Carlos Sainz needs a change of tyres, so the Spaniard is fitted with another set of mediums and sent back out in 20th place.

Is there anything McLaren can do to help Lando Norris out? Nope, says the Briton, who is stuck in that ninth place behind the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen seems to be struggling with graining on both of his front tyres, opening the door slightly for the McLaren of Oscar Paistri to inch closer and closer. Lewis Hamilton leads the sprint by 1.3 seconds.

Isack Hadjar moves to 14th place, Liam Lawson is now in P15 and Carlos Sainz is heading back to Williams pits.

Liam Lawson has lifted his Red Bull, which was knocked out in SQ1 yesterday, up to 16th place after getting his elbows out and overtaking on the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

We typically see Max Verstappen in the Red Bull better on the brakes, better to the apex.

Lewis Hamilton and his Ferrari seem to be very strong apex to exit and getting on power, good traction and getting down the straights.

Lewis Hamilton is leading the field from his pole position but the seven-time world champion is trying to nurse his front tyres like the rest of the field. The Ferrari driver leads Max Verstappen by 1/4 seconds.

Image source, Getty Images

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

Liam Lawson is trying to showcase why he has been chosen to be put in that Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen.

The front three of Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri are running so close. Can the Ferrari man hold on to this win in China?

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Lando Norris is no better off in his quest of trying to reach the points places. The McLaren is now asking his engineer how everyone else's front left tyre is getting on, because his is rubbish. His engineer confirms the Briton's indeed looks quite bad.

The gap at the front between sprint leader Lewis Hamilton and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen is now 1.4 seconds; the McLaren of Oscar Piastri creeping up behind.

Liam Lawson and Jack Doohan made contact at the hairpin when the Red Bull driver made his move. But race control have decided no further action is needed. Keep racing...

Jeremiah Kariuki: One Ferrari moving away so well. Hamilton trying the best to stay ahead of Verstappen. But Leclerc initial pressure on Norris gets a kind pay by an overtake from Russell.

Liam Lawson in the second Red Bull is down at the back of the field but the New Zealander has managed an overtake on the Alpine of Jack Doohan to take 18th place.

Oscar Piastri has reeled in Max Verstappen and is now within DRS range of the Red Bull man. The Australian is in third place, with the Mercedes of George Russell in fourth.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

I feel like we are in a bit of a tyre management phase now, it's calmed down after a frantic couple of opening laps.

Now these drivers have got to figure out how they can get the medium compound tyres to last.

The Red Bull may not be the fastest so far this season, but Max Verstappen is the driver who can extract the most out of it. The Dutchman is letting Lewis Hamilton pull away into the distance in Shanghai and now the gap is around a second between the two drivers.

Lando Norris is still trying to move his McLaren up into the points but Lance Stroll is refusing to budge from that eighth place.

Image source, Reuters

DRS has been broken by Lewis Hamilton and now the seven-time world champion is firmly holding off the threat of an attack by the Red Bull of four-time world champion Max Verstappen.

George Russell passed Charles Leclerc towards the final corner and was given a radio pat on the back by his engineer.

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

We know that the McLaren is really fast, everybody has said that is the car to beat this year but now we need to see what Lando Norris can do in traffic, can that car carve its way through?

We've seen in the past that some of the best cars out there are great when they are leading but not great in the mid-pack.

Andrew Priestley: No variation on tyres from the entire field. Another damning indictment for Pirelli’s design and delivery of F1 tyres.

The Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton is keeping the Red Bull of old rival Max Verstappen at bay by just under a second. The sprint start was a disaster for Lando Norris and now the Briton needs to push in that rapid McLaren to get back into the points - Lance Stroll will be his first target.

Image source, Getty Images

Sam Bird
Formula E driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

There was a terrible Turn 3 there for Lando Norris, he just tried to get the overlap on George Russell and got a rear wheel on the grass and that's lost him two, three positions.

Sprint race one of six is green!

Lewis Hamilton leads into Turn One as Max Verstappen stays in second and Oscar Piastri in third. Lando Norris tried the move on George Russell but was denied by the Mercedes man. The McLaren man has locked up and has now dropped down to ninth place.

Yuki Tsunoda has gained a place to sixth and Lance Stroll takes the final points spot in eighth.

Russell now up to fourth.

Image source, Reuters

Lewis Hamilton is edging closer to his P1 spot. Get ready for 19 laps of the opening sprint of the season in Shanghai...