What the teams said – Sprint day and Qualifying in China

At the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix, Mercedes dominated Saturday as George Russell secured a hard-fought Sprint victory before teammate Kimi Antonelli delivered a sensational maiden pole position, becoming the youngest polesitter in F1 history. Despite a challenging Sprint for Antonelli, who received a penalty, and electrical issues for Russell in Qualifying, the team locked out the front row. Ferrari confirmed their status as the closest challengers, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc locking out the second row. McLaren sits firmly in third, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris occupying the third row, while Red Bull struggled significantly as Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar finished outside the top positions in the Sprint and failed to threaten the leaders in Qualifying. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly impressed by securing seventh on the grid, while Haas’s Oliver Bearman rounded out the top ten. The grid remains tightly packed, with the midfield teams—including Racing Bulls, Audi, Williams, Aston Martin, and Cadillac—facing varying degrees of reliability concerns and performance gaps as they prepare for Sunday's race.