Chinese GP – FP1: Mercedes in their own world, Lindblad at a standstill

We had left Mercedes Benz Following a dominant one-two finish in Australia, the German firm was equally dominant in China. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli largely dominated the first and only free practice session held as part of the Sprint weekend in Shanghai. The two W17s are quite clearly ahead, while their pursuers are closer together. We naturally think of the McLarenwho made a good impression by taking third and fourth places: Lando Norris beat his teammate Oscar piastriThe papayas, in particular, were more vibrant than the Classic Ferrari for salewho needed a little more time to adapt, in particular, to their new wing nicknamed “Macarena” by Frédéric Vasseur.

This revolutionary new device, briefly tested in Bahrain, has claimed its first victim: Lewis Hamilton suffered a significant loss of traction after braking, as its wing rotated 180° to return to its closed position. However, the Italians are not worried, knowing the effectiveness of their component, which is already being studied by other manufacturers.

Charles Leclerc He too had a slight scare in the final corner, running into the gravel trap at the end of the session, but the Monegasque driver was able to rejoin the track without losing control of his SF-26. In the final minutes, the Haas Oliver Bearman, seventh as in the Australian GP, ​​also spun, but without injury. The Briton is ahead Max Verstappen, which concedes 1.8 s with its Red BullAn abysmal gap, though less significant than that suffered by Isack Hadjar, a modest 13th at 2.115 seconds. The Austrian garage will have to work hard to restore some consistency to this... car before the sprint qualifications, scheduled for 8 a.m. French time.

The other notable event of the morning for the Austrian contingent was the retirement of rookie Arvid Lindblad. The Racing Bulls driver had to stop during the first part of the session, the victim of a technical problem with his car, which was emitting smoke into the cockpit. He only managed six laps, and moreover, he has never driven on this circuit in junior formulas: the challenge in sprint qualifying looks immense.

ALSO READ > 2026 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Friday's schedule

F1 – Chinese Grand Prix
The ranking of Free Practice 1