2026 Chinese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton gained two positions at the start, overtaking both Mercedes for the lead, while Charles Leclerc overtook George Russell for third.  Max Verstappen lost half a dozen positions at the start.  By lap 3, Kimi Antonelli retook the lead from Hamilton and Russell took third back from Leclerc.  On lap 4 it was back to Antonelli, Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc.  Isack Hadjar spun early, losing many places, and flat-spotted his tires, requiring a pit stop dropping him to the rear.  Both McLarens started the race from the pit lane, leaving P5 and P6 on the grid empty, and there they retired.  Bortoleto and Albon failed to start.

By lap 8, Hamilton was reporting trouble with battery deployment, and Verstappen was complaining about the condition of his soft tires.  Both Red Bulls were the only drivers that took the start on the softs.  By lap 10 Verstappen pitted to join teammate Isack Hadjar on hards.  Then came a safety car brought out by Lance Stroll, and most drivers diving to the pits for new shoes.  Hadjar took a second pit stop during the safety car, keeping him as the last remaining runner.

The safety car went in at the end of lap 13, ahead of seventeen remaining runners.  Colopinto and Ocon restarted P2 and P3 as a result of not pitting under the safety car.  Hamilton overtook Russell shortly after the restart, and soon then overwhelmed Ocon.  Leclerc then demoted Russell to P6.  Russell complained of no grip, while Hamilton took second from Colopinto.  Soon after Leclerc stole third from Colopinto.

On lap 18 Hamilton was on the radio about needing more power, followed by Leclerc gaining on Hamilton.  On lap 20 Russell closed to Leclerc's gearbox.  At that point Colopinto in P5 was almost twelve seconds behind Russell, and everyone else farther back.  It was Mercedes versus Ferrari, and then a separate race between everyone else.

By lap 23, Antonelli had put about two seconds between him and Hamilton, with Leclerc close behind and Russell close behind Leclerc.  On lap 24 Leclerc took second from Hamilton.  Hamilton almost took it back, with Russell right on Hamilton.  On lap 26 retakes second from Leclerc, followed soon thereafter by Leclerc taking it back.  Through lap 27 the two Ferraris were all over each other.  Russell finally took third from Hamilton on lap 27 and almost got Leclerc as well.

Into lap 29, Russell was on Leclerc's rear but didn't quite get by.  By the end of the lap he finally got the overtake done on Leclerc to restore Mercedes to P1 and P2, with Ferrari P3 and P4 although with positions swapped from earlier.  Into 32, Antonelli had eight seconds between him and teammate Russell.  Russell must have been hard on his tires while following the Ferraris because in P2 he failed to pull away.  By lap 33, the gap from Hamilton to Bearman in P5 was almost 18 seconds.

Ocon and Colopinto came together and spun around but carried on without bringing out a safety car or VSC.  Soon after Fernando Alonso retired from the race.  Then Hamilton was again on the radio about no power, but then got by Leclerc for third thanks to an error from Leclerc.  At that point Hamilton was 5.5 seconds behind Russell, who was finally leaving the Ferraris behind.  Ocon got a ten-second penalty for his collision with Colopinto.

On lap 40 Leclerc passed Hamilton again to retake third, soon followed by Hamilton taking it back.  On lap 41 Leclerc was on the radio, not complaining but saying he'd been enjoying his duel with his teammate.  By lap 44 Leclerc dropped back to two seconds adrift of Hamilton.

On lap 46 Verstappen retired, continuing Red Bull's difficult start to 2026.  China has been brutal to both Red Bull and McLaren, with one Red Bull and both McLarens failing to finish or even failing to start, when they really should have been among the top four teams.

By the closing laps, there was a vulgar gap between Mercedes and Ferrari, and another stunning gap between Ferrari and the rest of the field.  Seven cars out of twenty-two were out, with only fifteen still running.  After all the battling between Russell, Hamilton, and Leclerc, the top four finished in the same order in which they started.  Race leader Antonelli ran off the track on lap 53 but no real harm was done except losing some of his huge lead.

This was Lewis Hamilton's first podium with Ferrari, his first since 2024, and number 202 across his F1 career.  Kimi Antonelli went from the youngest pole-sitter to second-youngest grand prix winner.