Formula 1’s latest generation of cars are much closer to last year’s performance levels in Shanghai than they were in Melbourne.
Sector times
On the face of it, Mercedes left little on the table as Andrea Kimi Antonelli claimed the first pole position of his career. He lost just a hundredth of a second to his potential best lap time, while team mate George Russell put his three best sector times together as he took second on the grid.
But realistically, there was likely more pace in the W17 than this. Russell’s last lap in Q2 was compromised by a front wing problem and he was unable to complete his intended first run in Q3 due to a power unit glitch.
Those extra runs would likely have helped him unlock more pace from his car. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella took a very realistic view of his team’s performance, saying he doubted they were really just half a second slower than Mercedes, presuming that Russell was capable of a quicker time than his team mate.
Moreover, qualifying times for the grand prix were slower than they had been for the sprint race, likely due to the windier conditions.
The Racing Bulls drivers were particularly hard done by in Q2. Both had to abandon laps when Gabriel Bortoleto spun off at the final corner, and their sector times indicate both had strong chances of reaching Q3.
Although Carlos Sainz Jnr failed to escape Q1, his Williams team principal James Vowles congratulated him on getting the most out of his car, and his sector times indicate he did exactly that.
| P. | # | Driver | S1 | S2 | S3 | Ultimate lap (deficit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 24.003 (2) | 27.664 (2) | 40.387 (1) | 1’32.054 (+0.010) |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | 24.012 (3) | 27.783 (6) | 40.491 (2) | 1’32.286 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | 24.080 (5) | 27.696 (3) | 40.535 (4) | 1’32.311 (+0.104) |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | 24.022 (4) | 27.660 (1) | 40.650 (6) | 1’32.332 (+0.096) |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | 24.120 (7) | 27.729 (4) | 40.493 (3) | 1’32.342 (+0.208) |
| 6 | 1 | Lando Norris | 23.995 (1) | 27.747 (5) | 40.748 (9) | 1’32.490 (+0.118) |
| 7 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | 24.099 (6) | 27.788 (7) | 40.900 (11) | 1’32.787 (+0.086) |
| 8 | 3 | Max Verstappen | 24.280 (10) | 27.975 (11) | 40.613 (5) | 1’32.868 (+0.134) |
| 9 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | 24.234 (8) | 27.843 (8) | 40.931 (14) | 1’33.008 (+0.189) |
| 10 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | 24.465 (14) | 27.933 (9) | 40.659 (7) | 1’33.057 (+0.064) |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | 24.558 (18) | 27.937 (10) | 40.743 (8) | 1’33.238 (+0.116) |
| 12 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | 24.254 (9) | 28.078 (13) | 40.947 (15) | 1’33.279 (+0.078) |
| 13 | 30 | Liam Lawson | 24.339 (13) | 28.117 (14) | 40.911 (13) | 1’33.367 (+0.398) |
| 14 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | 24.319 (11) | 28.181 (16) | 40.903 (12) | 1’33.403 (+0.381) |
| 15 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | 24.335 (12) | 28.041 (12) | 41.028 (16) | 1’33.404 (+0.134) |
| 16 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 24.539 (17) | 28.145 (15) | 40.796 (10) | 1’33.480 (+0.069) |
| 17 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | 24.465 (14) | 28.669 (17) | 41.183 (17) | 1’34.317 |
| 18 | 23 | Alexander Albon | 24.526 (16) | 28.694 (18) | 41.370 (18) | 1’34.590 (+0.182) |
| 19 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | 24.782 (19) | 28.723 (19) | 41.698 (21) | 1’35.203 |
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | 24.949 (20) | 28.972 (20) | 41.515 (19) | 1’35.436 |
| 21 | 18 | Lance Stroll | 24.953 (21) | 29.144 (21) | 41.838 (22) | 1’35.935 (+0.060) |
| 22 | 11 | Sergio Perez | 25.703 (22) | 29.246 (22) | 41.611 (20) | 1’36.560 (+0.346) |
Teams’ performance
Although Ferrari claimed the second row of the grid for the grand prix, McLaren got closer to Mercedes’ times in qualifying for the sprint race, when lap times were quicker.
Red Bull were the second-fastest team over a single flying lap in Australia, but fell to fifth this weekend. Alpine were among those who lapped quicker, thanks to Pierre Gasly’s lap in qualifying for the grand prix.
Field performance
In Melbourne, the quickest lap time was almost three-and-a-half seconds slower than the best achieved last year. But in Shanghai the new cars are much closer in pace to their predecessors.
Russell’s sprint race pole position time was within a second of the best time seen at this track last year. He virtually matched the pole position time set by his Mercedes predecessor Valtteri Bottas in qualifying for the 2019 race.
That was the last time F1 visited the track before the ‘ground effect’ era. The minimum car weight at the time was 740kg, lower than it is today.
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2026 Chinese Grand Prix
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