Antonelli becomes youngest pole-sitter in F1 history at Chinese GP

Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli became the youngest pole-sitter in Formula One history after securing pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix during a dramatic qualifying session in Shanghai.

The nineteen-year-old delivered a stunning lap of 1:32.064 to secure pole for Sunday’s race and underline Mercedes’ strong start to the 2026 season.

“It was a pretty clean session, so really happy,” Antonelli said after qualifying.

“George had an issue in Q3 and it would have been cool to see him with two sets of tyres.

“I saw he had the issue and tried to keep my focus to stay calm and deliver a good lap.”

Antonelli will start alongside teammate George Russell, who recovered from a difficult session to qualify second despite multiple issues with his car in the final phase of qualifying.

Ferrari’s Sir Lewis Hamilton secured third place on the grid after navigating challenging windy conditions around the Shanghai circuit.

Charles Leclerc qualified fourth for Ferrari, followed by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in fifth and teammate Lando Norris in sixth.

Alpine driver Pierre Gasly finished seventh ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen in eighth, while Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar took ninth. Haas rookie Oliver Bearman completed the top ten.

Russell endured a far more dramatic session as Mercedes worked to resolve several problems with his car.

The championship leader stopped momentarily on track during Q3, raising concerns that he might not be able to set a competitive lap.

However, the Mercedes driver returned to the pits and managed to prepare the car for one final attempt.

Russell ultimately secured second place despite battling several technical issues throughout the session.

“Definitely damage limitation,” Russell said.

“Q2, the front wing broke, we were wrapping our heads around that. Then obviously went out in Q3, car stopped on track, car wasn't restarting, couldn't change gear.

“Happy standing here because starting the last lap I had no battery, no tyre temp, no nothing. But the team have done a really great job to get us into this position, it could have been much worse.

“Really glad and well done to this guy on his first pole.”

Hamilton was pleased to secure third place after a challenging session affected by strong winds.

“It was a really tough qualifying,” Hamilton said.

“A bit harder this one with the wind. It's so gusty.

“Putting your lap together was challenging. Charles was putting in great laps, these guys were putting in great laps.

“I'm really happy to be up here. Grateful to be up here with these guys. They have been rapid so far this season.”

The seven-time world champion credited Ferrari’s engineers for improving the car between the sprint race and qualifying.

“The engineers did some great work over the break and we managed to get a bit closer to these guys, so that's a real positive to take forward.”

Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, Hamilton expects another close fight at the front.

“It's still going to be a challenge but I'm sure we will have some fun. I'm looking forward to it.

“We learned a lot in the Sprint, so let's hope tomorrow is not as windy and our goal is to break the gap between these guys somehow.”

A confident Hamilton has often proved a dangerous competitor in Formula One, and the Ferrari driver will be looking to convert his strong qualifying performance into a serious challenge for victory on Sunday.

Q1 eliminations

Carlos Sainz (Williams) was eliminated in seventeenth place ahead of teammate Alex Albon in eighteenth.

Aston Martin endured a difficult session with Fernando Alonso qualifying nineteenth and Lance Stroll twenty-first.

Audi’s Valtteri Bottas finished twentieth, while Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez was the slowest in the opening session and qualified twenty-second.

Q2 eliminations

Audi driver Nico Hülkenberg narrowly missed out on the final shootout and qualified eleventh.

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon will start twelfth ahead of Williams driver Franco Colapinto in thirteenth.

Red Bull Racing’s Liam Lawson qualified fourteenth, while Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad finished fifteenth.

Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto completed the Q2 eliminations in sixteenth place.

With Russell alongside Antonelli on the front row and Hamilton close behind in third, the Chinese Grand Prix is set for a fascinating battle between Mercedes and Ferrari.