SHANGHAI, March 14 — George Russell held off fast-starting Ferraris to win the Chinese Grand Prix sprint for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team today and extend his championship lead to 11 points.

The Briton started on pole at the Shanghai International Circuit and finished ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton after a late safety car in the 19-lap race.

Russell had already won last weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix in a Mercedes one-two.

Leclerc crossed the line 0.674 seconds behind Russell after an earlier battle with Hamilton, as Ferrari placed two cars in the top three of a Formula One race for the first time since the end of 2024.

Hamilton and Russell traded the lead four times in the opening five laps before the Mercedes driver made a decisive move that secured the eight points for the sprint victory.

Lando Norris finished fourth for McLaren Formula One Team, with Kimi Antonelli fifth for Mercedes after serving a 10-second penalty for a clash with Isack Hadjar on the opening lap.

Oscar Piastri was sixth for McLaren, followed by Liam Lawson for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team in seventh and Oliver Bearman taking the final point for Haas F1 Team.

Russell now has 33 points in the standings, with Antonelli and Leclerc tied on 22 and Hamilton on 18. — Reuters