We may only be in the second race weekend of the 2026 F1 season, but in an already somewhat predictable turn of events, Mercedes dominated the year's first Sprint Qualifying session in Shanghai, China.
As a reminder, a Sprint race is a shorter version of the regular Grand Prix, typically lasting around 30 minutes or 100km. The Sprint takes place tomorrow, as does Qualifying for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.
George Russell put in another impressive showing, topping teammate Kimi Antonelli by three-tenths of a second.
However, they found a surprise challenger on the second row of the grid, as McLaren's Lando Norris (and current Drivers' World Champion) managed to top both Ferrari drivers—earning a third-place start—despite a fairly slow start for the team in Australia last weekend.
It was a disastrous session for Red Bull, with Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar barely scraping their way through SQ1 and SQ2.
Ultimately, the four-time World Champion was over 1.7 seconds off Russell's pole lap and, perhaps most shockingly for the team, will line up behind Alpine's Pierre Gasly.
Verstappen repeatedly described the car as "undrivable" on the radio, so all eyes will now be on Red Bull to see if they can fix it between the Sprint race and tomorrow's main Qualifying session.
Here's how the cars will line up on the grid for tomorrow's Sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix:
1. George Russell, Mercedes, 1:31.520
2. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, 1:31.809
3. Lando Norris, McLaren, 1:32.141
4. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, 1:32.161
5. Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 1:32.224
6. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 1:32.528
7. Pierre Gasly, Alpine, 1:32.888
8. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:33.254
9. Oliver Bearman, Haas, 1:33.409
10. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull, 1:33.723
11. Nico Hulkenberg, Audi, 1:33.635
12. Esteban Ocon, Haas, 1:33.639
13. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls, 1:33.714
14. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi, 1:33.774
15. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls, 1:34.048
16. Franco Colapinto, Alpine, 1:34.327
17. Carlos Sainz, Williams, 1:34.761
18. Alex Albon, Williams, 1:35.305
19. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 1:35.581
20. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 1:36.151
21. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac, 1:37.378
22. Sergio Perez, Cadillac, DNS