2026 Chinese GP: Antonelli became the youngest driver to take pole position

Before the start of qualifying for the main race in Shanghai, it was already clear that there would be little intrigue in the battle for pole position. Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint race had already established the competitive order, both over a single flying lap and in race pace.

The Mercedes drivers demonstrated their advantage from the very first day. George Russell topped every session and did not allow his teammate to beat him. Kimi Antonelli was only slightly behind but consistently finished second.

Ferrari and McLaren engaged in a close battle. Their rivalry was fascinating to watch — both teams were ready to take advantage of any opportunity to challenge Mercedes.

However, the only free practice session and the Sprint sessions effectively served as additional preparation for the main events of the weekend — the main qualifying session and the Grand Prix. On Saturday the grandstands were completely full. Qualifying is particularly important at this circuit — six of the last eight races in China have been won from pole position.

Pirelli brought its “medium” tyre trio — the C2, C3 and C4 compounds, serving as Hard, Medium and Soft respectively. Wear on the front-left C3 tyre already played a role even over the short Sprint distance, while the Soft compound was not effective for two consecutive flying laps. The teams took these factors into account.

First session

Drivers immediately took to the track. Hamilton, Verstappen and Hadjar chose Medium tyres with a plan of two flying laps and one slow lap, while the others used Soft tyres. Russell set the fastest time — 1:33.262, beating his teammate by 0.043 seconds.

On the second runs, the Ferrari drivers increased their pace. Mercedes and McLaren did not return to the track, while the others continued pushing. As a result, Leclerc set the fastest lap with a 1:33.175. Williams, Aston Martin, and Cadillac drivers failed to progress to the next stage.

Second session

This time everyone used Soft tyres, with many drivers opting for already used sets. Russell again led the session with a 1:32.523. The closest challenger, Hamilton, was 0.3 seconds slower. The entire top ten was covered by 0.841 seconds.

On the second run Leclerc moved into the lead with a 1:32.486, but Kimi Antonelli went even faster — 1:32.443.

In the final minutes, yellow flags appeared: Bortoleto spun at the final corner, went off track, but managed to escape the gravel and return to the pits. The incident disrupted several drivers’ flying laps.

Hülkenberg, Colapinto, Ocon, Lawson, Lindblad and Bortoleto were eliminated.

Final session

Russell’s car unexpectedly stopped at Turn 5 in the opening minutes. A minute later the engine restarted and the car moved again, but George informed his engineer that he could not shift gears and returned to the pits without completing the lap.

Antonelli took the lead with a 1:32.322 lap. During the second runs Russell’s car was repaired, and he returned to the track. Antonelli improved further — 1:32.064, while Russell had to settle for the second-best time.

Kimi Antonelli claimed the first pole position of his career, becoming the youngest driver in Formula 1 history to achieve this. Tomorrow he will start the race from the front row, with his teammate George Russell alongside him, 0.2 seconds slower.

The second row belongs to Ferrari, while the third row will be occupied by McLaren drivers.

The race promises to be exciting!