Lewis Hamilton suggested there was extra power in his Mercedes’ engine that he did not show until qualifying as the Silver Arrows blocked the front row at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Hamilton, who has been with Mercedes for 12 seasons, finished third behind Kimi Antonelli and George Russell but still 0.351 seconds behind the new youngest pole-sitter in Formula 1 history.
Mercedes has blocked the front row in three qualifying sessions so far this season. On Saturday, Hamilton came closest to pole by a non-Mercedes by three tenths over Antonelli.
After the sprint in Shanghai, Hamilton finished third behind winner Russell and teammate Charles Leclerc. Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, referenced his time at Mercedes when he turned on the engine in Q3 and often took pole position.
From 2020, F1 regulations require teams to run the same engine mode during qualifying and the race. However, the new 2026 rules may offer the possibility of different solutions regarding battery deployment due to the additional reliance on electrical output.
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A thrilling conclusion to Chinese GP qualifying as Kimi Antonelli takes pole position
“I’ve worked at Mercedes for a very long time, so I know how things work there,” said Hamilton.
“In qualifying they have another mode you can go to, a bit like the old ‘party mode’ and then once you get to Q2 they turn that on and we don’t have that, so whatever it is.
“Then obviously in the race we don’t have that mode, so there’s still a clear advantage overall. We’ll have to find out what that is, but there’s more we can extract from it, especially in Q2.
“In the first quarter, we weren’t that far behind, and then all of a sudden it seems like we’ve made a big step forward. We felt like we were a tenth behind in the first quarter, and then suddenly we’re seven-tenths or half a second behind. That’s a big step.”
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George Russell believes Ferrari is competing with Mercedes after battling Lewis Hamilton in the Chinese GP sprint.
Similar to the Australian Grand Prix, Ferrari were much closer during the race, with Hamilton and Leclerc battling Russell in Saturday’s Shanghai Sprint.
Hamilton and Russell fought hard in the early stages, swapping the lead five times in the first five laps, before a subsequent decline in stronger tires allowed Russell to start ahead of the Safety Car midway through the race.
Hamilton said Ferrari had made changes to their car after the sprint to get closer to Mercedes for qualifying, but he was not sure whether Mercedes showed their true pace.
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Lewis Hamilton leads sprint after thrilling start at Chinese GP
“We don’t know if they have more energy or more crank power. It’s impossible to know, but they are very fast, especially for qualifying,” he said.
“But we’re working on improving that area and getting a little closer in the race. I don’t know why, but I’m grateful that we’re a little closer in the race. It’s not close enough.
“When we’re behind them, we definitely feel the thirst for power. It’s really hard to keep up and you can see that they’re grunting more and pulling longer. That’s why I died this morning (in the sprint). I just tried to get through the corners and it didn’t make much difference, so I just killed the tires.”
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2026 Chinese Grand Prix Sprint Highlights
Leclerc: It’s very difficult on this track.
Throughout last year, Leclerc led Hamilton for most of this season, but the latter was much happier with his new 2026 car, a move away from the ground effect car he struggled to extract the most from.
Hamilton outpaced Leclerc in both heats in Shanghai and Leclerc will start Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix from fourth.
“There was nothing more for us to do. I’m having a lot of trouble on this track this season, I always have,” he said.
“It’s not that I don’t try because I put in a lot of effort, but I’m having trouble passing the preliminaries.
“Besides, these cars have to drive a little differently in qualifying, so there is some work going on to try and optimize everything so that in the end we can get us closer to Mercedes. But in general, on a track where we are struggling, we are quite happy.”
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Charles Leclerc complained over team radio that Lewis Hamilton almost made contact in the Sprint with his Ferrari at the Chinese GP.
Sky Sports F1Jacques Villeneuve believes the long corners of the Shanghai International Circuit do not suit Leclerc’s style, while Hamilton has found his “positive energy” again at the start of this season.
“Every driver has tracks that are very fast for some reason. Even when the car is not good, he can drive fast,” said the 1997 F1 world champion.
“This is a track that typically has a lot of understeer. We know Charles doesn’t like understeer very much, so maybe we have to over-set the car to compensate for that understeer and that puts the car in a bad area.”
Sky Sports F1 Chinese GP Schedule
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Take a look back at some of the wildest moments captured on onboard cameras at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Sunday March 15th
2.35am: F1 Academy Race 2*
5.30am: Build-up to the Chinese GP: Sunday Grand Prix*
7 a.m.: Chinese Grand Prix*
9am: Chinese GP reaction: checkered flag*
10 AM: Ted’s Note*
*Applies to Sky Sports main event as well
Formula 1 will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 from Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix, the first sprint weekend of the 2026 season. Stream Sky Sports NOW – No Commitment, Cancel Anytime
