George Russell claimed victory at the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race after surviving an early attack from Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton overtook Russell on the opening lap at Turn 9, but Russell retaliated immediately at Turn 14. The Mercedes drivers exchanged positions multiple times before Russell finally secured the lead on lap 5 and held it through a safety car restart.

Hamilton's tires began graining, allowing Charles Leclerc to claim second place. The Ferrari driver mounted a late challenge after the safety car on lap 13 but slid at Turn 14 on the restart, cementing Russell's win. Kimi Antonelli recovered from a poor start to finish fifth despite a 10-second penalty for contact with Isack Hadjar.

Lando Norris finished fourth after a battle with Hamilton, who secured third place. Oscar Piastri claimed sixth after yielding to Antonelli following a protest. Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman impressed by staying out on hard tires, finishing seventh and eighth respectively. Max Verstappen recovered from a sluggish start to ninth position, missing out on points by a narrow margin.