Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Shanghai International Circuit, 2026

George Russell said he was convinced Ferrari’s drivers were going to collide as they fought for position in the Chinese Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc swapped positions several times in the race. Russell had to make his way past them on two separate occasions: first after the start and again after the pair overtook him following the restart.

The two SF-26s came close to tangling at times and the pair made light contact at one point in turn two. Russell said he thought a collision was inevitable.

“I was just waiting for the two of them to collide and somehow they didn’t,” he said. “It was some of the most aggressive racing I’ve seen for a while.”

The battle between the Ferrari drivers cost Russell a significant amount of time as he tried to catch leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who went on to win the race.

“If I wasn’t trying to win the race, I’d have been enjoying the battle,” said Russell. “But obviously watching Kimi pull away during those points, it was a little bit annoying.

“Ferrari are definitely very quick. They’re quicker in the corners than us, slower than us on the straight, so it just made it a little bit challenging. And when you’re trying to get past two of them at the same point, that wasn’t straightforward.”

Russell eventually passed the Ferraris and finished the race five-and-a-half seconds behind Antonelli. But he is not convinced he would have won the race had he cleared the Ferraris more quickly.

“I think it would have been very difficult to challenge Kimi, to be honest,” said Russell. “He’s been very quick this weekend and when you’ve got two cars that are very similar in pace, trying to get past on the same tyres is a little bit challenging.

“But obviously that time I lost with the Ferraris just gave me no chance. But as I said, I’m pleased just to be in P2 because it could have been a lot worse, and overall, it’s been a solid weekend.”

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2026 Chinese Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine

Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 – when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring journalist, Keith began running the site full-time in 2010, achieving a long-held ambition to dedicate his full attention to his passion for motor racing. View all posts by Keith Collantine