George Russell led teammate Kimi Antonelli in a Mercedes one-two during the sole practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix, continuing the team's strong start to the 2026 Formula 1 season Russell posted a benchmark time of 1:32.741s at the Shanghai International Circuit, placing him just over a tenth of a second ahead of Antonelli The result mirrors the team's performance at the season-opener in Australia, where they also secured the top two positions
Reigning world champion Lando Norris was the nearest competitor in his McLaren, but finished half a second off Russell's pace in third Norris's teammate, Oscar Piastri, was a further two-tenths behind in fourth position
Ferrari appeared to lack one-lap pace, with Charles Leclerc finishing fifth, more than eight-tenths of a second behind the leading Mercedes Lewis Hamilton was sixth, 1.3 seconds off the pace The session, which ran without major incidents, sets the stage for Sprint Qualifying later on Friday, with Mercedes appearing to hold a significant performance advantage
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