FRIDAY DEBRIEF: How good are Mercedes after a stellar Sprint Qualifying in China?

George Russell drew huge cheers from the crowd as he stepped out of his Mercedes after taking a commanding pole position for the Sprint in China, with Ferrari outgunned by McLaren while rivals Red Bull looked deeply uncomfortable...

Well played Russell. He looks unbeatable right now...

You're not wrong. There's no doubt the Mercedes is the class of the field at this stage of the campaign – and Russell is proving just how good he is by making the most of the package to comfortably fend of his young, highly-rated team mate Kimi Antonelli and getting the job done.

Russell already looked very comfortable in FP1, the only practice session of the weekend, and had the car well dialled in to ensure he was easily quickest in each segment of Sprint Qualifying.