Star Student Sets the Pace

If you watched any of Friday, you might have picked Taylor as the guy to beat within a few laps. He topped Practice 1 with a 1:39.8262 in the No. 28 Andretti Global car, more than a second clear of rookie Tymek Kucharczyk, with Jack Beeton, Myles Rowe and Lochie Hughes rounding out the Top 5. IndyCar’s own press release called Taylor the “star student” as he talked about how bumpy, intense and fun the place was. On Saturday morning, nothing had really changed at the top. Taylor lowered the benchmark to 1:38.8321 and headed Practice 2, this time with Seb Murray and Hughes closest, while Kucharczyk and Rowe stayed in the mix. The field did close-up a bit behind him, but the pattern was set: Andretti and HMD had the cars to beat.

Qualifying Surprise

Qualifying gave us the first real twist of the weekend. De Tullio dug out a 1:38.8841 in Group 1 to take his first IndyNXT pole and put A.J. Foyt’s famous No. 14 back on top. Behind him, the rookies absolutely stacked the deck: Fittipaldi lined up P2, Kucharczyk P3 and Taylor only P4 after Andretti admitted they’d missed the sweet spot on setup. Beeton and St. Petersburg winner Nikita Johnson filled row three, followed by Correa, Hughes, Matteo Nannini and Rowe. It wasn’t clean, either. Jordan Missig lost his best lap for triggering a local yellow, and Alexander Koreiba saw two laps deleted and his session effectively nuked after causing a red. Still, on paper, the story was simple: rookies had locked out the sharp end, and Foyt had a genuine shot at something special on Sunday.

Time to Race… Almost

On Sunday, the race never quite became the race it was supposed to be. Officially, it was billed as 27 laps and 55 minutes. What we actually got was a 30‑minute timed, 15 lap total, and five of those were behind the Safety Car. That’s not a great recipe for a flowing junior‑series race, especially on a brand‑new, narrow street circuit. Even before we saw a proper green, things got messy. With the clock running and the field still under caution, the backstretch turned into an accordion.

Colin Kaminsky’s No. 57 Abel Motorsports got the worst of it. He sustained heavy front‑end damage after contact with other cars and the outside wall, bringing out a full‑course yellow that chewed up the opening chunk of the race. Two corners later, Kucharczyk and pole-sitter De Tullio made light contact, nudging the Foyt car wide and letting Fittipaldi slip into the lead from P2. For De Tullio, the Texas fairy‑tale ended fast. By the time the race finally went green, De Tullio was stuck in the pack with a damaged car and would only recover to P11. Given how big that pole was for Foyt’s returning program, it was a real let‑down.

Green Flag Running

Once we actually got some green‑flag running, you could feel how boxed‑in most of the field was. Fifteen laps total, two cautions, a time‑constrained finish… the midfield and back half just didn’t have many realistic chances to do anything to move forward. Calling it processional is harsh, but it’s not completely unfair either.

The front of the race, though, provided the action. Fittipaldi led the first twelve laps, but Kucharczyk and Taylor were basically his shadow. The Polish rookie kept getting right to the gearbox, even trading the lead with Fittipaldi twice at one stage. Every time they reached the timing line, however, the Brazilian-American was still in charge. Afterwards, Fittipaldi was honest and admitted Turn 10 was killing him over the bumps. He also said that Taylor, lurking behind in third, was “definitely the fastest on track.” Kucharczyk was even more brutal on himself. “We had so much more pace than Enzo,” he said, before summing up his own afternoon: “I blew it.” Two races, two P3s, and absolutely zero interest in being “just” a podium guy.

Final Laps

The final restart, with just over three and a half minutes to go, was where Taylor earned the win. Fittipaldi led, Kucharczyk sat second, and Taylor went straight on the attack. First, he dealt with Kucharczyk. He used a late, committed dive that he later called “probably the move of my career.” Taylor survived a squeeze and a venture to the dirty part of the track. It was on the edge, but it was clean.

With around two minutes left, Taylor had reeled Fittipaldi into range, closing the gap to less than 0.3 seconds. Heading into the final sector, Fittipaldi made a small mistake. He had “a slight lockup on the front right” into Turn 12 and Taylor made his move. He dove underneath and took the lead. All three podium finishers agreed it was late aggressive, but fair. Kucharczyk, who had to avoid Taylor on one of those lunges, even said he’d have done the same thing himself. Kucharczyk also called it “fair and square,” which helped validate Taylor’s win. Taylor then underlined the point with the fastest lap of the race, and pulled out enough of a gap to win by 1.8925 seconds. Fittipaldi held onto second for his first IndyNXT podium. Kucharczyk took his second straight P3 and looked like the angriest podium finisher in recent history.

What This Weekend Means

In championship terms, this was big. Taylor leaves Arlington with back‑to‑back podiums, his first IndyNXT win and a ten‑point lead over Johnson. Johnson, this weekend, could only manage P6 on a tough day for Cape Motorsports. Fittipaldi finally got his season started after a grim St. Pete. And Kucharczyk has two trophies from two starts even if he was in no mood to celebrate his P3.

As for the track and format, it’s hard not to file this under “promising, but rough around the edges.” On paper, Arlington was meant to be a 27‑lap, 55‑minute race. In reality, we got 15 laps in 30 minutes, two cautions, and a rolling‑caution start that ended with an incident that burned almost half the shorter race time. That combined with a very narrow, very bumpy first‑time street circuit and gusty winds up to 40 mph. It was no surprise the midfield looked bottled up while the front three did most of the heavy lifting. There is decent race potential here, though. Give IndyNXT a little more downforce for venues like this, carve out a bit more width in the key braking zones, and suddenly you’re talking about a proper elbows‑out junior race rather than a cautious sprint with a frantic last five minutes. Compared to something like Miami’s F1 layout, Arlington is much more claustrophobic.

For a first swing, the series still found a worthy winner and a genuine highlight‑reel move. Now we’ll see how this developing title fight translates to Barber Motorsports Park at the end of March, where the walls are further away but the margins are just as small.

Feature Image: Travis Hinkle | Penske Entertainment

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Take a bow Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli drove a brilliant race to become only the second younger Grand Prix winner in history behind Max Verstappen. After losing the lead to Lewis Hamilton at the start and retaking it by the end of the second lap, Antonelli remained in the lead for the rest of the race and it was very much his to lose. Breaking records everywhere he goes, it is clear that Mercedes have found something special in Kimi Antonelli. 

George Russell lost a few positions at the start of the race, but fought his way back up into P2 and looked very strong. He was unable to catch up to the pace of his teammate due to numerous battles with the Ferrari drivers, however he still drove a very positive race. 

Hamilton back on the podium at last

After a year long drought of not being on the podium, Lewis Hamilton drove valiantly to take P3 behind the two Mercedes drivers and stand on the podium once more. Given that it’s Mother’s Day, having his mum there to witness it will have just made this all the more special for the 7x champion.

After some great battles with Hamilton, Charles Leclerc came home in P4 in what was an overall great race for Ferrari.

Disaster for McLaren

After a fairly strong qualifying yesterday, neither McLaren even made it to the grid for today’s race, with both drivers classified as DNS. The team found separate electrical problems on each of the cars and so decided to pull them from the race. This therefore means that driver Oscar Piastri is still yet to complete a Grand Prix in 2026.

Bearman best of the rest

It was an absolute dream of a race for Haas driver Oliver Bearman as he finished P5 behind the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers. After dropping down a few places due to taking avoiding action on lap 1 to avoid the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar, Bearman climbed his way back up to a brilliant points position.

Red Bull’s struggles

A power unit issue saw Max Verstappen retire from the race with only 10 laps to go. Running in the lower end of the points throughout the race, all seemed fine for Verstappen until the team radioed him to box box and retire the car.

Isack Hadjar suffered a spin in the opening laps of the race, but managed to recover to P8 by the end of the race.

Double points for Alpine

A superb race for Alpine saw both Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto finish in the top 10 and bring home a great amount of points for the team. Gasly drove a very consistent race, while Colapinto clawed his way back into the points after a collision with Haas driver Esteban Ocon. After a year of struggles last year, this result is a great morale boost for the team, and for Franco Colapinto in particular, who scored his first points in Alpine colours.

Feature image courtesy of Formula 1

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After a dramatic final few laps, Alisha Palmowski and Payton Westcott rounded out the podium. The Audi supported driver claimed her maiden win of the season, jumping up to the top of the standings after back to back podiums.

This Weekend So Far…

It’s been the returning drivers that have dominated this weekend. Alisha Palmowski hit the ground running for her 2026 Season. The Red Bull supported driver topped the timesheets for the only practice of the weekend. Four and a half tenths ahead of the field, the Red Bull supported driver led Alba Larsen and Payton Westcott.

Palmowski continued her form into Qualifying claiming her the maiden F1 Academy pole position. Behind her, Larsen will start Sunday’s Race from second. Emma Felbermayr will start from the second row after Qualifying third. However, it was the charge of the Rookies. Lisa Billard, Payton Westcott and Natalia Granada all qualified in the top seven.

Nina Gademan will started Race 1 from reverse grid pole after qualifying eight. The MP Motorsport driver claimed her second victory in the series after 13 laps around the Shanghai International Circuit. Rookie Natalia Granada impressed in her first F1 Academy outing, while Emma Felbermayr made some last minute overtakes for third.

Lights Out in Shanghai

Alba Larsen was quick to steal the lead of Race 2 after Palmowski got off to a slow start. The Red Bull supported driver was also passed by Felbermayr before holding off Westcott. On the hunt for her first podium in the series, Larsen was quick to pull away from the field.

Behind them, Granada lost her front wing in the final corners of Lap One after a collision with Rafaela Ferreira. Ella Lloyd and Nina Gademan were both on an overtaking spree, moving up four and three positions respectively.

Heading into Lap 3, Felbermayr, Palmowksi and Westcott started to trade places. Their battle not only allowed Larsen to escape over two seconds up the road, but brought Gademan and Lloyd into the pack.

Yellow Flags and Safety Cars

Jade Jacquet and Esmee Kosternman were both forced to retire after a collision on Lap 6. Jacquet locked up into the back of Kosterman at Turn 14, bringing out the first Safety Car of the Race.

After three laps of neutralised racing, Larsen led the field away. However, after a snap of oversteer on the exit of Turn 16, Larsen dropped down to eighth after a run through the gravel. With only four laps left in Race 2, Felbermayr was now into the lead of Race 2. The Austrian driver, who is backed by Audi, had to hold off Palmowski who was only four tenths behind.

Elsewhere, Rachel Robertson carried too much speed into the final corner, running her Puma supported car through the gravel. The woes kept coming for Robertson after she had an incident with Wildcard Shi Wei, bringing out a second set of yellow flags. Both drivers were forced to retire from Race 2.

The battle for fourth between Gademan and Lloyd allowed Westcott to escape up the road. Westcott, who enters her rookie F1 Academy Season, was on track for her first podium in only her second outing.

Felbermayr Takes the Flag

With the yellow flags away and one final lap of racing, Felbermayr was able to hold off a charging Palmowski. As the checkered flag flew, Felbermayr claimed her second victory in F1 Academy. Only two tenths behind, pole sitter Palmowksi had to settle for second. Westcott held onto third to be the highest placed rookie in the standings.

Gademan held off Lloyd for fourth at the Chinese Grand Prix. Behind them, Rafaela Ferreira held off a quick Lisa Billard for sixth. While it was heartbreak for the rally race leader as Larsen finished the race in eight. Rookies Megan Bruce and Ava Dobson claimed the final points paying position of Race 2, finishing ninth and tenth respectively.

After the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, F1 Academy will return on the 22nd of May at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix.

Feature image Credits: F1 Academy

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Mercedes dominance continues

At only 19 years old, Kimi Antonelli has taken his maiden pole position for a Grand Prix and becomes the youngest driver in history to do so. Despite being quite a margin behind teammate George Russell in the earlier sessions, Antonelli managed to clinch pole away from him by only 2 tenths.

For teammate George Russell, qualifying didn’t come without its issues. At the end of Q2, Mercedes replaced the front wing of Russell’s car due to some suspected damage, which they hoped would fix the problem. However, early on in Q3, Russell stopped on track as there were various issues with his car. He couldn’t shift gear, the battery had little to no power, and everything was going wrong for the Mercedes driver.

Russell managed to get back going again and spent the majority of the session in the pits, before finally going out to complete a lap. Given all the issues he’d faced with the car, his efforts weren’t quite enough to top Antonelli’s time.

Hopes for Hamilton

At a place he openly loves, Lewis Hamilton has out qualified teammate Charles Leclerc to line up in P3 on the grid for tomorrow’s race, with Leclerc just behind him in P4. Hamilton will be looking to take his maiden podium with the team, if not a win, in tomorrow’s Grand Prix.

Struggles down at Red Bull

It’s not the start to the season Red Bull would have wanted as both drivers failed to place anywhere near the front row. In Q1 Max Verstappen had to sacrifice an extra set of soft tyres in order to ensure he would make it through to Q2, behaviour that is uncommon for such a driver and team.

Off the back of a pretty disappointing run in Australia, the team are clearly struggling to match the pace of the frontrunners.

On the up at McLaren

It was a much more positive time for McLaren during qualifying. Though Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are only down in P5 and P6, they were up there with the likes of Hamilton and Leclerc throughout the session. After the heartbreak that was the home race he never got to complete last time out, this is Piastri’s chance to really get a feel for the new car and show what he can do.

Bearman into Q3

Haas driver Oliver Bearman is having a brilliant start to the season so far. After scoring points in Australia last week and then again in this morning’s sprint, Bearman has once again made it into the top 10 in qualifying for what looks to be a promising race tomorrow. Consistently being 2 to 3 tenths per lap ahead of older teammate Esteban Ocon, it is clear that Bearman is thriving.

Problems further down the grid

After looking promising in Q1 and being on track for a great lap in Q2 to get him through to Q3, Gabriel Bortoleto qualified in only P16 as a spin off into the gravel on the final corner caused his flying lap to end prematurely. The incident brought out yellow flags, and therefore hindered the efforts of drivers such as Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad who were coming up behind him on their laps.

It was a difficult day for Williams as driver Carlos Sainz qualified down in P17, with teammate Alex Albon even further back in P18. The team could be heard on the radio saying they got the most they could out of the car, and they need to look ahead to tomorrow to see what they can do.

Feature image courtesy of Formula 1

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Action-packed opening laps

It was a Mercedes front-row lock-out, with Ferrari drivers starting P4 and P6, separated by McLaren drivers. Despite the dominant qualifying, it remained to be seen whether the Silver Arrows would be challenged in the sprint race. 

Hamilton had a brilliant start, moving up to P2 and eventually taking the lead at Turn 9 of the opening lap. For the next 5 laps, the former teammates engaged in an exciting battle for the lead. Eventually, it was Russell who took the lead going into Turn 14 hairpin and controlled the race from then on. 

As the gap with Russell grew, the Ferraris battled amongst themselves for the remaining podium positions. After swapping positions for a few laps, Leclerc stayed ahead.

While Russell was battling for the lead, his teammate did not have as good a start as he had hoped. Antonelli was working his way back up the grid to regain positions after losing 5 places at the start.

However, losing positions wasn’t his only trouble. The opening lap also saw Kimi making contact with Hadjar in Turn 4. The incident was investigated, and the Mercedes driver received a 10-second penalty.

Determined not to miss out on points, he set out to build a gap to the driver in 8th place. The young Italian charged to P2 after a brief battle with the McLarens and Ferraris. 

Safety Car and retirements 

The first retirement of the Sprint Race came on Lap 12. Racing Bulls’, Arvid Lindblad was asked to pit to retire the car due to technical issues. This was the rookie’s second session retirement this weekend. His practice session was cut short on Friday due to a hardware issue. 

A few laps later, Nico Hülkenberg was asked to pull up on the side of the track due to a technical issue with his Audi. It was this retirement that brought out the safety car.

For Cadillac, it hasn’t been a smooth weekend either. While the Safety Car came out, Valtteri Bottas made his way into the pits due to a power unit issue, bringing his Sprint race to an end. But that’s not it, Sergio Pérez also received a 5-second penalty for Safety Car infringement. 

The safety car gave a chance for much-welcomed pit stops for fresh tyres ready for the closing stages of the race. For Kimi Antonelli, it also allowed him to use the pit stop to serve his 10-second penalty, finishing P5 overall.

Final 3 laps 

With the Safety car ending with 3 laps to go, it was time for a restart on lap 17. 

While preparing for a restart, there was almost another incident when Carlos Sainz nearly hit Esteban Ocon while trying to keep up the temperature in his tyres.

Once the race resumed, George Russell was able to keep his lead after Leclerc had a snap of oversteer on the exit of the final corner. This was exactly what the Mercedes driver needed to keep the lead till the end.

The last laps also saw an exciting battle between Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton for P3, while Kimi Antonelli was making his way up to P5, battling with Ollie Bearman and Oscar Piastri during the final stint.

Weekend is not over

Ahead of Qualifying and the main race, it was double points for Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren from the Sprint race, with Liam Lawson getting points for Racing Bulls and Ollie Bearman collecting points for Haas.

Next up, Qualifying!

Feature Image Credit: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

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Formula 1’s 2026 calendar could be reduced to 22 races after reports suggested that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix are set to be cancelled due to escalating conflict in the Middle East. The two races, originally scheduled for April, are in doubt as safety concerns and logistical challenges grow.

Middle East Cancellation Looming

Both events were due to take place shortly after the opening rounds. Bahrain was planned for mid-April and Saudi Arabia a week later. However, ongoing military tensions in the region, including missile and drone strikes has raised concerns about the safety.

It’s not just the drivers involved in Formula 1. Each race brings thousands of team personnel to the track. Additionally, tens of thousands of fans are expected to travel to both races in the Middle East. With a wider conflict involving Iran and Western forces, pressure is mounting to cancel races four and five of the season.

With freight and travel routes in the Gulf region heavily disrupted, the FIA has been monitoring the situation closely while considering their options. A final decision is expected in the next week, but multiple reports suggest that cancellation is increasingly likely.

Schedule Changes in 2026

If both races are removed from the schedule, they are unlikely to be replaced by alternative venues. Circuits such as Imola and Portimão have been mentioned as substitutes. However, the timeframe and organisation required to run a Grand Prix weekend makes a replacement difficult.

As a result, the 2026 season would drop from a planned 24-race calendar to 22 rounds. The change would also create a significant gap in the schedule. The Japanese Grand Prix runs over the final weekend of March, while Miami is not until the 3rd of May. This leaves a potential five-week break between in the 2026 Calendar.

The cancellation of the two Grand Prix will also bring serious complications to the championship. With Mercedes dominate the standings after Australia, the cancellation will reduce the amount of points available in the fight.

F1 in the Middle East

Safety remains the primary factor in the decision-making process. The Middle East has become a key region for Formula 1 in recent years. The region hosts five races across the calendar and contributes significant investment.

However, the ongoing geopolitical situation has forced the championship to reconsider whether racing in the region is viable right now. An official announcement from Formula 1 and the FIA is expected soon, which will determine whether the sport’s record calendar will be shortened.

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After picking up reverse grid pole position, Gademan pulled off an impressive pole to flag victory. Rookie Granada impressed in her first F1 Academy outing, while Felbermayr made some last minute overtakes for third.

This Weekend So Far

Alisha Palmowski hit the ground running for her 2026 Season. The Red Bull supported driver topped the timesheets for the only practice of the weekend. Four and a half tenths ahead of the field, the Red Bull supported driver led Alba Larsen and Payton Westcott.

Palmowski continued her form into Qualifying claiming her the first pole position of her career. Behind her, Larsen will start Sunday’s Race from second. Emma Felbermayr will start from the second row after Qualifying third.

However, it was the charge of the Rookies. Lisa Billard, Payton Westcott and Natalia Granada all qualified in the top seven. Nina Gademan will start Race 1 from reverse grid pole after qualifying eight.

Lights Out on Race 1

It was Nina Gademan who got the best start of the field, pulling away from Natalian Granada. While Rafaela Ferreira made her move off the line into third, Payton Westcott was quick to challenge for the podium position.

With only 13 laps, it was Lisa Billard who got dropped off the start. The Gatorade supported driver dropped from third down to eighth. With four drivers competing in their first F1 Academy race, it was a fairly clean start around the Shanghai International Circuit.

With only four seconds separating the top nine, Ella Lloyd was quick to pressure Billard. Just like qualifying, Alisha Palmowksi and Alba Larsen fought for sixth. The two returning drivers proving the be the front runners of the Championship so far.

Damage for Paatz and Larsen

After a mechanical issue yesterday, Mathilda Paatz was forced into the pits in Race 1 with a damaged front wing. The Aston Martin supported driver was back onto the circuit by Lap 5.

Nina Gademan has continued to grow her lead as the race ticked onto lap 7. Pulling over one second ahead of Granada, the MP Motorsport driver was on track to secure her first victory of 2026.

Further back in the pack, the overtakes started to happen. After attempting to pass Emma Felbermayr, Larsen damaged her front wing. The Ferrari backed driver brought out the first Safety Car of the Race.

Green Flags in Shangahi

After two laps under Safety Car conditions, F1 Academy was away once more. Nina Gademan got the best of the restart but it was Larsen who took a trip through the gravel. On Lap 10, Lloyd was able to pass Billard for seventh.

Felbermayr showed her experience on Lap 10. The Audi supported driver made her around Westcott. The Mercedes driver then ran wide, dropping her down to sixth. In her opening race, Granda was on track for her maiden podium. The Spanish driver wash challenging Gademan for the lead, only four tenths behind.

On Lap 11, a three way battle between Ella Stevens, Ava Dobson and Rachel Robertson allowed Billard to escape up the road. Puma’s Robertson got three best of the group, moving up to ninth. One lap later, Dobson was able to steal back her ninth position.

Felbermayr and Ferreira continued to change placed for the final podium position. On the final lap, Flebermayr was able to secure her first podium of her Championship challenge. Elsewhere on track, Paatz was able to climb up to 14th. The Prema driver was over 50 seconds behind the field less than ten laps ago.

Gademan Takes Checkered Flag

Gademan takes her first victory of the season in Race 1 of the 2026 F1 Academy season. Granada held onto second, being the highest placed rookie. While Felbermayr was able to hold onto third sealing out the podium.

Behind her, Campos’ Ferreira and Palmowski picked up valuable points in fourth and fifth respectively. Westcott was able to hold off a charging Lloyd for sixth while Billard picked up the final podium place in eight.

Elsewhere, Paatz was able to climb up to 14th. The Prema driver was over 50 seconds behind the field on Lap 5.

F1 Academy returns on Sunday for Race 2 of the Championship. Palmowksi will lead the field away at 10:40am local time (2:40am GMT).

Feature Image Credit: F1 Academy

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The Shanghai weekend returns as the first Sprint weekend of the season, meaning teams will have limited practice time to get up to speed. With only one practice session before Sprint Qualifying, drivers will need to adapt quickly as teams continue to test the limits of the new regulations.

Shanghai International Circuit

First introduced to Formula 1 in 2004, the Shanghai International Circuit is known for its unique layout inspired by the Chinese character “shang,” meaning “upwards.” 

The 5.451 km track features 16 corners and one of the longest straights on the calendar. The Turn 14 hairpin one of the tightest and best overtaking opportunities in Formula 1. 

Drivers begin the lap with the iconic spiral Turn 1–2 complex. The circuit then flows through a mix of medium and high-speed corners before opening onto the kilometre-long back straight where slipstreaming battles are often decided.

While Mercedes might be the dominant car after Australia, Ferrari’s top end speed should be able to challenge in China. The layout places heavy stress on tyres, due to the long sweeping corners that dominate the lap meaning tyre strategy for Sundays Race will be crucial.

Early Championship Talks

With the cancellation of Bahrain and Saudi Aurabia looming over the paddock, this weekend is crucial in the points game. With replacement races unlikely to run, the championship is looking at loosing two races work of points.

The Chinese Grand Prix marks just the second round of the season, but it could already provide an early indicator of which teams have adapted best to the new technical regulations introduced in 2026.

The new cars rely more heavily on electrical energy deployment, meaning power unit efficiency and battery management will play a significant role around Shanghai. Drivers will have to manage their battery correctly, particularly along the long back straight. 

Limited running in the Sprint format will add another layer of unpredictability. Teams must find the right setup quickly, with little time to recover if they get it wrong.

Mercedes’ 2026 Momentum

Early indications suggest strong pace from Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. George Russell gained a pole to flag victory at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix. While his teammate, Kimi Antonelli will be looking to secure a second 1-2 for the silver arrows in China.

The strong showing highlights the team’s early-season momentum and puts them firmly in contention for victory heading into the rest of the weekend.

Rivals Responding

Both Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren appear to be closing the gap, with drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris all expected to challenge at the front.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen will be looking to bounce back after a difficult start to the season. The four time champion crashed his Red Bull during Qualifying in Australia, and only finishing the race in sixth. Oscar Piastri will be looking to gain his first points of the season. The Australian crashed out on the way to the start of his home Grand Prix.

What to Watch for This Weekend

With overtaking opportunities at both Turn 6 and Turn 14, strategy and energy deployment will likely prove decisive in Shanghai.

The long straight rewards cars with strong top-speed and efficient hybrid systems. While the sweeping corners of the opening sector require good aerodynamic balance and tyre management.

The Sprint format and evolving cars means the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix could be more unpredictable than Melbourne.

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Mercedes back at it again

It’s another 1-2 for Mercedes as driver George Russell topped every session by a significant margin to take pole, just ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli in P2.

Russell seemed pretty much untouchable throughout the entirety of qualifying as he just became more and more composed and in the zone as the laps went on. Antonelli, however, though he drove some very strong laps, is under investigation after the session for the potential impeding of McLaren driver Lando Norris.

McLaren on much stronger form

After a weekend full of ups and down last time out in Australia, McLaren look to have found their groove as driver Lando Norris finished P3, with teammate Oscar Piastri finishing a strong P5. There is still work to be done at McLaren for sure, but the good laps set today can hopefully bring back some positivity to the team.

Hope for Ferrari

Though missing out on the front row, Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc qualified in P4 and P6 for the sprint, which is still a very strong outing for the team. Having been only a few tenths off the pace of Mercedes driver George Russell in SQ1, the gap appeared to grow between them throughout SQ2 and SQ3, leaving the prancing horses unable to snatch pole for themselves from the silver arrows.

Trouble down at Red Bull

Unfortunately for the team, Red Bull seem to be lacking pace so far this weekend as Max Verstappen only managed to qualify P8, with teammate Isack Hadjar in P10.

Verstappen could be heard on the radio during SQ1 saying that the gears shifts felt terrible, and it’s clear the driver remains rather unhappy with this year’s set up.

The rest of the grid

Cadillac are still trying to find their feet, and after a disappointing qualifying session, the team will be hoping to see some improvement as the weekend goes on. Valtteri Bottas qualified for the sprint race in P21, while Sergio Pérez didn’t take part altogether as his car suffered from fuel system issues.

Aston Martin are looking no better than they did in Australia as Fernando Alonso qualified in P19, with Lance Stroll in P20.

Haas driver Oliver Bearman drove some brilliant laps to qualify in P8, splitting the two Red Bulls. Bearman finished P8 in last year’s Grand Prix, and so he will hoping to replicate such a performance throughout this weekend.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly did well to qualify in P7, however he is under investigation after the session for potentially impeding Max Verstappen.

Feature image courtesy of Formula 1

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Last time out in China, McLaren’s Lando Norris set the tone in practice, and the team finished the weekend with a GP victory courtesy of Oscar Piastri. However, this time around, it looks like Mercedes has the upper hand after their impressive victory in Australia last weekend. The team will be looking to hopefully get up to speed quickly today to keep their momentum going for the 2026 season. Also, to keep in mind, a few teams are coming into this weekend with upgrades on their cars. Ferrari is one of the teams that will be hoping their upgrades give them the extra boost to get ahead in China.

Green Light on Practice

With only one hour to get to grips with the car, the drivers were quick to get out on track. 20 out of 22 drivers made their way out onto the track, creating a lot of traffic for the drivers.

Elsewhere, Franco Colapinto and Lewis Hamilton both have spins on their first laps, heavily flat-spotting their tyres. Many of the drivers seemed to have trouble warming up the tyres as Gabriel Bortoleto became the next driver to lock up his fresh tyres.

First Competitive Laps

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli is the first to set a competitive time with a 1:35:094. His teammate George Russell soon joined him, bypassing him by 0.029s to set a 1:35.065.

The Alpines seem to be competitive in the early part of the session, with both drivers sitting in the top 10. Unfortunately for Antonelli, a VSC and a yellow flag interrupt his following flying laps.

The VSC was brought out after Arvid Lindblad’s Racing Bull was forced to stop at Turn 14. It is always unfortunate for a driver to end practice early, especially when there is only one hour of practice in the weekend. But for a rookie, who impressed last week in Melbourne, it is tough to miss out on practice on a new track like Shanghai.

Carlos Sainz is another driver who may struggle with a lack of run time. The Williams driver only came out for one out-lap before returning to the pits. There didn’t seem to be any issues with the car, but the team seemed to be struggling to get a data reading from the car.

Back to Practice

The VSC ends at the 40-minute mark, allowing drivers to head back on track. It is still Russell topping the timings, but Charles Leclerc is next best with a time putting him 0.240s behind the Mercedes. Ferrari has brought out their ‘Macarena’ rear wing for this Sprint weekend, earlier than they had originally planned. It is an exciting component, unique to the Italian racing team, and they will be hoping it provides the boost they need for this weekend.

At the half-hour mark, Oliver Bearman impresses in his Haas, sitting in fourth with a 1:34:950. Elsewhere, it is a quiet practice session for the Red Bulls, as they sit at 11th and 12th, roughly 1.8 seconds off the pace of Russell in P1.

Time for Softs

Bar the Aston Martins, sitting at the back of the field, Hamilton is the first to set a flying lap on the softs in this session. His first competitive lap on the tyres takes him up to second, within 0.2s of Russell. However, at this point in the session, the Mercedes has not set a lap on softs.

Eventually, with 12 minutes remaining in the session, it is a rush to finish as the rest of the grid fit soft tyres to simulate qualifying runs. Once the Mercedes fitted red-rimmed tyres to their cars, a wide gap opened between their times and the Ferraris’. Russell continues only to go faster, setting a 1:32:741 and going over eight-tenths faster than Leclerc in third. The McLarens start to climb up in the last few minutes of practice, Piastri gets up to third (+0.736s), and Norris to fifth (+0.959s). The two eventually switch positions as Norris gets ahead of Piastri after setting a time 0.555s off the pace of Russell’s Mercedes. A trip into the gravel at the last turn prevents Leclerc from improving on his time in the final seconds of practice.

With this being their only practice session of the weekend, all the drivers took turns at the start-finish line to complete their practice starts.

Next Up: Sprint Quali

With only a single hour of practice in the books, the drivers need to quickly switch gears as Sprint Qualifying gets underway at 3:30 pm local time later today.

Feature Image Credit: Formula 1/ Formula Motorsport Limited

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