In the first race of the weekend at the Shanghai circuit, George Russell secured crucial points for Mercedes by winning the sprint race. The race began with Russell facing fierce competition from his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who managed to overtake him multiple times before struggling with tire consumption and having to ease off the throttle. A rough start for Antonelli saw him lose significant positions, culminating in a collision with Hadjar, which resulted in a ten-second penalty for Antonelli. With a safety car deployed towards the end, Charles Leclerc found himself back in the mix but ultimately couldn't catch up to Russell, who drove effectively to maintain his lead and clinch victory.