Russell starts Chinese GP between the McLarens 'A roll of the dice'
09:12, 22 Mar 2025
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Savannah Lenz is a Formula 1 journalist at GPblog with a broad interest in motorsport. With experience in content creation and journalism, she delivers accessible and reliable coverage for a global F1 audience.
George Russell's 2025 Formula 1 season is shaping up to be his best yet. He has landed himself on the front row for the Chinese Grand Prix after qualifying second. Russell ended in third place last weekend in the Australian Grand Prix
Russell is on the front row
"It feels incredible, to be honest," Russell began immediately after qualifying in China. He admitted, "It was one of the hardest quali sessions I've done in a long, long time. I was trying all sorts with my preparation with the tyres, and nothing seemed to be clicking."
Russell and Antonelli have started the season off on the right foot as they ended last weekend with the same amount of points as McLaren; 27, and the Briton finished fourth in the Sprint earlier today. "I did something totally different on that last lap and it all came alive, the lap was awesome. So happy to be P2."
Russell ended up being one of the last people to cross the finish line during the qualifying session when he ended up splitting the McLarens from another front-row lockout. "The last one [out lap] was a bit of a roll of the dice. I had a big moment at Turn One but it just all came together. I was really surprised when I crossed the line, I knew it was a good lap but to be between the McLarens, just buzzing and looking forward to tomorrow."
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Russell will start beside Oscar Piastri, who has received the first pole position of his Formula 1 career.
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F1-stand 2026
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 219 | |
2 | FerrariFER | 169 | |
3 | MercedesMER | 160 | |
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