2026 Chinese GP: Russell fastest in the only Practice Session

The second round of the calendar, the Chinese Grand Prix, is held in the sprint format, meaning there is only one practice session during the weekend, and teams try to extract as much information from it as possible.

Many teams split their programmes between their two drivers to collect more data.

Pirelli traditionally brought the “medium” trio of compounds to Shanghai — C2, C3 and C4, used respectively as Hard, Medium and Soft. The morning conditions were cool, but under clear skies the track temperature rose quickly.

At the start of the session almost everyone headed out on Medium tyres. Only the Aston Martin F1 Team drivers — Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll — immediately chose Soft tyres, as vibrations meant they were not planning long runs. Alonso did not complete his first lap and returned to the pits, though he later went back out on track.

Franco Colapinto spun on his first lap and ran off track but managed to rejoin without damage. Under braking, Lewis Hamilton and Gabriel Bortoleto also locked their tyres and went off, though both were able to continue. Carlos Sainz returned to the pits due to a technical problem.

During the session, Hamilton and Lando Norris battled through the final corner. The episode caught the attention of the stewards, but no penalties were issued.

Ten minutes into the session, a Virtual Safety Car was deployed to clear debris from the start–finish straight. Shortly afterwards, another VSC (Virtual Safety Car) was triggered when Arvid Lindblad stopped off track at Turn 14. Smoke appeared from his power unit, and the car was shut down, ending the session early for the season’s only debutant.

Oscar Piastri and Isack Hadjar exceeded track limits several times. Colapinto stopped in the pit lane but managed to move again after a few seconds — the mechanics who had rushed towards him returned to the garage.

In the final 15 minutes drivers switched to Soft tyres, and George Russell demonstrated the pace potential of his car. In the closing minutes, Charles Leclerc ran into the gravel at the final corner, while Oliver Bearman spun under braking. In both cases the cars escaped damage.

Russell set the fastest time of the session with 1:32.741. His teammate Kimi Antonelli was only a tenth of a second slower, while the rest of the field trailed by more than half a second.

Next up is Sprint Qualifying.