Motor Racing

Chinese Grand Prix 2026: Russell Strong Favourite To Go Back-To-Back

3 hours ago

| BY Sam Cox

The Chinese Grand Prix takes place this weekend with George Russell priced as an odds-on F1 betting favourite after his dominant win in Melbourne.

Mercedes unleashed more pace in the season opener than they showed in testing and some suggested they were still holding back.

This is the first sprint weekend of the season, meaning less time on track for teams and drivers to get used to their new cars. Reliability problems were seen up and down the pit lane in Melbourne.

Chinese Grand Prix Winner Odds:

George Russell – 4/5
Kimi Antonelli – 5/1
Charles Leclerc – 6/1
Max Verstappen – 8/1
Lewis Hamilton – 8/1
Oscar Piastri – 25/1
Lando Norris – 25/1

Can Anyone Get Close to Mercedes?

Before the opening race of the season, there were murmurs that Mercedes had the fastest car. When the two Silver Arrows were miles ahead of the pack in qualifying, fans could be forgiven for fearing a repeat of Mercedes’ dominance in the 2010s.

Reigning champions McLaren were further behind Mercedes than they expected. They haven’t got to grips with the power unit, which Mercedes has spent years understanding how to optimise, and they have gone from having the best downforce package on the grid to being off the pace in that department.

Red Bull, according to Max Verstappen, struggled with tyre degradation and the four-time world champion expects that to be an issue again in China. A sprint weekend isn’t ideal for Red Bull, who would love the extra time to experiment with their setup.

Ferrari’s Funky Wing

Ferrari didn’t bring their innovative ‘macarena’ rear wing to Melbourne. It has already been spotted on the Scuderia in Shanghai, however, which features one of the longest straights on the calendar.

Unveiled on the penultimate day of testing, Ferrari got plenty of data of their wing, which flips upside down on the straights. The hope will be that it can close the gap that Mercedes’ power unit has given them.

Lewis Hamilton was positive about Ferrari’s upgrade, but didn’t believe they could beat Mercedes after the Silver Arrows had a 0.8-second qualifying advantage.

The seven-time world champion said, I’m so grateful for the team too, because it was actually supposed to be later down the line and they worked really hard to develop it and get it brought here…

“We haven’t added eight tenths of performance to the car in four days. I think it will still be very tough to beat Mercedes this weekend. You also have to assume the others are going to be picking up pace – like McLaren and the second Red Bull being in the fight as well.”

Chinese Grand Prix Prediction

Back-to-back Grands Prix give no time for teams to close the gap to Mercedes. Ferrari’s outside-the-box wing might prove to be little more than a gimmick, and even if it’s effective, it’s not going to overturn a 0.8-second deficit.

Kimi Antonelli didn’t really threaten Russell in qualifying. He was still quick enough to be comfortable in second and demonstrated good race pace, even after losing places at the start.

Melbourne was ominous for the rest of the grid. We wouldn’t be surprised if this ended in another Merc 1-2.

Best bets: George Russell to win, Kimi Antonelli to win each-way