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Teams only get one hour to iron out any kinks during a sprint weekend before sprint qualifying, so every second counts on this weekend at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Mercedes claimed the best two spots on the timesheets in first practice, with George Russell 0.120 seconds clear of his Italian team-mate Kimi Antonelli. World champion Lando Norris popped up late to put his McLaren third on the board but the Briton was still half a second away from Russell's marker.

Oscar Piastri was fourth in the second McLaren, while the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc completed the top five in fifth. Lewis Hamilton finished behind his Suderia team-mate in sixth but the seven-time world champion had an early spin into the gravel on a set of medium tyres.

Brit Oliver Bearman was seventh for Haas, four-time title winner Max Verstappen was eighth in the Red Bull and Audi's Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine's Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

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Welcome back, folks. Or good morning if you're just joining us for the first time.

Practice is finished for the weekend in China and now full focus turns to the first sprint event of not only the 2026 season but the first of the new era of Formula 1 rules and regulations. How will the fresh engines, chassis, tyres and fuel cope with a packed schedule of track action? We'll find out soon.

The opening session of sprint qualifying, which will set the grid for tomorrow's 19-lap shorter race, gets under way at 07:30 GMT.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

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George Russell led Kimi Antonelli to a Mercedes one-two in the only practice session at the Chinese Grand Prix before the sprint weekend starts to unfold.

Russell was more than 0.7 seconds clear of the first driver not in a Mercedes, McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

Over one lap, that is an almost exact repeat of the advantage Mercedes showed in the season-opening race in Australia last weekend.

Antonelli was 0.120secs behind Russell, while Piastri's margin was 0.736secs, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and McLaren's Lando Norris close behind.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was sixth fastest, 1.388secs off the pace, but his time was set earlier in the session on older tyres after an early spin wrecked his set of medium tyres.

Read the full report here

Mercedes are continuing to set a rapid pace in 2026 and with practice now finished for the weekend in China, will they claim another one-two finish in the first sprint qualifying of the season later on?

There a few teams who will be sweating heading into SQ1 today. Arvid Lindblad came to a stop in the Racing Bulls while Carlos Sainz lost a chunk of running over at Williams. At least Aston Martin were quiet in that session, so a tiny silver lining for the team who have struggled ever since the shakedown in Barcelona two months ago.

We'll be back for sprint qualifying at 07:15 GMT, so either go back to bed or go grab yourselves some breakfast.

See you shortly!

11. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

12. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

13. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

14. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

15. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

16. Alex Albon (Williams)

17. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

18. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

19. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

21. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)

22. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)

1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 1:32.741

2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.120

3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.555

4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.731

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.858

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +1.388

7. Oliver Bearman (Haas) +1.685

8. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +1.800

9. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +1.898

10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1.935

Charles Leclerc reaches the final corner on what will probably be his last lap in this sole practice session. The Monegasque driver is coming in a bit too hot and a snap of oversteer sends him onto the gravel. The Ferrari mechanics will need to have a little look at the floor after that moment.

Lando Norris slips a place down the order with the arrival of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri to the top three runners. The Australian is quicker than the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, so that's a plus, but he's 0.736 seconds away from challenging George Russell's Mercedes at the top.

Max Verstappen, meanwhile, is down in eighth spot, one placer lower than the Haas of Briton Oliver Bearman.

Mercedes once again are ahead of the pack by a large margin, just like in Melbourne last weekend. World champion Lando Norris tries his luck next but his McLaren can't replicate what the two Silver Arrows cars have done and he slots into fourth on the board, 0.959 seconds off the pace.

The soft tyres are bolted on and Kimi Antonelli moves to second on the timsheets behind George Russell. The two Mercedes are separated by 0.156 seconds.

Ferrari are next up in third and fourth, Charles Leclerc super-clipping his way down the long back straight and into the top three but his time is now over eight tenths away from Russell, as the Briton has just banked a better lap on his first soft flyer.

Lewis Hamilton's radio communication doesn't seem to have improved much in the new season. "Give me a plan, mate, I don't know where I am in the session," the seven-time world champion tells his engineer.

David C Macfie: Sorry, don't agree [with Smokey Bacon], since podium was exactly where Leclerc was last week... Lewis is back and running well with the new rear wing, my real surprise is Hadjar in front of Max... Putting a bet on Lewis for a podium, sprint or GP... Really is back!!!3

Mikey Nash: I don't actually blame Ferrari for their calls. Imagine having to try and find potentially 0.4 - 0.8 of a second per lap over a race. Thinking outside of the box is good, but you've still got to think... that's the issue.

Ken Saunders: I expect Lewis to have a good season this year.

Max Verstappen joked he has 'swapped the simulator for my Nintendo Switch' now that F1 feels more like the video game Mario Kart in 2026. The four-time world champion went from 20th to sixth in Melbourne and while he's not the biggest fan of the new regulations, he stressed he still loves to race - whatever that may feel like. The Red Bull driver is on the medium tyre in 12th but his front-left is looking quite angry due to the demands of the Shanghai International Circuit.

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Oscar Piastri, who failed to start his home race in Australia, is running in the top four in China practice - three places higher than his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.

Lewis Hamilton has jumped above his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc on the timesheets on his soft tyre run and has managed to get the closest to George Russell at the top. The seven-time world champion is 0.208 seconds away from the Mercedes, however, Russell's time was set on the medium rubber.

Williams have got Carlos Sainz on track and the Spaniard is set out on the yellow compound to claw back some laps in this session.

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Thank you, Smokey Bacon. Excellent username. Gold stars to all of you who are following along this morning. We've also got another overnighter in Japan to look forward at the end of the month.

Like Smokey, if there is anything on your mind you want to tell the group, send it to us by selecting the 'Get Involved' button on the page.

Lewis Hamilton is running the soft tyre and goes third on the timesheets behind Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc and former Mercedes buddy George Russell.

Over at Williams, Carlos Sainz is without a time on the board and is having to watch on as his team work away on the car. It's been a tough start to the new era of Formula 1 for the team and both Sainz and team-mate Alex Albon have said the car needs to shift a few pounds as it's overweight.

Smokey Bacon: Ferrari never learn. They may have a car that can win races this year but they will find 23 ways to ruin their chances of getting on the podium.

1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 1:34.169

2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.240

3. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.625

4. Oliver Bearman (Haas) +0.781

5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.816

Image source, Getty Images

The battle between George Russell and Charles Leclerc in the opening laps at Albert Park was probably the highlight of the Australian Grand Prix, with both drivers saying they enjoyed the battle, even if it was more about energy deployment rather than pure racing.

China is expected to be a slightly kinder on the drivers this weekend, with more options available around the Shanghai circuit to recover some juice to the battery. So, will that give us a different race winner? We might be given an insight in tomorrow's 19-lap sprint event but for now, Charles Leclerc has inched closer to George Russell at the top of the timesheets by 0.240 seconds.

Ferrari have pulled out their upside down, 'Macarena' rear wing this weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix. Team principal Frederic Vasseur nicknamed it the Macarena wing because of the way it flips - if you do the dance in your head, you'll get the idea.

Charles Leclerc has climbed up the order but his time is still 0.538 seconds away from George Russell's best marker on the same medium tyre.

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The VSC is cleared as Arvid Lindblad makes his way back to the Racing Bulls garage. George Russell is still top of the timesheets in this one and only practice session but his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli was on for a quicker lap before Lindblad's Racing Bulls came to a halt. The gap between the two is just over six tenths, both on the medium compound, but here comes the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc...