George Russell sent a strong signal right from the start of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. The Mercedes driver will start from pole position in the sprint race in Shanghai after dominating sprint qualifying, confirming the German team's excellent form at this circuit.
Russell: a dominance already visible in free practice
George Russell ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli by nearly three tenths during the decisive session, offering Mercedes Benz A front line completely locked down. Behind it, the threat McLaren However, it remains very real: Lando Norris seized third position ahead of the Classic Ferrari for sale conducted by Lewis Hamilton who will start from fourth position. Oscar piastri, the second pilot Mercedes Benz will start from fifth position and will have as a track neighbor, Charles Leclerc sixth, ready to capitalize on any incident in the opening corners. The two Red Bull drivers, for their part, qualified in eighth position. Max Verstappen and tenth position for Isaac Hadjar.
This performance was no accident. A few hours earlier, during the only free practice session of the sprint weekend, Russell had already displayed an impressive pace. The driver Mercedes Benz finished the session in first place with a time of 1:32.741, ahead of Antonelli by just 0,120 seconds, proof of the Silver Arrows' great competitiveness on the Shanghai circuit. Behind the two Mercedes, the McLaren by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri completed the hunting party, while Charles Leclerc placed the first Ferrari in fifth position. Lewis Hamilton He experienced a more complicated session marked by a spin and some setup issues, finishing more than a second off the best time.
Antonelli finally cleared after the incident with Norris
The sprint qualifying session was nevertheless marked by an investigation concerning Kimi AntonelliThe young Italian was suspected of having interfered Lando Norris during SQ2.
After analyzing the images and data, the stewards ultimately decided not to impose a penalty on the driver. Mercedes Benz. Norris was not engaged in a fast lap at the time of the incident, allowing Antonelli to retain his second place on the grid.
Mercedes has been working on its starts
Despite his pole position, Russell remains cautious. The Briton has not forgotten the season-opening race in Melbourne, where Classic Ferrari for sale had become very aggressive as soon as the lights went out.
“Since Melbourne, all our work has been focused on improving starts. We have tested several solutions to better react to the green light.” ", Explain Russell
The objective is clear: to avoid being caught off guard in the first few meters, especially given the ability of the Classic Ferrari for sale to jump at the start.
A Mercedes very much at home in Shanghai
Russell He also expressed great satisfaction with the performance of his single-seater.
"The car is incredible to drive here. The engine is running very well and it was a real pleasure today." " confided the British pilot.
Between dominating in free practice and taking pole position in the sprint, Mercedes Benz seems to have found an excellent performance window in Shanghai. Now they just need to convert this advantage into a result in the sprint, the first real test of the weekend against Classic Ferrari for sale et McLaren.
