2026 Chinese Grand Prix interactive data: lap charts, times and tyres

On Saturday, George Russell said the ‘yo-yo racing’ at the front of the field which characterised the Australian Grand Prix and Shanghai sprint race had been a consequence of his conservative approach while leading.

Would a change of leader affect that? It seemed to: Andrea Kimi Antonelli did not get drawn into fighting the Ferraris behind him as readily as Russell did.

Jump to: Lap chart – Gaps chart – Lap times – Tyre strategies

Antonelli may have lost a place off the line but this represented a far better start than he managed on either of the previous two occasions, in which he lost seven and eight positions. Nor did he get drawn into a protracted exchange of positions with Lewis Hamilton: Antonelli reclaimed the lead on lap two and that was that for the rest of the day.

Russell also dealt with the Ferrari drivers more effectively at this early stage of the race while the leaders were on the medium tyre compound. As early as lap four he had cleared Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

Antonelli left the chasing Ferraris behind quickly at this stage. He had almost six seconds in hand by lap nine, when the Safety Car came out.

This was well-timed for Antonelli. Russell as a little over a second behind at the time, and looked to be eyeing a chance to ‘over-cut’ his team mate. However the Safety Car meant Mercedes would try to service both cars at once. Not only did that deny Russell his best chance to get ahead, it also put an obstacle in his way – one he immediately tripped over.

Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon decided not to pit, and split the Mercedes as they rejoined the track. Now Antonelli had a two-car buffer between him and Russell. When the race restarted, Russell hesitated behind them and the Ferrari drivers capitalised, re-passing him.

By the time Russell regained second place on lap 29, Antonelli was seven-and-a-half seconds ahead. Russell made little progress to begin with, and Antonelli responded, extending his lead to nine-and-a-half seconds at one point. It was around this point that he slipped up at turn 53, squandering two seconds by locking up and running wide. But even with this, Russell was never a serious threat for the lead.

The Ferrari pair finished 25 seconds adrift. This would have been more without the Safety Car, but would surely have been a lot less had the pair not scrapped so hard for position.

Whatever one’s view of F1’s ‘yo-yo racing’, it clearly costs drivers a lot of time, and some teams might therefore be unwilling to allow their drivers to indulge in it. It probably didn’t cost Ferrari any positions as Russell was always likely to pass them, but what if the McLarens had started?

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2026 Chinese Grand Prix lap chart

The positions of each driver on every lap. Click name to highlight, right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:

2026 Chinese Grand Prix race chart

The gaps between each driver on every lap compared to the leader’s average lap time. Very large gaps omitted. Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:

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2026 Chinese Grand Prix lap times

All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded). Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and toggle drivers using the control below:

2026 Chinese Grand Prix fastest laps

Each driver’s fastest lap:

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2026 Chinese Grand Prix tyre strategies

The tyre strategies for each driver:

2026 Chinese Grand Prix pit stop times

How long each driver’s pit stops took:

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2026 Chinese Grand Prix

• “I hope this lap was broadcasted”: Alonso lost five places in one lap at the restart
• 2026 Chinese Grand Prix interactive data: lap charts, times and tyres
• Antonelli admits he “relaxed too much” before mistake near end of race
• Russell was ‘waiting for Hamilton and Leclerc to collide’ in Chinese GP
• Stella explains “coincidental” faults behind McLaren’s “exceptional” double withdrawal

Browse all 2026 Chinese Grand Prix articles

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