.741s on soft tyres in the final minutes, leading a Mercedes 1-2 as Kimi Antonelli clocked 1m32.861s, 0.120s behind. Lando Norris secured third for McLaren with 1m33.296s, followed by teammate Oscar Piastri in fourth at 1m33.472s. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fifth in 1m33.599s, while Lewis Hamilton placed sixth at 1m34.129s after an early incident.
Early in the session, all drivers ran on medium tyres, with Russell initially leading at 1m34.169s ahead of Leclerc (1m34.409s) and Piastri (1m34.550s). Hamilton, the only frontrunner to try softs earlier, posted 1m34.377s over seven laps but spun at Turn 6 due to locked brakes, as he reported on radio: “Brakes locked up.” Moments before, Norris and Hamilton nearly collided at the final corner when Norris attempted to pass a slow Hamilton; stewards noted the incident but took no further action.
Incidents marred the session from the start. Franco Colapinto spun his Alpine at Turn 9 on his out-lap and later stopped in the pitlane, restarting just as mechanics arrived. Arvid Lindblad halted with a technical issue at Turn 14 after only six laps, unable to rejoin. Carlos Sainz, already sidelined in Australian qualifying by a technical problem, sat out the first 35 minutes due to a data issue in his Williams but later tested soft tyres, finishing 17th.
Red Bull had a subdued outing, with Max Verstappen eighth at 1m34.541s, 1.8s off the pace, and Isack Hadjar 13th. Ollie Bearman led the midfield in seventh for Haas despite a late spin at Turn 4. Ferrari debuted its rotating 'rotisserie' rear wing, which closed during Hamilton's spin. Williams lagged in the midfield, ahead of Aston Martin and Cadillac, with Valtteri Bottas 3.3s down. The session ended with focus shifting to sprint qualifying at 15:30 local time.
