What the teams said – Sprint day and Qualifying at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix

Mercedes

Russell was made to work for his Sprint victory, after initially losing the lead to Hamilton on the first lap. He passed the Ferrari multiple times on the back straight, only to then lose out into Turn 1. Eventually he got past and stayed there, to make it two wins from two this season. Antonelli had a much busier Sprint. After a poor start dropped him to ninth, he then locked up and understeered into Hadjar – earning himself a 10-second time penalty.

He climbed back through the field, dropped back when he served that penalty in the pit stops, and then ran wide before the restart. He wound up coming home fifth, on a day where the car had the potential for far more. However, the youngster more than delivered in Qualifying, grabbing a sensational maiden pole. that made Antonelli the youngest ever polesitter for a Grand Prix.

As for Russell, he had an issue with his front wing late in Q2, before stopping on track at the start of Q3. Fortunately, he got going again, limping back to the pits for some quick fixes to what turned out to be an electrical issue. The Briton got one flying lap in late on, and did well to grab second – but he could not quite beat his team mate..

George Russell, Sprint: 1st, Qualifying: 2nd, 1:32.286

“Firstly, I want to congratulate Kimi for the great job he did today. Taking a pole position in F1 is incredibly hard and for him to be the youngest to ever do so is a testament to the driver he is.

“On my side, Qualifying was quite chaotic. I had a front wing issue at the end of Q2, but we managed to change it for a new one just before the start of Q3. Something still felt wrong when I went out for my out lap and I had to go back to the garage for a full check. Luckily, the team managed to get me back on track with only one push lap to make the best out of it.

“Given that, P2 is still a good result, and we could not to better than securing the front row for the team. The focus for tomorrow is to get a clean getaway. In Melbourne and in the Sprint earlier today, we saw how strong the Ferraris were. We expect them to put us under pressure so we will need to be at our best. We know we’ve got the race pace to fight for the victory, but it will all come down to execution on Sunday.”

Kimi Antonelli, Sprint: 5th, Qualifying: 1st, 1:32.064

“I am very happy with what we achieved today. To take my first Grand prix pole position, along with the milestone of becoming the youngest polesitter in the sport’s history, is incredible. The team did an amazing job throughout, and I want to thank everyone for their efforts.

“This morning’s Sprint race didn’t quite go how we wanted it to. I didn’t make a clean start and then had contact later on the opening lap. Our pace was solid though and we were able to fight back to score some points. Thankfully, Qualifying was smoother. I was improving run after run and was able to put together two clean laps in Q3 to take pole position.

“I am looking forward to tomorrow’s Grand Prix; the Ferraris had good pace in the Sprint and George has also been incredibly quick. It promises to be an interesting afternoon ahead.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“Kimi’s pole position is not only a huge achievement for him but a milestone moment. Becoming the youngest polesitter in the sport’s history is quite something. It is sometimes easy to forget that he is only just out of his rookie season and yet is achieving so much. He has proved beyond doubt that those who thought he was too young or didn’t believe in his abilities when we promoted him to a race seat, were wrong. I am proud that we had the confidence to make the decision we did.

“For George, it is a shame we had a battery issue and that he could not make the most out of the car. Nevertheless, he did a stellar job in difficult circumstances to make sure we completed the front-row. He was supreme in the Sprint, and he’s got strong race pace so he will be a factor in the fight for victory tomorrow. With that said, the Ferraris have looked quick all weekend. We cannot afford to make any mistakes or they will surely pounce. We’re looking forward to tomorrow and the battle ahead.”

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

“Whilst we ended the day with a Sprint win and a front-row lock-out in Qualifying, it was anything but a straightforward Saturday.

“Whilst George got away well in the Sprint, Kimi was low on battery having been in a sub optimal strat mode on the formation lap. He then had contact later on the opening lap and picked up a penalty. Having served that, he drove well to get his car back to P5. George meanwhile fought with the Ferraris early on but was able to demonstrate his pace to come out on top.

“In Qualifying, we were hoping for a smoother time of it and we were getting that up until Q3. George came to a stop on track and, whilst he was able to get back going, the fire-up drained the battery and also suffered an issue with the gears. Under a lot of pressure, he did well to secure P2 after those issues. It was less chaotic for Kimi who produced two good laps to take his maiden Grand Prix pole position, a well-deserved milestone as he becomes the younger polesitter in F1 history.

“It was a good job from both the team and the drivers to keep cool heads today and prevail. We will need that again tomorrow. We have seen how quick the Ferraris are and will need to be at our best if we are to be in the mix for victory tomorrow.”