The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix saw Ferrari unable to best Mercedes again. For the second weekend in a row, the works team had to settle for fighting each other for third place and fell short of the top two steps of the podium in the Grand Prix format. Hamilton is in third and Leclerc is fourth. The first Sprint weekend of the season, however, saw them capitalise on the mistakes of Antonelli, leading to a double podium, with Leclerc heading Hamilton.

Shanghai International Circuit would prove to be a better chance for the Scarlet Red team. The track has heavier braking zones than in Australia, allowing for greater energy recovery. The 5.451 km track is almost the opposite of Albert Park, giving hope that Ferrari would lose less to Mercedes’ superior energy deployment, which shined in the previous race. 

Ferrari made headlines ahead of the Chinese GP weekend by bringing their head-turning ‘Macarena’ rear wing on both cars. They were also the first of the top four teams to bring a new upgrade in introducing a winglet on the halo pillar. The rear wing only lasted for the sole practice session of the weekend, with Hamilton even spinning off at the exit of Turn 6 with complaints about braking.

“I think we rushed it to get it here and it was not supposed to be on the cards until, I think it was race four or five or something like that. So, they did a great job to rush it here.”

The seven-time world champion told F1 TV. Despite the urgency to bring it to Shanghai, the team opted to go back to the wing they used in Australia for the remainder of the weekend.

Leclerc Fights His Ferrari to a Disappointing Sixth in Sprint Qualifying

Both Leclerc and Hamilton seemed decent in pace in SQ1. The final runs in the first qualifying saw the Ferrari pair slot in between the two Mercedes, with a promising gap of Hamilton being just under two tenths away from the lead car of Russell. SQ2 had a greater struggle with the Brit only improving from his SQ1 lap marginally. This left him behind McLaren’s Piastri and his teammate Leclerc, who was just ahead of the two in third. 

In SQ3 the struggles became apparent. The Monegasque driver began to have an issue with his toggle before, in the final stages, growing further frustrated with a loss of battery energy down the back straight. The battle with his SF-26 limited him to sixth. Hamilton had a better flying lap, slotting into third but with a huge gap of six tenths to first.

A Double Sprint Podium Leads to Hope for Ferrari

As seen in Melbourne one week prior, the Ferraris rocketed off the line. Hamilton and Leclerc both jumped a slow-moving Antonelli. Hamilton then pipped reigning champion Norris into the long right-hander of Turn 1 putting him right behind Russell. After also getting past Norris later in the lap, Leclerc trailed just behind his teammate and the leading Mercedes. Russell and Hamilton traded places for several laps, showing hopeful signs of Ferrari pace.

Eventually Hamilton found himself dropping back from Russell, showing a clear drop in pace. The seven-time world champion had to settle for again only being in a fight with the Monegasque. They continued to switch places during several laps, even briefly making contact into Turn 3 much to Leclerc’s frustration. 

A stationary Audi caused a safety car with the top six pitting for fresh tyres. The Ferrari double stack compromised Hamilton as he lost a place in the pit lane to Norris, forcing him to retake the place on track. Leclerc finished under a second behind Russell just after the safety restart. The Maranello-based team bagged a double podium.

Ferrari Remain Struggling with Qualifying Pace

Ferrari tried something different with used mediums for both drivers’ first flying laps. After the first runs in Q1, Hamilton found himself in the drop zone due to him suffering with a big slide coming out of Turn 9. The second push lap on softs saw the 41-year-old improve to P2 momentarily before dropping to P5. Leclerc raised eyebrows going to the top on his final run. The Italian team remained steady in Q2, slotting into second and fourth.

Q3 saw both Ferrari cars beat one Mercedes as Russell faced issues in the opening stages. Leclerc, the faster Ferrari, however, still fell short by three tenths to Antonelli. The Monegasque set the fastest middle sector, slotting in behind Antonelli briefly before Hamilton’s lap promoted him to second, 13 thousandths ahead of his teammate. Despite facing issues, Russell beat both their laps, demoting them to the second row. The teammates’ qualifying head-to-head is now even.

A Lonely Chinese GP and a Fight Amongst Themselves

Hamilton went round the outside of both Mercedes into Turn 1. Leclerc swooped past Russell into the long right-hander getting alongside Antonelli before he slammed the door shut into turn three. Both Ferraris, as seen previously throughout the season so far, struggled to keep up with the Mercedes after the early laps. Once the two silver arrows dispatched them, the battle again was clear to be between the two of them for the final spot on the podium.

The safety car on lap 10 saw the medium runners enter the pits, including the two Ferraris. The double stack cost Leclerc time despite the pit crew performing decent stops. After Russell also lost out during his double stack, he had a tougher time getting back ahead of the Italian team. Leclerc, having passed him earlier, was fighting for position with Hamilton just ahead of him. Once the championship leader managed to pass the two of them and scampered off into the distance, the intra-team battle continued. 

With Leclerc eventually the leading Ferrari, it seemed trouble had brewed for his teammate. Hamilton began voicing his frustrations about the lack of power to his engineer.

It seemed the fight between the two had ended until Leclerc suffered a lock-up into Turn 14, forcing him off the track. Hamilton, seeing the opportunity, came out of the hairpin ahead. The mistake would ultimately cost the Monegasque, as his British teammate remained in the final podium place when they crossed the line. Despite losing out, Leclerc reflected in the media pen, “I enjoyed the fight.”

He then acknowledged the negative, which was the gap to Brackley-based team. After a difficult previous season, Hamilton finally stood on the podium in red showcasing a new era for this partnership.

Still in the Championship Hunt

Despite Ferrari remaining second in the Constructors‘ Championship, they are now a disappointing 31 points behind the championship leaders. Ahead of the weekend they were only 16 behind. There is clear evidence that there is plenty of work still to do in sorting out their lack of power compared to Mercedes. 

The Italian team needs to do more to decrease the gap and push for a race win but is in much better form compared to last year. The next race in Japan may see Ferrari drop back again slightly. Despite being greater in braking zones than Australia, Suzuka features a greater number of high-speed corners and may prove difficult for all compared to Mercedes in battery recharge. The lack of power might result in the most historical constructor potentially fighting for P3 again.