Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Saturday, March 14, 2026, 10:07 / Updated Saturday, March 14, 2026 10:08
The top 3 finishers in the Chinese sprint race, George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, agreed that the race was fun. They fought for victory, but the Mercedes driver crossed the finish line first.
Just like at the start of the first Grand Prix of the year, in Australia, and in the first part of the sprint race in China, we had numerous overtakings and changes of the leader.
George Russell started from pole position, but during the first lap he was overtaken by Lewis Hamilton. By lap 5 it was a constant back and forth, a dance where Hamilton and Russell took turns leading the race. Hamilton eventually finished 3rd, being overtaken by teammate Charles Leclerc on lap 8. They fought a fierce battle, coming close to contact on lap 9.
In interviews, all 3 agreed that it was a fun race.
George Russell: “Lewis caught me dozing at the start”
“It was on the limit again. Lewis did a good job at the start, he caught me napping. I have to work on that. The sprint was fun! Normally races are as boring as a procession. Obviously the same back and forth again.
I wasn't sure all the time that I could overtake in place, but I wasn't sure that I could hold my position either. It was back and forth. So yeah, it was good,” commented overall leader George Russell.
Charles Leclerc: “I am quite satisfied”
“Actually, I really enjoyed it. It was a really fun race for me, inside the car. There were a few laps where things happened. For the first few laps I was kind of a spectator to the fight between Lewis and George, but that's what I wanted.
I knew they were going to seriously degrade their tires and I was just trying to manage mine and then push. It worked, but unfortunately there was that Safety Car later, so I couldn't reap the rewards for how I managed the tires at the start.
The Safety Car reset everything, I almost lost control of the car on the restart, but yes, P2. I am quite satisfied. It's a race, a circuit where I've had problems in the past, so to finish second is a good start to the weekend,” said Leclerc.
Lewis Hamilton: “These cars are really fun to drive”
“I mean, these cars are really fun to drive. The fact that there are these differences between us and Mercedes makes things challenging during the race. We can be a bit closer to them, which is fun.
Obviously, it's not the result we wanted, but we have a lot to learn. Right now I'm going to see if we can make changes,” Hamilton said.
