Raceday Recap: Second Round, Sprinting in Shanghai
It’s race two of the 2026 F1 season, and it’s still anyone’s championship - or is it? Let’s unpack everything fans need to know about this past sprint weekend in China.
George Russell took sprint pole position on Friday, and then held it to win the sprint race. Both Ferraris were able to make it to the sprint podium, as Charles Leclerc took second place and Lewis Hamilton took third - it’s looking good for their season. In qualifying, Kimi Antonelli became the first teenager and the youngest polesitter in Formula 1 history, an incredible achievement for a driver in his second year in Formula 1. Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate Russell started the race from 2nd, with former teammate and now Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton beside him on the second row. Charles Leclerc started from P4, followed by the two McLaren boys: Oscar Piastri qualifying P5 and Lando Norris 6th on the grid. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly put up a great time in qualifying to start from P7, with Max Verstappen beside him starting from 8th. The final row consisted of Isack Hadjar starting from P9 and Oliver Bearman starting from 10th.
The pit lane was crowded before the lights even went out. Alex Albon was supposed to start from the pit lane after the Williams team changed his car’s suspension the night before, but did not even end up starting the race. Both McLarens had differing technical issues, which led them to miss the reconnaissance lap and drop out of the race before it began. Additionally, Gabriel Bortoleto did not start the race due to a technical issue with his Audi, and instead retired into the garage right roughly 15 minutes before the race.
A double DNS for McLaren is a heartbreaking result, especially for Oscar Piastri, who hasn’t even raced a lap yet. Photo courtesy of F1.
On lap 1, the Ferraris swept by the Mercedes drivers and Lewis Hamilton took the lead of the race! Red Bull struggled in the first few laps: Max Verstappen fell back many places, while Isack Hadjar spun out in the middle of the track after contact with Bearman. On lap 2, Antonelli reclaimed the lead, zooming by Hamilton before a braking zone. On lap 4, Russell got by Hamilton, pushing him into 3rd place. Gasly and Franco Colapinto held on to P5 and P6 for the majority of the race, and Arvid Lindblad spent that time scrapping with Liam Lawson and Verstappen over 8th and 9th place. However, on lap 10, Lance Stroll crashed, bringing out the safety car. This shook up the standings as drivers pitted and switched tire compounds, which means at one point the top three were Antonelli, Colapinto, and Haas’s Esteban Ocon!
The safety car went in around lap 13, as Hamilton worked his way back up into P3 and Leclerc passed Russell to take P5. A few laps later, Hamilton was in second and fighting Antonelli for first, supported by Leclerc behind in third. On lap 21, Bearman passed Colapinto in the hairpin, taking P5 from the Alpine driver. Colapinto was then passed by Verstappen as well. On lap 27, Leclerc overtook Hamilton for P2, fighting to keep the place throughout the next few corners. Hamilton was then pushed out of the top 3 by Russell on the same lap. On lap 30, Russell took P2 from Leclerc, continuing to set the fastest lap of the race. Ocon touched wheels with Coloapinto into turn 3 on lap 34, earning himself a 10 second penalty. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso retired from the race after making it to lap 35, a rough weekend for Aston Martin. Hamilton went back into P3 on lap 36, just after complaining on the radio that his car had no power. On lap 47, another driver dropped out of the Grand Prix: Verstappen went into the pits and never came back out, bringing the total tally to 6.
Kimi Antonelli congratulating Lewis Hamilton on the podium - no bad blood here! Photo courtesy of the Sunday Times.
Kimi Antonelli crossed the line in first place, securing his first ever win and becoming the 2nd youngest Grand Prix winner in Formula 1 history! It was a Mercedes 1-2, as George Russell took second place. Lewis Hamilton achieved his first podium with Ferrari as he ended the race in P3, as Toto Wolff jokingly called the occasion a Mercedes 1-2-3, saying that Hamilton was “still our driver.” Charles Leclerc took home fourth place, followed by Ollie Bearman in 5th and Pierre Gasly in 6th. Liam Lawson beat his former teammate Isack Hadjar, as the pair claimed seventh and eighth place. Carlos Sainz ended the race in P9, taking home some points for Williams, and Franco Colapinto snatched the last point available, ending in P10.
F1 will resume in 2 weeks to shoot around Suzuka for the Japanese GP, but after that, the sport will take a break as the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix have been called off due to current military danger in the region. Don’t worry though, as May will start off with the Miami GP, always a fan favorite. Until then, thanks for reading.
Lights out and away we go,
Lucy xx
