F1 in China: I've never seen so many people in those grandstands

Formula 1 raced in China this past weekend, just a week after the sport kicked off its 2026 season in Australia. Most of the teams had a better handle on the sport's complicated new cars in China, and the more traditional racetrack environment played better to the strengths of their hybrid power units, with enough hard braking zones to recharge batteries without having to sap engine power instead.

We have a better idea of the grid's current pecking order, at least for now. There's some...