British Formula One driver George Russell finished sixth in the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit, five years on from the last race in China, and secured eight valuable points.

One practice session to get up to speed

As this was the sole Practice session on a newly-resurfaced track, it hadn’t yet rubbered in and George reported that grip was quite low.

As the track began to evolve when more grip was laid, the session was a good opportunity to learn as much as possible about the circuit. George and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team made some setup changes, aiming to fine tune the balance of the car.

Following a brief red flag after a small grass fire, George came back out on Hard tyres to focus on completing long runs.

Grip remained low throughout the session, and George finished P17.

WATCH: 2024 CHINESE GRAND PRIX FP1 HIGHLIGHTS

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Rain impacts 2024's first Sprint Qualifying

The track still had low grip, and mixed weather conditions added a further unknown to Sprint Qualifying.

Placing P13 in SQ1, George successfully got into SQ2. However, queues heading into the second segment of Sprint Qualifying caused low tyre temperatures and affected his initial SQ2 lap.

The session was then further impacted by rain and the track was declared wet. As a result of these tricky conditions, George couldn’t complete a second lap and finished Sprint Qualifying in P11.

WATCH: 2024 CHINESE GRAND PRIX SPRINT QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

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George recovers positions in the Sprint

Starting the Sprint, George was the only driver to opt for Soft tyres in an attempt to recover some positions. On lap three, he passed Kevin Magnussen to take a place in the top ten. He later passed Zhou Guanyu to move into ninth.

By the end of the Sprint, George finished P8 to claim a point for the team.

WATCH: 2024 CHINESE GRAND PRIX SPRINT HIGHLIGHTS

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Top ten in Grand Prix Qualifying

In Q1, George had a run with two push laps, followed by completing another run with just one push lap. This resulted in him placing P7 in Q1, allowing him safely through to the next segment.

George had to abandon a fast lap when a red flag came out in Q2. His abandoned lap had been on par with Oscar Piastri's time, who was P3 at that point. When the session restarted, George was the first driver to go out. His time was strong enough for P6, securing his place in Q3.

George made his first run of the final Qualifying segment on used Soft tyres before switching to a new set of Softs for his final run of the session. He qualified P8.

WATCH: 2024 CHINESE GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

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George secures sixth in first Chinese Grand Prix since 2019

In a strong start to the Chinese Grand Prix, George made up two places on the opening lap on Medium tyres to run in P6. By the second lap, he was looking to chase down the McLaren of Oscar Piastri for P5.

George’s first pitstop came at the end of lap 11 when he changed to a fresh set of Mediums.

The Brit made his next pitstop at the end of lap 23 during a Safety Car period. He opted for the Hard compound. This Safety Car period was followed by a second Safety Car which ended on lap 31, with George in P7.

In the later stages of the race, George managed his tyres well as he defended against Fernando Alonso who had come through the field on fresh Medium tyres. George’s defence was successful and secured him P6, claiming eight points.  

The 2024 F1 season will resume on May 3-5 for the Miami Grand Prix.

WATCH: 2024 CHINESE GRAND PRIX RACE HIGHLIGHTS

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George Russell, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team driver:

Starting P8 and making up a few positions was what we were expecting from today’s race. The result is probably a fair one and we know we have work to do. We’ve had a similar battle with Alonso and Piastri in the last three races so P6 is about where our car is at present.

It was interesting weekend, overall. With the Sprint format, we ended up having two very different set-ups on the car from Friday and Saturday morning into the rest of the weekend. There’s lots to pick through and hopefully things to build on. We need to keep on adding performance to the car in order to finish higher up the grid. We will keep working hard to do so.