The pit lane queue is waiting to get out, so let's turn on the green light for Q1.

BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Good morning again to Harry Benjamin, former McLaren Formula E driver Sam Bird and F1 correspondent Andrew Benson.

You can tune in to qualifying by clicking the 'listen live' tab at the top of the page, via the BBC Sounds app if you're heading out today or by asking your smart speaker to "play BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra".

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Max Verstappen's record in sprint events is unmatched since the format was introduced in 2021 - he's won 13 of them - but he said his short race today was a "disaster" for Red Bull after he finished outside the points in ninth place.

"I have not a lot of words anymore, to be honest," the four-time world champion told Sky Sports. "Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, so..."

Verstappen said the start procedure is one problem for the team to fix - he fell to 15th on the first lap - but also added "the balance is all over the place", plus Red Bull's tyre degradation "is the highest of everyone out there, which is just uncontrollable".

Once the sprint is finished, teams are free to make set-up changes to their cars, so it's no surprise to see the mechanics working on Verstappen's side of the garage.

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Behind the top three, Kimi Antonelli had another session full of highs and lows, including a slow start at lights out which dropped him down from second to eighth and a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Isack Hadjar's Red Bull.

The Italian eventually came home in fifth place, one place behind world champion Lando Norris and ahead of the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri, who had to give a place back to Antonelli after the Australian had passed him before the line at the safety car restart.

Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson took his first points of the season in seventh and Briton Oliver Bearman added to his tally by coming eighth in the sprint.

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If you've just woken up this morning, welcome in! It's been a busy old shift already at the Shanghai International Circuit.

George Russell claimed the first victory of the weekend earlier on when he took the chequered flag in the 19-lap sprint race from pole position.

The Mercedes driver was put under pressure for the lead from Lewis Hamilton in the opening stages after the Ferrari driver made a rapid start off the line. The old team-mates switched positions multiple times before Russell was able to peel away and create a gap.

There was a safety car during the second part of the race for the stricken Audi of Nico Hulkenberg but in the end, Russell triumphed, the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was second and Hamilton came home in third.

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

Hello, folks. The sprint race in Shanghai is in the books and now it's time to turn our attention to qualifying and who will secure pole position for Sunday's 56-lap Chinese Grand Prix.

Mercedes have been in a class of their own so far when it comes to locking out the front row of the grid so can anyone else challenge the Silver Arrows today? Or will George Russell and Kimi Antonelli be fighting among themselves once again?

Ferrari are the closest competitors at the moment but Charles Leclerc said after finishing second in the sprint it's the Scuderia's race pace that is similar to Mercedes' and not necessarily the qualifying speed over one lap.

The opening session of qualifying gets under way at 07:00 GMT.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

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Mercedes' George Russell won the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix after a frantic scrap in the early laps with Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari.

Russell and Hamilton swapped places five times in the first five laps before the winner of the first race of the season eased away to a comfortable victory.

Hamilton lost out to team-mate Charles Leclerc three laps after Russell finally passed him for the lead as the Ferraris took second and third.

A safety car in the second half of the race closed the field up and shuffled the pack a little, briefly dropping Hamilton behind McLaren's Lando Norris.

But the seven-time champion reclaimed the lead around the outside of Turn One a lap after the restart.

Read the full report here

Max Verstappen looks downcast as he speaks to Sky Sports and says everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for Red Bull today. The four-time world champion finished outside the points in ninth and concedes the car doesn't have the pace to match this year's frontrunners.

So, it's adavantage Mercedes after the opening sprint of the campaign but will the team secure another main pole position in qualifying later on? It's hard to bet against the Silver Arrows at the moment.

Time for us all to grab a quick power nap before Q1 gets going. Come back at 06:45 GMT for build-up, then we'll see who can take the fight to Mercedes at 07:00.

See you shortly!

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It's only the second weekend of the 2026 season but George Russell moves onto 33 points at the top of the drivers' championship. Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc are now level on 22 points following the sprint and Lewis Hamilton moves on to 18 points.

World champion Lando Norris and Haas' Oliver Bearman add to their Melbourne tallies while Oscar Piastri and Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson pick up their first points of the campaign.

In the constructors' championship, the top three stays Mercedes, Ferrari and reigning title holders McLaren.

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Lewis Hamilton who finished third in the Ferrari: "Mega job. A big thank you to the team for us to be in the position to be fighting the Mercedes at the front.

"It was a close battle in the beginning there, the speed on the straights is a bit much at the moment. I put up a good fight but I killed my left tyre so I wasn't able to hold the position.

On the 2026 car: "It's just a much better car that we have designed and being a part in developing it so definitely a lot happier in it and of course I was in the lead at one point so to finish third is not the greatest but I will try harder again tomorrow."

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Charles Leclerc had a difficult qualifying for the sprint on Friday but the Ferrari driver went from sixth to second in Shanghai. "I was managing quite a bit but I'm happy with the race," he said.

"I think the pace was quite strong. There was a bit of fighting, which made me lose time to George [Russell] and it was difficult to catch-up. But at least our race pace is more similar [to Mercedes] than our qualifying pace.

"Pretty happy with the car today."

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Mercedes' George Russell, who wins the sprint race in China: "It was a lot of fun, in the end. A lot of strategy at play, how you do the overtakes, it is not easy. I hope it was a fun race to watch. Usually sprint races are pretty boring and then I got everything under control, safety car. Really happy to get the win.

On the difficulty on the track: "It is really windy at the moment, it is not easy as the first corner is so long and it only takes one lap of pushing too much and you can destroy your front left tyre. It is about managing, especially as we were battling, Lewis did an amazing job in the early laps. He caught me off guard but 20 years of experience, I've still got a little bit more to learn there.

On qualifying and Sunday's race: "I hope we can bring more, Ferrari seem to be offset in qualifying but really close to us in race pace. Ultimately we need to find a bit of improvement for the race."

Chris H: People really complaining about this because batteries are involved? Great racing once again and a joy to see drivers battling at the front without a certain someone barging other drivers off the track.

Lee: It’s not the elite sport anymore - better to show Go-karts now

Jaye: Great to see both Ferraris, but especially Lewis Hamilton back in the fight. Hope Ferrari can work out what Mercedes are doing different to everyone else (even their customer teams). Can’t let Mercedes run away with this.

What did you make of the first sprint of the new Formula 1 era? Are the overtakes during the first few laps making things more exciting? Let us know your thoughts using the 'Get Involved' button on the page or hit the thumbs below for a quick reaction.

1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 8pts

2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 7

3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 6

4. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 5

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 4

6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 3

7. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 2

8. Oliver Bearman (Haas) - 1

Image source, Getty Images

World champion Lando Norris brings his McLaren home in fourth and the other Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who started second, dropped places at lights out and was then given a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Isack Hadjar, ends his morning in fifth spot.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri is sixth, Liam Lawson is seventh for Racing Bulls and Briton Oliver Bearman grabs the final points place in eighth for Haas.

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George Russell is leading the sprint as the final lap begins but the Ferrari Charles Leclerc isn't too far behind. A quick look in the mirrors for the Briton as the two reach the long back straight and he should see he's clear of the Monegasque driver and on for another win in 2026.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

George Russell has gone early. He saw Charles Leclerc had a huge oversteer out of Turn 14 and George Russell is down the road.

Oscar Piastri has been told by McLaren to give the place back to Kimi Antonelli, who has now reached the Australian's rear wing after passing Oliver Bearman and Liam Lawson. Piastri doesn't hesitate and once Antonelli is close enough, the pair switch places.

Lewis Hamilton is also on the move and the Ferrari man has overtaken Lando Norris for third.