Kimi Antonelli became the youngest driver in Formula One history to claim pole position, securing the top spot for the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit. The 19-year-old Italian beat his Mercedes teammate George Russell into second place, despite Russell suffering a technical issue during Q3 that limited him to a single flying lap.
Antonelli’s pole, achieved at 19 years, six months and 17 days old, broke Sebastian Vettel’s long-standing record set in 2008. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff expressed vindication after facing criticism for promoting Antonelli directly into the team last season. “Many said the kid was too young to be in a Mercedes, we should have prepared him otherwise,” Wolff said. “The kid did good today.”
Lewis Hamilton, who qualified third for Ferrari, praised Antonelli’s achievement. “I have to say a big congratulations to this big lad here, to Kimi,” Hamilton said. “It’s an amazing achievement. He took my seat and he hit it hard from the get-go and so it’s just really great to see him progressing. He really deserves it and a great record. It’s going to take a while for someone to ever get close to that one.”
Earlier on Saturday, Russell won the sprint race ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Hamilton, with Antonelli finishing fifth. The sprint victory extended Russell’s lead in the drivers’ championship. Max Verstappen endured a poor start and could only manage ninth for Red Bull.
Antonelli’s pole lap of 1min 32.064sec was unbeatable across his final two runs, with Hamilton and Leclerc both more than three-tenths of a second behind. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris qualified fifth and sixth respectively. Pierre Gasly took seventh for Alpine, while Verstappen and Isack Hadjar were eighth and ninth for Red Bull, and Ollie Bearman rounded out the top ten for Haas.
