Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Lewis Hamilton needs Charles Leclerc to get in front of George Russell. Because of the difference in deployment, if this race were to continue like this, George would go on to win the race because he is so much quicker in sector three.

George Russell goes down the inside at the hairpin and manages to make the move stick. But the two Ferraris now are gaining on the Mercedes, so he might have a double red threat over the course of the next lap.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

When people overtake this year, it looks like an easy move right now because of they have got double the power.

That didn't last long for George Russell as a boost of battery for Lewis Hamilton after the Mercedes pushes hard to past means he's got another chance to retake the lead. And he does! Hamilton ahead, Russell in second and the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc is in fourth. Kimi Antonelli has clawed his way to sixth after dropping off at the start.

Sam Wilson: The starts that those Ferrari's get is its greatest asset.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

George Russell, I think, is saving his battery usage for Turn 13, down towards Turn 14. How this plays out is going to be fascinating to see if Lewis can break away now, but George is sticking to him.

George Russell has been hounding Lewis Hamilton around this lap and when the pair reach the overtake detection point, the Mercedes man overtakes the Ferrari man to get back in front in this China sprint.

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Lewis Hamilton won the China sprint last year and the Ferrari man has jumped above his old team-mate Geprge Russell and now leads the sprint. The two drivers are jostling each other, the battery being used to full effect to try and gain an advatnage.

Charles Leclerc has climbed the order from sixth and now Russell is the filling in a Ferrari sandwhich.

Isack Hadjar and Kimi Antonelli made contact at the start and that incident is now under investigation. Arvid Lindblad also went off the track.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Flying start from Lewis Hamilton and then bullied Lando Norris as we've got contact in the middle of the field, it's Kimi Antonelli and one of the Red Bull.

George Russell keeps hold of the lead but Lewis Hamilton has steamed ahead from fourth and is now running in second place. The seven-time world spies a gap at Turn Eight and passes his former Mercedes team-mate! A few corners later the lead is back in the hands of Russell.

Kimi Antonelli has dropped down the field to eighth and there's also been contact in the midfield.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

I'm excited to see what happens at the start. I think Lando Norris, who is starting in third, he needs a good start and to get on the back of the Mercedes. If he can just sit behind the Mercedes, he can learn a lot about their deployment.

First sprint of the season is go!

Many drivers flagged drained batteries last week in Melbourne when they got to the grid, and we saw a near-miss when Franco Colapinto had to swerve to avoid a slow-moving Liam Lawson, who had lost power in his Racing Bulls. Lawson, meanwhile, is also a hard tyre runner for the sprint.

Isack Hadjar is starting on the soft tyre for Red Bull and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso has opted for the medium compound at lights out. Everyone else is a medium runner, including Alex Albon, who is starting from the pit lane.

Image source, Getty Images

The sprint in China is 19 laps, or 100km, of the Shanghai International Circuit and it's the third year in a row the track has held a shorter race on the calendar.

You won't see any mandatory pit stops in this battle, unless a car has damage, and the winner will be crowned after about 30 minutes of racing.

The top eight finishers score points, from eight for first place to one for eighth spot, which will get added to the overall drivers' championship standings.

After the Chinese Grand Prix, the other five sprints will be held in Miami, Canada, Silverstone, Zandvoort and Singapore.

The tyres this weekend are a step softer than those used in Melbourne for the opener, so teams and drivers can choose from the C2 as the hard, the C3 as the medium and the C4 as th sfot compound.

BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Harry Benjamin, former McLaren Formula E driver Sam Bird and F1 correspondent Andrew Benson are back to take us through the sprint race this morning.

Click the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page, tune in via the BBC Sounds app if you're a real early bird and need to head out the door or ask your smart speaker to play "BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra".

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Max Verstappen is the undisputed king of the sprint format with 13 victories but yesterday he had a miserable time in the Red Bull, highlighting problems with driveability, the shifts and then just "everything".

The four-time world champion is no fan of these new regulations and the driving style that no comes with it and for today's sprint he's down in eighth place, behind Pierre Gasly, who qualified a fantastic seventh for Alpine.

"The whole day has been a disaster pace-wise, no grip, no balance, just losing massive amounts of time in the corners and then because of that you start triggering other problems," said Verstappen.

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World champion Lando Norris felt third place "is as good as McLaren can do for the time being" but the constructors' champions are maybe starting to understand that Mercedes engine a little bit more with each session that passes.

Norris has won three sprints during his career and after a disappointing opening grand prix in Melbourne where he finished fifth, he said he was pretty happy to qualify above the two Ferraris in Shanghai.

The other Scuderia of Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, said he lost a chuck of time on the 1.2km back straight on his final run. "In qualifying for some reason the Mercedes power-unit finds a lot of lap time," said the Monegasque driver, "but in the race we are much closer."

Image source, Getty Images

George Russell said he loves this car and he loves this engine after crossing the line as race winner in Melbourne seven days ago and in China his new Mercedes produced the goods again to put him on pole position for today's sprint event. "Today was a real joy to drive," said the Briton after the session.

Russell said the team's focus since Australia has been on improving the race starts. At Albert Park, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc thundered past him and into the lead from fourth place. Russell eventually regained control after a cat and mouse chase but his low battery when arriving to the grid left him vulnerable.

This time out, it's Lewis Hamilton who occupies the same spot as Leclerc, so no wonder the seven-tme world champion was assessing his old team's car so closely after yesterday's pole battle.

"We are losing a lot of time on the straights, we have a lot of work to do to improve on power," said Hamilton, who triumphed in hte China sprint last year.

"Mercedes have done a fantastic job and we have to step up and push to close the gap."

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

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Hello, folks. Most people are still in bed at this hour but we've got a 19-lap sprint race to look forward at the Shanghai International Circuit.

With teams and drivers continuing to wrap their heads around the new regulations from one track to the next, today presents the first test of a frantic Saturday sprint event. The shorter dash will be ticked off the list first, followed by qualifying for Sunday's main grand prix shortly after.

Lewis Hamilton wanted a good look at the Mercedes following sprint qualifying on Friday after the Silver Arrows were miles ahead of the rest once again. George Russell grabbed pole position and team-mate Kimi Antonelli was second, with world champion Lando Norris 0.621 seconds behind Russell in third place.

Image source, Getty Images

Lights out for this 100km sprint is at 03:00 GMT.

Williams have been on the back foot in 2026 with a car that's carrying a bit too much timber and after both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz were knocked out in SQ1, Albon will start from the pit lane for the sprint after the team opted to make set-up changes to his car.