LIVE – Kimi Antonelli on pole, relive the Chinese Grand Prix qualifying session with live commentary

Just a few hours after the sprint race, it was time for qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix! Unsurprisingly, George Russell dominated the session ahead of the two Classic Ferrari for sale, although the British did not experience the smooth ride that had been predicted. Lying in ambush, Charles LeclercBut above Lewis Hamilton acted threateningly towards the pilot Mercedes Benzindicating that the races could still hold a few surprises in this 2026 season. F1In qualifying, however, the two Mercedes drivers seem to have a substantial advantage, although this remains to be confirmed on Saturday.

F1 – Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai)
Follow the Grand Prix qualifying live

9h05 - 👋 Thank you all for following us this morning in Shanghai! Join us again at 8am (French time) this Sunday, March 15th, starting at 7am to follow our live text coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix, and throughout the day today for insights into this promising race!

9:02 AM – 📊 Here is the complete ranking at the end of these qualifications, pending possible changes.

Q3 – 0'00 – 🏁 Kimi Antonelli becomes the youngest poleman in Formula 1 history, he is the one who manages to keep the best time of the session!

Q3 – 0'00 – ⏱️ 1:32.064 for Kimi Antonelli! Three and a half tenths behind for the Ferrari drivers, Lewis Hamilton is second!

Q3 – 3'00 – The drivers are back on track, George Russell is still in his garage!

Q3 – 5'00 – 📊 A look at the standings while waiting for the final runs and George Russell's pit exit.

Q3 – 7'30 – Oscar piastri takes the second provisional time, only 228 thousandths behind Kimi Antonelli! Lando Norris is third.

Q3 – 8'00 – The Ferraris – with Lewis Hamilton in the lead – made mistakes during their laps. The potential is there at Ferrari.

Q3 – 9'00 – ⏱️ Kimi Antonelli secures the win in parallel with his teammate's misfortunes: 132.322 for the provisional leader, three tenths ahead of Charles Leclerc, seven tenths ahead of Lewis Hamilton!

Q3 – 11'00 – 📻 George Russell has restarted but indicates that he is unable to shift gears, with almost six minutes remaining in qualifying!

Q3 – 12'00 – 🟡 George Russell is stopped on track! Yellow flag!

Q3 – 13'00 – 🟢 The lights are green, the drivers leave the pits to determine the poleman for the Chinese Grand Prix!

Q2 – 0'00 – 📊 As we await the final part of qualifying, the gaps between Mercedes and Ferrari are closing significantly! Bortoleto, Lindblad, and Lawson have been eliminated. Or with, as well as Colapinto and HulkenbergIsack Hadjar makes it by a hair, by two thousandths of a second.

Q2 – 0'00 – 📻 George Russell reports a serious problem with his car over the radio. The Briton pits.

Q2 – 0'00 – Pierre Gasly takes the checkered flag in 5th place before being overtaken by Lando Norris!

Q2 – 0'30 – 🟡 Waving yellow flags, Gabriel Bortoleto was in the gravel trap at the last corner.

Q2 – 1'00 – ⏱️ Kimi Antonelli takes the lead: 1:32.443 for the Italian!

Q2 – 2'30 – The Mercedes are back on track.

Q2 – 3'00 – ⏱️ New benchmark for Charles Leclerc in 1:32.486! Lewis Hamilton, third, is only 81 thousandths of a second behind his teammate.

Q2 – 4'00 – The Ferraris are not far behind the Australian, Charles Leclerc takes the record for the first two sectors.

Q2 – 5'30 – Oscar Piastri is provisionally tenth and is preparing to launch a fast lap to avoid being caught out.

Q2 – 7'30 – Here is the mid-session update.

Q2 – 8'30 – Pierre Gasly crosses the finish line eight tenths of a second off the benchmark time and finishes just ahead of Isack Hadjar! The driver Alpine is eighth.

Q2 – 10'00 – Max Verstappen is currently in fifth position on worn tires, behind the leaders. Ollie Bearman, meanwhile, is ahead of the... McLaren notably !

Q2 – 11'00 – ⏱️ George Russell takes the fastest time with a 1:32.523 ahead of the two Ferraris and his teammate Kimi Antonelli, 4th!

Q2 – 13'00 – Kimi Antonelli sets off on his flying lap, ten seconds ahead of George Russell. The Mercedes cars are out much earlier than in Q1.

Q2 – 15'00 – The counters are reset, we're off for the second part of qualifying!

8h22 - Despite Nico Hülkenberg's retirement this morning in the Sprint, Audi confirmed its strong performance when reliability is on point with Gabriel Bortoleto's seventh-place finish! Also worth noting was Alex's frustration. Albon on the radio, visibly very frustrated at having to stop again at this stage of the qualifications.

Q1 – 0'00 – 📊 And it's Charles Leclerc who ends up dominating this first part of the session! Pérez is eliminated, Stroll, Bottas, Alonso, Albon, and SainzThe same three teams are struggling here in China.

Q1 – 0'30 – Max Verstappen set the fourth fastest time, Isack Hadjar the eighth.

Q1 – 3'30 – Note the provisional 14th and 15th places of Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen. Both drivers are now on soft tires.

Q1 – 5'00 – ⏱️ Charles Leclerc sets the fastest time just now! 1:33.175 for the Monegasque driver! Lewis Hamilton is fourth ahead of the two McLarens, and Pierre Gasly, eighth at this stage.

Q1 – 6'00 – 📊 After 12 minutes, here is the provisional standings for the first part of qualifying!

Q1 – 8'00 – ⏱️ The gap between the two Mercedes is very small! 43 thousandths of a second separate George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with the Briton in the lead!

Q1 – 10'30 – 📻 Lewis Hamilton reports over the radio that his Ferrari is handling well, but lacks stability in some corners. The Briton recovered well from a slight loss of control in the first sector.

Q1 – 12'00 – ⏱️ Oscar Piastri takes the lead: 1:33.990! Note the second and third places of the two Audi drivers!

Q1 – 13'00 – ⏱️ Max Verstappen sets the provisional best time with a 1:34.401.

Q1 – 14'20 – Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Isack Hadjar opted for medium tires. The rest of the grid went for soft tires.

Q1 – 16'00 – The Cadillacs are the first on the track.

Q1 – 16'30 – As a reminder, because this is still a new development, six will be eliminated at the end of this first part of the qualifications.

Q1 – 18'00 – 🟢 Qualifying begins in Shanghai!

7h55 - 🔍 Just minutes before the start of these qualifying sessions, experience, or relive, the start of this morning's Sprint!

THE START OF THE SPRINT RACE ⚡️
HAMILTON LEADS ON THE FIRST LAP 💪

The final 18 rounds are now live on CANAL+ SPORT 🤩#ChineseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/NDueo4pyVI

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) March 14, 2026

7h50 - 📊 Based on various telemetry data, Mercedes' straight-line advantage over Ferrari appears to be eight-tenths of a second over the entire lap, here in Shanghai. The Scuderia, meanwhile, seems to have an advantage of around two-tenths of a second in the corners. It still seems difficult for anyone to challenge the raw power of the Silver Arrows.

7h46 - For his part, Lewis Hamilton briefly tasted first place in Sprint, enough to galvanize him before qualifying, although the Briton keeps his feet on the ground.

Lewis Hamilton was aiming for victory in the Shanghai Sprint: "I killed my front left tire."

7h40 - In qualifying, George Russell and Mercedes remain favorites given the W17's strength in this area. However, Charles Leclerc expressed confidence regarding the race scenarios.

Ferrari close to Mercedes in Sprint, "good news" for Charles Leclerc

7h35 - For those who chose to sleep a little longer tonight, here is the recap of the Sprint of this Chinese Grand Prix, from which George Russell emerged victorious… but not without difficulty.

Chinese GP – Sprint: George Russell wins after a superb battle with Lewis Hamilton

7h30 - 👋 Hello, or hello again to everyone who was already with us for this morning's sprint race! In thirty minutes, qualifying will begin on the Shanghai circuit!