Max to start sprint race in China from P8: 'No grip, no balance'

Published on 13 March 2026 by Misha van der Kroon

Max Verstappen will start Saturday morning’s sprint race in China from eighth place after a difficult qualifying session. At the Shanghai International Circuit, George Russell put his Mercedes on pole position ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli in P2. Lando Norris secured third place in his McLaren. The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri completed the top five. Max’s Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate, Isack Hadjar, will start the sprint race from tenth.

“The whole day has been a disaster, pace-wise,” Max says after the qualifying session ahead of the sprint race. “No grip, and I think that’s the biggest problem, no grip and no balance. We’re losing massive amounts of time in the corners, and because of that, you start triggering other little problems. But the big problem for us is the cornering, it’s completely off.”

Max continues: “At the moment I don’t know what we can do, but we’ll see.”

Ahead of the start of Q1, conditions are slightly warmer than during the earlier free practice session, with an air temperature of sixteen degrees. As soon as the lights at the end of the pit lane turn green, the track quickly fills with cars. Sergio Perez is not among them. The Mexican will not take part after a problem with the fuel system was discovered at the end of the first free practice session, which could not be resolved in time.

Hadjar is the first to put a time on the board, with Max just a few thousandths slower in second place. Verstappen’s second attempt is three tenths quicker, moving him up to P7. “The downshifts are terrible,” the Dutchman reports over the team radio. At the end of Q1, Russell leads the way ahead of the Ferraris in second and third, while Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Valtteri Bottas and Perez are eliminated.

At the start of Q2, both McLarens are the first to head out onto the track, with the rest of the field soon following. After the first runs, both Mercedes drivers and Charles Leclerc occupy the top three positions. On the wrong side of the cut-off line are Albon, Esteban Ocon, Gabriel Bortoleto, Liam Lawson, Oliver Bearman, Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto.

At the end of Q2, Nico Hülkenberg, Ocon, Lawson, Bortoleto, Lindblad and Colapinto are eliminated. Both Red Bulls narrowly make it through to the top ten shootout, which is once again led by the two Mercedes drivers.

The Mercedes cars are the first to head out for the decisive eight-minute Q3 session. Antonelli is the first to start a flying lap. Russell goes even quicker behind him, while Max loses half a second in the first sector. After the opening runs, the top three consists of Russell, Antonelli and Hamilton, with Max in fifth place. The rest of the field is only just beginning their warm-up laps and will likely have time for just one attempt.

When the flag finally falls, it is Russell who takes pole position ahead of Antonelli in P2 and Norris in P3. Max finishes eighth, while Hadjar rounds out the top ten in P10. The sizeable gap to Mercedes will be a particular concern. With that, Friday’s running in China comes to an end.

Results sprint qualifying China: