George Russell won the opening sprint race of the new Formula One season at the Chinese Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver ultimately took a strong win from pole position but only after a fierce to and fro with Lewis Hamilton during the opening phase of the race.
Charles Leclerc took second for Ferrari, with Hamilton in third, with the victory for Russell further cementing his position as favourite for the world championship and confirming that Mercedes will be remarkably hard to beat this season.
Lando Norris was in fourth for McLaren and Kimi Antonelli in fifth for Mercedes.
Max Verstappen, who has struggled with his car all weekend, dismissing it as undriveable at one point, had a poor, slow start and could manage only ninth for Red Bull with his teammate Isack Hadjar in 15th.
Russell had said that to be in the top three in turn one would be a success, given how quick the Ferrari is off the line but the British driver did manage a good getaway, with the team focused on improving their starts after the Australian GP. Yet he was immediately faced by a fierce attack from Hamilton as the pair swapped places for the lead repeatedly.
While the Ferrari showed much improve race pace over its qualifying speed, the Mercedes once more demonstrated its superiority in optimising its energy management across a lap, with their cars able to maintain the least reduction in power in the last part of the long back straight and once more showing real pace coming out of the corners. Until a late safety car closed up the pack Russell had put five seconds on Leclerc, despite the Ferrari showing good form in Shanghai.
Having taken a dominant victory at the first round in Australia, this reinforces the advantage Mercedes hold over the rest of the field this season, with Russell’s second sprint victory after he took the first in Brazil in 2022.
Russell had held his lead into turn one as Hamilton burst through into second but the seven-time world champion was feisty and showing real pace and took the lead at turn eight. As was the case in Australia, however, it was hard to hold as Russell retook the place on the back straight only for Hamilton to regain it through turn one. The places yo-yoing as they employed their boost and overtake modes.
Hamilton did manage to hold the place for a lap but Russell powered by once more on the back straight, only for Hamilton to find a way around again on the outside of turn two.
With Leclerc in third they had already opened a gap to the field as Antonelli fought to come back after a slow start had dropped him from second to 10th. The Italian also received a 10-second penalty for causing a collision, hitting Hadjar.
In race pace and having to fight for position the Mercedes was not able to optimise its energy management and Ferrari were very much in the fight but Russell bided his time and retook the lead on lap five, once more on the back straight. He managed to hold the place and open a gap as Leclerc passed Hamilton for second on lap eight, the British driver having given his tyres a hiding while fighting Russell.
The two Ferraris continued to trade paint however in a fiercely entertaining fight, even as Russell exploited finally having clean air with a three-second lead by the halfway point.
Clear of a wheel-to-wheel tussle, Russell once more optimised the Mercedes’ power and steadily drew away, however a safety car was called on lap 13 when Nico Hülkenberg’s Audi came to halt, prompting most of the field to come in for fresh tyres.
With the pack closed up, when racing resumed on lap 17 Russell made a strong restart as Leclerc was caught out, a little too hot taking wheelspin before the off, and with only three laps left it was enough for the British driver to maintain his place and secure the win.
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