Well, well, well. Look who’s decided to remember how to build a Formula 1 car that doesn’t actively fight its driver at every corner. Mercedes, the team that spent the better part of three seasons making cars that handled like shopping trolleys with wonky wheels, has somehow stumbled upon the concept of “making the car go fast around corners.” Revolutionary stuff, really.
George Russell topped the timesheets in FP1 at Shanghai, because apparently someone at Brackley finally found the “make car good” button they’d been sitting on since 2021. Russell’s 1:32.741 was a full two-tenths clear of his teammate Kimi Antonelli, who’s still adjusting to the horrifying reality of being a Mercedes driver. Welcome to the pain cave, kid.
The real story here isn’t just Mercedes rediscovering competence—it’s that they’ve done it with a one-two. Antonelli, bless his cotton socks, managed to slot into P2 with a 1:32.861, presumably while muttering Italian prayers and wondering what he did to deserve this fate. Still, credit where it’s due: the lad can clearly drive, even if he’s chosen to do so in silver.
FP1 Results
| POS | DRIVER | TEAM | BEST LAP | GAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | George RUSSELL | Mercedes | 1:32.741 | LEADER |
| P2 | Kimi ANTONELLI | Mercedes | 1:32.861 | +0.120s |
| P3 | Lando NORRIS | McLaren | 1:33.296 | +0.555s |
| P4 | Oscar PIASTRI | McLaren | 1:33.472 | +0.731s |
| P5 | Charles LECLERC | Ferrari | 1:33.599 | +0.858s |
| P6 | Lewis HAMILTON | Ferrari | 1:34.129 | +1.388s |
| P7 | Oliver BEARMAN | Haas F1 Team | 1:34.426 | +1.685s |
| P8 | Max VERSTAPPEN | Red Bull Racing | 1:34.541 | +1.800s |
| P9 | Nico HULKENBERG | Audi | 1:34.639 | +1.898s |
| P10 | Pierre GASLY | Alpine | 1:34.676 | +1.935s |
| P11 | Liam LAWSON | Racing Bulls | 1:34.773 | +2.032s |
| P12 | Gabriel BORTOLETO | Audi | 1:34.828 | +2.087s |
| P13 | Isack HADJAR | Red Bull Racing | 1:34.856 | +2.115s |
| P14 | Esteban OCON | Haas F1 Team | 1:34.877 | +2.136s |
| P15 | Franco COLAPINTO | Alpine | 1:34.947 | +2.206s |
| P16 | Alexander ALBON | Williams | 1:35.480 | +2.739s |
| P17 | Carlos SAINZ | Williams | 1:35.679 | +2.938s |
| P18 | Fernando ALONSO | Aston Martin | 1:35.856 | +3.115s |
| P19 | Valtteri BOTTAS | Cadillac | 1:36.057 | +3.316s |
| P20 | Lance STROLL | Aston Martin | 1:37.224 | +4.483s |
McLaren, meanwhile, continued their time-honored tradition of “being quite good but not quite good enough,” with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri filling out the second row of this practice session beauty parade. Ferrari managed to split themselves across the top six, with Charles Leclerc in P5 looking moderately competent while Lewis Hamilton in P6 probably wondered if he made the right career choices.
The most delicious irony? Max Verstappen, the man who’s spent the last few years treating F1 like his personal playground, found himself down in P8. Either Red Bull’s trying some galaxy-brain setup strategy, or they’ve finally remembered what it feels like to have a car that doesn’t automatically win everything. Probably the former, but a journalist can dream.
Special mention goes to Lance Stroll, who managed to be four and a half seconds off the pace in P20. That’s not just slow—that’s “are you actually trying?” slow. Even Valtteri Bottas in the Cadillac managed to be three seconds clear of him. At this point, Stroll’s performance is less about driving and more about performance art representing the concept of mediocrity.
It’s only FP1, of course, so this could all be meaningless come qualifying. But for now, let’s just enjoy the rare sight of Mercedes looking like they know what they’re doing.