Overview
- George Russell topped the only practice in Shanghai with a 1:32.741, leading teammate Kimi Antonelli, with McLaren’s Lando Norris the nearest challenger and Max Verstappen only eighth after issues.
- Russell then secured sprint pole ahead of Antonelli, while Norris qualified third at +0.621 seconds, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri; Verstappen starts eighth and Nico Hülkenberg 11th.
- Drivers including Verstappen and Norris continued to pan the 2026 format, which splits power roughly half combustion and half battery and forces in‑race recharging that makes overtakes hinge on energy deployment.
- The FIA, F1 management and teams are set to discuss possible refinements after the China weekend, with any adjustments requiring broad team support under current governance rules.
- The FIA has moved to close an alleged Mercedes compression‑ratio workaround by measuring engines hot and cold from June 1, as customer teams like McLaren still cite a preparation gap to the works outfit.