2026 Chinese GP Sprint Race

Now, it is time for James Punt’s 2026 Chinese GP Sprint Race preview. His main outright preview can be viewed here.

2026 Chinese GP Sprint

The first day of the frenetic Chinese Sprint Race weekend ended with a Mercedes 1-2 in Sprint qualifying, followed by Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton.

Lando Norris was 0.621 off the pace of George Russell on pole position, so the field has closed a little bit on the leaders, but Russell looked like he had plenty in hand.

Team-by-Team

Mercedes

Remain untouchable in qualifying at least. First and second in FP1 and Sprint qualifying and they look set for another dominant weekend. The team have been working on improving their starts and that remains perhaps the only threat for them to deal with. Special attention has been given to how to approach the formation lap, so that they do not arrive at the start with no electric juice.

McLaren 

A much-improved performance from both McLarens. Are they starting to get more out of the Mercedes power unit? Unlikely to be able to keep the Ferraris behind them at the start. Piastri was fastest in sector 1 on his final run, but he must have shot his bolt too early and fell back in S2 and S3.

Ferrari 

They trialled the funky wing in FP1 but took it off for sprint qualifying. You have to wonder at the logic. Ferrari said that they are not yet sure if the mechanism is robust enough for a race distance. If that was the case, why not run it for 30 minutes in practice and then have some time with the old wing, and try to sort the set up out with that wing? Or, to test its robustness, why not run it in a 19-lap sprint race? Even on one car.

Both drivers then went straight into Q1 with a different rear wing and they looked a bit of a handful at times. Hamilton had a big moment when his rear axle locked up, spitting him off the track. There is a lot of run off room here and it only cost him a set of tyres. He recovered to finish 4th, Charles Leclerc a disappointing 6th.

Both were a bit slow on the straight and Leclerc said he had a deployment problem on the back straight that cost him 0.5 seconds. However, both drivers are optimistic about their prospects in the two races, which is interesting.

Alpine 

Best of the rest in Sprint Qualifying was Pierre Gasly, but his teammate was way back in sixteenth. Like McLaren, it looks like they have got more out of the Mercedes power units due to their ‘learnings’ from last week. The nature of the track was likely to suit them more than Melbourne and so it proved. Gasly showed decent race pace in Melbourne and he will be hoping to hold his place.

Red Bull 

Not a good first day for Red Bull. You can sense the frustration in the team. Testing went well for them but things went wrong in Australia and the car looked worse today. Verstappen was complaining about various things while Hadjar sounded like he was going to blow a fuse. I am beginning to wonder about his mentality.

The team boss apologised to Verstappen for the car’s performance, or lack thereof. That is not a good sign. Their set up is locked in for the Sprint, but they can change things for the GP qualifying. Starting 8th and 10th is not where Red Bull should be, and behind an Alpine.

The team say they are making progress, but they lost ground to McLaren in particular, so their progress is relatively poor.

Haas 

Two good sessions for Bearman. 7th in FP1 and 9th in sprint qualifying. Ocon was back in 12th in qualifying. They showed good race pace in Melbourne, and they have the fast-starting Ferrari power unit to give them a competitive advantage at the start.

Bearman might yet end up best of the rest, but he only has 19 laps to make up the places to Gasly. Maybe he can do it off the line this time. Bearman did his final run on used tyres, so he has a new set for the sprint race. Good thinking.

Audi

Hulkenberg just missed out on Q3, qualifying 11th, with Bortoleto 14th. They were happy enough with how things went and they are probably where they expected to be. Points will be hard to score.

Racing Bulls 

Very disappointing, much like their senior team. Lindblad, so inch perfect in Australia, he managed just 5 laps in FP1 before he was forced to stop on track. Lawson said he was quite happy with his qualifying lap, so maybe 13th is a s good as it gets for them here. Lawson believes that Melbourne suited their car much more than this one. Too many low speed corners.

Williams 

Very much at the back with the slow coaches. Their prospects remain bleak. Salad dodgers.

Aston Martin 

Didn’t break down and were able to gather data, but this weekend is just another test for them.

Cadillac 

A fuel system problem for Perez meant he had to stop early in FP1 and didn’t run in qualifying. Bottas said the his car had deployment problems and he struggled to a miserable 21st place. Making up the numbers.

2026 Chinese GP Sprint Race Selections

We are on Leclerc for the Sprint race and while Ferrari are strangely optimistic, I’m not expecting too much. Hamilton starts two places ahead and if Ferrari are to make their fast start pay, he is more likely to get the dividend.

Ladbrokes have come up with an interesting side market. They have a ‘Leader after the first lap market’. Russell is 1.80 favourite, Antonelli 6.50, Norris 7.50, and Another driver 3.25.

For ‘Another driver’ read Hamilton, and maybe Leclerc. It is a good long run into the first corner complex. There is a chance for the two Ferraris to make a jump to 1st place even before the first corner, but if not, the nature of ‘the corner that never ends’ invites an overtake.

It turns right, then left, so the driver going into the corner on the outside, finds themselves on the inside line for the left hander. It is hard to defend as the track is wide. If the leader has two cars up his chuff, one of them is likely to get past. It is a sporting bet and well-done Ladbrokes for trying something different.

2026 Chinese GP Sprint Race Tip: 1 point Another driver to be leader after the first lap @ 3.25 with Ladbrokes

Nico Hulkenberg missed out on Q3 by 0.015 seconds, having been ninth in FP1. The Audi seems to be a solid craft, if it starts, and he is due a break after his DNS in Melbourne, then having to see his teammate finish ninth. He is a 2.25 shot with Ladbrokes and Livescorebet to finish in the top 10 in the Sprint. There is some value there, but not quite enough.

I have been impressed by Bearman’s start under the new regulations. A very strong race in Melbourne to land us a nice bet and he has looked good again today with top nine in both sessions.

The Haas has the potential for a good start down this long straight and the car is going nicely. Bearman also seems to be enjoying things, which is not the case with the Red Bull drivers. They have taken a step back in terms of relative competitiveness, and the two drivers are seething. That is not good.

2026 Chinese GP Sprint Race Tip: 1 point Oliver Bearman to beat Isack Hadjar @ 1.72 with Ladbrokes

There won’t be an update for the GP qualifying (I think we know who is going to be on pole, and so do the bookies), but the RaceDay Update will be posted on Saturday, late afternoon.

-JamesPunt