The Latest Breaking News from Mercedes

Oscar Piastri came alive to beat George Russell and Lando Norris to pole

Piastri pulled out all the stops to see off George Russell by just 0.082 seconds with Norris settling for third

The 40-year-old rolled back the years to lead every lap at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Lewis Hamilton dominated the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, winning from pole to take his first Formula 1 victory for Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton dominated the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, winning from pole to take his first Formula 1 victory for Ferrari.

Mercedes’ Russell said on the eve of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix that Norris’ McLaren team should win every race this season.

Having dominated Formula 1 in Australia, the expectation was McLaren would at least be as quick on the resurfaced Shanghai International Circuit for round two. With China being a sprint weekend, Friday's sole practice pace was particularly difficult to read much into, with almost no meaningful long-run comparisons across teams.

The rolling cheers were the first clue. Reverberating as if sprint qualifying for Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix was taking place within a leisure centre swimming pool – such is the way the Shanghai track’s giant main grandstand traps noise - was the noise that greeted Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari pole.

The rolling cheers were the first clue. Reverberating as if sprint qualifying for Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix was taking place within a leisure-centre swimming pool – such is the way the Shanghai track’s giant main grandstand traps noise - was the noise that greeted Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari pole.