Mercedes sent a clear message from the only free practice session of the weekend at the Shanghai circuit. George Russell set the fastest time ahead of Oscar Piastri during a session marked by several incidents and interruptions.
The second round of the 2026 F1 season began at the Shanghai circuit with the weekend’s only free practice session. In the sprint format, teams only have one hour to understand the track, fine-tune settings, and prepare for the rest of the program.
This constraint makes the session particularly strategic, especially in an early season marked by adaptation to new technical regulations. Engineers must quickly collect data before the Sprint Qualifying, scheduled for later today, and then the sprint race scheduled for Saturday.
Under these conditions, every lap on track counts, and teams must immediately get to work to optimize their cars.
A lively start to the session and a few incidents
It was Esteban Ocon who was the first driver to take to the Chinese track. Conditions were relatively cool, with about 12°C in the air and a track temperature measured at 14°C.
Some teams took advantage of this meeting to introduce their first technical evolutions. The Ferrari, for example, was equipped with a new rotating rear wing intended to improve performance on the straights.
The first laps were quickly lively. Franco Colapinto and Lewis Hamilton both spun after locking their rear wheels. The Briton was also involved in a slight contact with Lando Norris at the first corner while firmly defending his position. The collision caused the loss of some carbon debris, but both drivers were able to continue their session.
Mercedes quickly takes control
The first significant times were set by Kimi Antonelli, who established an initial benchmark of 1’35″094, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly. But the hierarchy quickly evolved when George Russell took the lead with a lap of 1’35″065. At this stage of the session, the entire field was still running on medium tires.
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A first virtual safety car was then deployed to allow marshals to remove debris from the main straight. Shortly after, another interruption occurred when the Racing Bulls of young Arvid Lindblad came to a halt on track, with smoke escaping from his cockpit.
In the second half of the session, drivers began preparing their qualifying simulations by putting on soft tires. Lewis Hamilton was one of the first to attempt a fast lap on this compound, setting a time of 1’34″985, still quite far from Russell’s benchmark.
For his part, Oscar Piastri closed to within three-tenths of the Briton after a cleaner second flying lap, the first having been disrupted by a wide exit at the first corner.
The end of the session was also marked by a few additional incidents. Franco Colapinto briefly stopped his Alpine in the pit lane before being able to set off again, while several drivers noted significant wear on the front-left tire.
Russell stuns the competition
In the final minutes, George Russell definitely made an impression. The Mercedes driver set an impressive 1’32″807, relegating his teammate Antonelli to a tenth. Behind the two Silver Arrows, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris managed to climb to the front, but without really threatening the Mercedes duo.
Conversely, the session was more complicated for Red Bull, whose cars only appeared in eighth and fourteenth positions after their fast attempts.
At the end of this single free practice session at the Shanghai circuit, Mercedes therefore seems to have already taken a lead. It remains to be seen if this dominance will be confirmed during Sprint Qualifying, the first real timed battle of the weekend.
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Classification of FP1 for the 2026 F1 Chinese GP:
