Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

1. ‘I’m feeling good’ – Leclercpublished at 06:48 Greenwich Mean Time

   Charles Leclerc will start in sixth in the Ferrari, he told Sky Sports: “I’m feeling good, the target is to try and recover in what was a difficult weekend for me. [I want] a good start and then hopefully the pace will be there to come back in front.”

2. Contrasting fortunes at Williamspublished at 06:47 Greenwich Mean Time

   Image source, Getty Images

   Carlos Sainz, like Lewis Hamilton, is trying to find his feet in a new team this season. The Spaniard was an early retirement in Melbourne a week ago and will start P15 in his Williams today. When it comes to qualifying, Sainz wrote on X he loses feeling with the car when he starts to push, especially in the final sector in Shanghai. “We made big set-up changes for the race, hopefully we’ll be in better shape,” he added.

   His new team-mate Alex Albon, meanwhile, lining up P10, has made it in to the pole shootout at each qualifying event so far this campaign and says the car is “heading in the right direction”.

   We should also wish Albon a happy 29th birthday today!

3. Postpublished at 06:45 Greenwich Mean Time

   Martin Brundle on Sky Sports has caught up with Briton Ollie Bearman and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli on the grid. Both drivers say the wind is a little bit different compared to yesterday, notably a tailwind in to Turns One and Two.

   Start the music. It’s national anthem time.

4. ‘There will never be anyone like him’ – Hill tribute to Jordanpublished at 06:43 Greenwich Mean Time

   Former world champion Damon Hill pays tribute to Eddie Jordan after the ex-Formula 1 team boss’ death on Thursday at the age of 76.

   Image source, Getty Images

   Image source, Getty Images

   Image source, Getty Images

5. Who will be the tyre whisperer?published at 06:41 Greenwich Mean Time

   Image source, Getty Images

   Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari race engineer said the seven-time world champion gave a “masterclass in tyre management” during his sprint victory, so who else has the ability to nurse their tyres, for even an even longer distance, today?

   The C3 medium compound was chosen for the shorter race and by the end of 19 laps, most drivers were flagging issues with the front left. Lando Norris said graining, and not just temperature, was a major factor in the front rubber dropping off.

   Most teams have two sets of the C2 hard compound for today’s grand prix. But as they haven’t been run in any session yet, how they will shape up on the newly resurfaced track is still an unknown.

6. Hadjar and Tsunoda impresspublished at 06:39 Greenwich Mean Time

   Image source, Getty Images

   What’s also going against Liam Lawson this weekend is the performance of the Racing Bulls.

   Fellow rookie Isack Hadjar made it through to the top 10 shootout and will line up in seventh, while Yuki Tsunoda – the man who many think should’ve got the Red Bull seat – scored points in the sprint and starts ninth.

   Hadjar told Sky Sports after qualifying perfected his race start will be the key to hopefully bringing home his debut points in Formula 1. Although to do that, he needs to defend any attack from the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who starts eighth.

7. Tough day for Lawsonpublished at 06:35 Greenwich Mean Time

   Image source, Getty Images

   Liam Lawson is the most experience rookie of the 2025 intake but he’s finding life tough at Red Bull now he’s been given a permanent spot in Formula 1. The New Zealander has failed to make it out of any of the Q1 sessions so far and will start last on the grid in Shanghai today.

   Speaking on Saturday, Lawson said: “The window is very small in this car. But it’s not an excuse, it’s just something I need to get a grip on.”

   Will he be given time to find his feet in the team? It’s very early days, of course, but Red Bull are already 11 points behind leaders McLaren, so Lawson needs to start put himself in the top 10 soon.

8. Hamilton, Button and Jordan take part in 2010 F1 Pub Quizpublished at 06:33 Greenwich Mean Time

   This is a blast from the past.

   Watch the best moments from BBC Sport’s ‘The Great British F1 Pub Quiz’ that aired ahead of the 2010 Silverstone Grand Prix.

   With then McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, BBC presenters Jake Humphrey and Eddie Jordan, and Radio 1s Chris Moyles and Dave Vitty – hosted by Al Murray.

9. Red Bull ‘not fast enough’ – Verstappenpublished at 06:30 Greenwich Mean Time

   Image source, Getty Images

   Many a true word is spoken in jest.

   Max Verstappen is on the second row in fourth alongside Lando Norris but the Red Bull driver joked the three cars ahead of him will have to retire in order for him to claim back-to-back victories in China. His assessment of Red Bull’s qualifying outing was the team is “not fast enough” to compete with their rivals.

   The Dutchman is aiming to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of five straight drivers’ titles this year and while he finished the sprint in third place to bank six points for his championship total, he did suffer heavily with tyre degradation in the latter stages of the shorter race.

10. Postpublished at 06:27 Greenwich Mean Time

    How tight will the battle for the race win be? Just 0.462 seconds covered the top eight drivers in qualifying, so polesitter Oscar Piastri, who is aiming for his third win with McLaren, has to be alert to the challenges around him, especially heading to the first corner where George Russell has the inside line starting in P2.

11. Piastri takes maiden pole in Chinapublished at 06:24 Greenwich Mean Time

    Image source, Getty Images

    With the sprint race complete it was time to reset and switch focus to qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix – could Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari be top dogs for the main race too?

    Sadly, the seven-time world champion couldn’t make it two for two in Shanghai, as the Scuderia failed to match the pace of their competitors in Q3. Hamilton will start fifth and team-mate Charles Leclerc in sixth; the Monegasque man saying that is a truer reflection of the team’s performance.

    Oscar Piastri sealed his maiden pole by 0.082 seconds – and a new lap record of 1:30.641 – with George Russell sneaking up late on to start alongside the Australian.

    Lando Norris and Max Verstappen will share the second row in third and fourth respectively.

12. McLaren just clear of Mercedespublished at 06:21 Greenwich Mean Time

    Will it be McLaren versus Mercedes this season? The constructors’ champions are one point clear of the Silver Arrows following the sprint, with Red Bull staying in third place and Ferrari moving up to fourth.

    Alpine and Haas are the only teams without any points on the board after Racing Bulls collected three of them courtesy of Yuki Tsunoda.

    Pit lane is open.

    Image source, Getty Images/BBC Sport

13. Norris stays aheadpublished at 06:18 Greenwich Mean Time

    With points on offer for finishing in the top eight in the shorter Saturday sprint, Max Verstappen has inched closer to Lando Norris at the top of the drivers’ championship by two points.

    George Russell is six points off Norris in third, while his new Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli is sitting pretty in fourth place.

    Image source, Getty Images/BBC Sport

    It’s been great weekend so far for the Racing Bulls, which started with Yuki Tsunoda picking up his first points of the season. The Japanese driver is just outside the top 10 in 11th spot.

14. Hamilton takes China sprint winpublished at 06:14 Greenwich Mean Time

    Image source, Getty Images

    Saturday started (very early) with a 19-lap sprint race – the first of six events this season. Lewis Hamilton started on pole and took the chequered flag to celebrate his first victory since his blockbuster move to Ferrari.

    Oscar Piastri passed Max Verstappen with five laps to go to take second, the Dutchman finished third and championship leader Lando Norris managed to rescue a point by finishing eighth after dropping to ninth on the opening lap.

    Hamilton madesure to give a mention to his “yapping” critics following last week’s disappointing first outing in Melbourne, saying: “People just love to be negative at any opportunity. Even with the smallest things, they’ll just be negative about it.”

15. Pit-lane start for Lawsonpublished at 06:11 Greenwich Mean Time

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent

    Liam Lawson, already under pressure at Red Bull following a poor start to the season, will start the Chinese Grand Prix from the pit lane after a change of suspension settings.

16. Remembering Eddie Jordanpublished at 06:08 Greenwich Mean Time

    Drivers and team personnel gathered on the grid earlier to remember and the celebrate former F1 team boss and television pundit Eddie Jordan, who died in the early hours of Thursday morning.

    Aston Martin’s origins are linked to the Irishman, so the team are running his name on their livery this weekend, with the tribute based on Jordan GP’s logo from their debut season in 1991.

    Read Andrew Benson’s obituary, ‘Eddie Jordan, the flamboyant deal-maker of Formula 1’, here.

    Image source, Getty Images

    Image source, Getty Images

17. Listen: Chinese GP sprint & qualifying reviewpublished at 06:04 Greenwich Mean Time

    Harry Benjamin is joined by McLaren Formula E driver Sam Bird and the BBC’s F1 correspondent Andrew Benson to reflect on Lewis Hamilton’s sprint win and Oscar Piastri’s pole position for today’s grand prix.

18. Good morningpublished at 06:00 Greenwich Mean Time

    Image source, Getty Images

    Hello, folks. Oscar Piastri proudly showed off his very first Pirelli Pole Position Award yesterday after securing the front-row spot for today’s Chinese Grand Prix.

    As polesitter, the Australian driver will benefit from a start in clear air at the Shanghai circuit. But can he keep Mercedes’ George Russell and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris at bay for 56 laps?

    Lights out at the Chinese Grand Prix are at 07:00 GMT.

    Commentary with Harry Benjamin, McLaren Formula E driver Sam Bird and F1 correspondent Andrew Benson will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds, at the top of this page using the ‘listen live’ tab and by asking BBC Sounds to play the Chinese Grand Prix via most smart speakers.

    The team will be with at 06:45.