MOTORSPORT – F1 arrived in Shanghai for the first sprint race weekend of the season, offering another chance for fans to witness the development of the new rules and regulations. With the race being straight after Australia, teams will have had little time to deliver meaningful new upgrades, but it was also an opportunity to see how the new cars, and specifically the new energy deployment systems, would perform on a different type of circuit.
The characteristics of Shanghai are contrasting to Australia. As a permanent circuit, it was resurfaced last year, offering high grip but also high tyre degradation. Like here in Bahrain, it has several heavy breaking corners, not least at turn 1 which follows one of the longest straights on the F1 calendar at 1.2km. It would certainly prove to be a challenge for drivers to work out best energy strategies.
What was similar to Australia, however, was that Mercedes was still the team to beat. That showed from early on as Antonelli and Russell took the front row for sprint qualifying, with Russell converting that to a sprint race win on Friday. Antonelli would have been up there had it not been for a poor start to the sprint race and a subsequent 10 second penalty for causing a collision with Hadjar on the opening lap. He would go on to finish fifth as a result. The sprint race also showed that the Ferrari race pace was strong compared to qualifying and more competitive against Mercedes compared to Australia.
Indeed, Russell and Hamilton swapped places numerous times in the opening stages of the race, with Leclerc also close to the front throughout. McLaren showed some improvement too and demonstrated a clear gap between themselves and Red Bull, with Norris finishing fourth and Piastri sixth.
It was a similar pattern for the main race qualifying with the two Mercedes up front, albeit Antonelli taking pole and, impressively, becoming the youngest ever driver to take that position. Hamilton and Leclerc followed just 0.2 seconds behind, with a gap to the pair of McLaren cars. Gasly in the Alpine and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen completed the top eight.
The morning of race day brought some early drama as both McLaren cars discovered technical issues related to the Mercedes powertrain prior to the start. Despite efforts, neither car made it to the starting grid. This was the first time in over 20 years that both McLarens would fail to start a race and the first time in Lando Norris’ career that he failed to make the start.
Bortoleto in the Audi and Albon in the Williams also didn’t make it, which meant that the race got underway with 18 cars on the grid.
For those that did get to lights out, it was another chance to witness Ferrari’s ability to get off the line much quicker than the rest of the field, with Lewis Hamilton taking the lead ahead of Antonelli and Leclerc managing to leapfrog George Russell. However, the Mercedes performance did not take long to shine through as by lap four Antonelli had regained the lead and Russell managed to overtake the two Ferraris.
There were some mixed race strategies, with the front runners planning a one stop strategy with a switch to a second longer stint to the end on hard tyres. A safety car triggered by Lance Stroll stopping on track gave those on this strategy the chance of a cheap pit stop.
On resumption, it took a bit of time for the order to settle as the front runners had to get through traffic. Antonelli was more efficient in getting back to the front and by the time the race order settled he had a healthy lead on George Russell. Behind them, there was a thoroughly entertaining duel between the two Ferraris for most of the remainder of the race. It was Hamilton though, who finished ahead of Leclerc to take his first ever podium for Ferrari, providing further evidence that the British driver feels much more confident and happy with his 2026 car.
Up front, other than a late lock up for Antonelli which cost him a couple of seconds, his victory never looked in doubt and he took the chequered flag for a memorable first win for the 19-year-old. He became the first Italian to win in over 20 years and his reaction was both ecstatic and very emotional, with incredible scenes as he celebrated with his team and family.
Outside of the top four, it was another impressive display from Ollie Bearman, who finished fifth in his Haas, with Pierre Gasly sixth, followed by the two Racing Bulls of Lawson and Hadjar. Sainz and Colapinto completed the top ten.
The race will be best remembered, however, for Antonelli’s debut win in F1. As Toto Wolf reminded on team radio after the race, there were many who said he was too young and inexperienced to fill the space left by Lewis Hamilton’s departure and this win will have done a huge amount to quiet those doubters. It also means that if Mercedes continues this early season dominance, fans can still expect a compelling fight at the front between the young Italian and George Russell.
Finally, yesterday there was an announcement from F1 and the FIA that our race will not go ahead in April. We want to thank fans for all their kind messages of support we have received. Your support and passion for motorsport is an inspiration to us.
F1 has a one week break before heading to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29.
* Laurence Jones is senior manager, Marketing and Communications, Bahrain International Circuit
l.jones@bic.com.bh
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