Arvid Lindblad scored points on his debut last weekend in Melbourne, becoming the third youngest points scorer in Formula 1 behind Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen. But this stoppage to his run plan will be a headache for Racing Bulls heading into the first sprint event under the new regulations. Will we see Lindblad again this session? The clock is ticking as the marshals push his car to a safe spot.

Yellow flagpublished at 03:44 GMT 13 March

03:44 GMT 13 March

The VSC disappears but now it's been replaced by a yellow flag. Brit rookie Arvid Lindblad has pulled to the side of the track and is now climbing out of the car. This is not what Racing Bulls want when the teenager is about to take part in his first sprint weekend.

The marshals are on the circuit to clear some debris away, just after George Russell beat Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli on the timesheets by 0.029 seconds. The Italian was looking good for another quick lap before the VSC was shown, so can he ruffle the feathers of Russell this weekend?

Isack Hadjar is not happy in his Red Bull. "The traffic is unbearable," says the Frenchman.

Lewis Hamilton is still on the track after his moment at Turn Four, with his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc second on the timesheets behind the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli. But Hamilton has been noted for causing a collision with Lando Norris.

The Italian teenager, meawhile, has clocked a 1:35.065 on the medium compound.

Franco Colapinto is facing the wrong way around Turn Nine on his out lap after a half spin. The Argentine driver manages to turn his Alpine the right way and get going, just as an Aston Martin is coming on the scene.

Over at Ferrari and McLaren, Lewi Hamilton and world champion Lando Norris get close during the opening moments of this practice session. The replays show Hamilton's brakes locked up, causing him to spin off the track. The seven-time world champion has probably flat-spotted those medium tyres he's running.

The start procedure in 2026 has been high on the list of concerns for drivers and in Melbourne, only the cat-like reflexes of Alpine's Franco Colapinto saved what could've been a terrible collision with the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson at lights out.

Lawson, who qualified eighth, said he lost power when he got to the grid after the formation lap, so the car didn't have the burst of energy required to propel him off the line. Colapinto, who started P16, suddenly found himself right behind the slow-moving New Zealander and had to swerve sharply to avoid crashing into the back of him.

The likes of George Russell, Kimi Antonelli and four-time world champion Max Verstappen also flagged their lack of battery charge when arriving to the grid, with the batteries of Red Bull's Verstappen and team-mate Isack Hadjar drained of energy completely.

BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Good morning to Harry Benjamin, former McLaren Formula E driver Sam Bird and F1 correspondent Andrew Benson. We're all awake to listen to this sole practice session.

Click the 'listen live' tab at the top of the page, tune in via BBC Sounds or ask your smart speaker to 'play BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra'.

There's no time to waste at the Chinese Grand Prix.

One hour of practice, which starts now, then it's full steam ahead for competitive track action for the rest of the weekend.

Image source, Getty Images

The tyre selection for the Chinese Grand Prix is one-step harder than last weekend's first round in Melbourne, with the C2 (white) as the hard, the C3 (medium) as the medium and the C4 (red) as the soft compund.

As this is a sprint weekend, teams will be allocated 12 sets for the three days of track action rather than the usual 13. Drivers will receive two sets of hards, four sets of mediums and six sets of softs.

Six sets of the green intermediates and three sets of the blue full wets have also made the journey to Shanghai, should the weather take a turn for the worse.

If you're new to the sprint format, drivers must use new medium tyres in SQ1 and SQ2, followed by new or used soft tyres in the sprint pole shootout.

The Shanghai International Circuit was resurfaced before last year's event but graining is still a concern among teams and drivers in the build-up to the 2026 race.

Image source, Getty Images

Charles Leclerc felt third was the best he could do last Sunday but his hopes for a win were not helped by the Scuderia's decision to stay out during a virtual safety car (VSC). The call was questioned by the other Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, who finished fourth. "At least one of us should have pitted," he told his team.

World champion Lando Norris began his title defence with a fifth place at Albert Park - nearly 51 seconds behind Russell, while his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri had a miserable home race, crashing out on his way to the grid before he had even completed one proper lap.

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes set the tone for the weekend in Melbourne when George Russell's pole position lap time was eight tenths clear of Isack Hadjar's Red Bull in third place. Kimi Antonelli was also able to recover from a massive crash in final practice and put his car on the front row alongside his team-mate Russell.

And while Ferrari's getaway off the line was impressive - Charles Leclerc jumped from fourth to first at lights out - Russell said the yo-yo overtakes at the start, aided by the new boost and overtake modes, were expected but the ultimate pace of the car was not in doubt when he was fighting Leclerc. "Maybe these new regs aren't as bad as everyone is making out," he added.

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Hello, folks. Round two of the new campaign has come at us thick fast and this weekend there is even more for the drivers to get to grips with because the Chinese Grand Prix is the first sprint event of the year.

The opener in Australia last week was a one-two for Mercedes in both qualifying and the race but the headlines were hogged by the reaction to the new era of regulations; the engine's 50-50 split between electric and combustion power dividing opinion across the grid.

Race winner George Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who finished third, grappled for the lead in the opening stages but was it really racing or just artificial overtaking?

The pressure is also ramped up in Shanghai, as there is only one practice session today for teams and drivers to fine-tune their set-up before sprint qualifying gets under way later on.