Antonelli beats Russell to become F1's youngest ever Grand Prix polesitter in China

Kimi Antonelli became the youngest driver in Formula 1 history to take a Grand Prix pole position in China, as Mercedes team mate George Russell claimed second on the grid after an earlier car issue hampered him in Q3.

Antonelli beat the previous record set by Sebastian Vettel at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, with the 19-year-old set to start at the very front for Sunday's 56-lap race.

The Italian out-qualified Russell by 0.222s after posting a 1m 32.064s with his final effort.

Russell, who won Saturday's Sprint, was only able to set one flying lap in the final segment of Qualifying having suffered a car issue which brought him to a halt on track briefly.

The Briton recovered back to the pits stuck in first gear, and with the problem rectified, set a single lap at the end of proceedings.

Ferrari locked-out the second row, Lewis Hamilton finishing fractionally ahead of Charles Leclerc, as Oscar Piastri headed McLaren team mate and reigning World Champion, Lando Norris.

The top 10 was completed by the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, followed by Haas' Ollie Bearman.

Audi's Nico Hulkenberg missed out on a spot in Q3 once again as in Australia and was joined by Franco Colapinto (Alpine), Haas' Esteban Ocon, and the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad.

Gabriel Bortoleto was P16, the Audi driver having suffered a spin at the last corner on his final effort.

Eliminated in Q1, Carlos Sainz led Williams team mate Alex Albon after another difficult session, with Valtteri Bottas' Cadillac sandwiched between the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, as Sergio Perez completed the order.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Leclerc leads Russell as Sainz misses out again

A flurry of cars exited the pit lane at the start of the 18-minute Q1 session at the Shanghai International Circuit, with Piastri the first driver to dip below the 1m 34s barrier after the opening laps – the McLaren man using the soft Pirelli tyre to set a 1m 33.990s.

Hamilton soon found himself in the drop zone at the halfway point of the session, the Ferrari driver reporting that the car 'feels good' despite a moment of oversteer on the exit of Turn 9 with a used medium tyre.

The Mercedes duo were the last runners to register lap times, Antonelli and then Russell comfortably jumping to the top of the leaderboard as the new benchmark became a 1m 33.262s.

Fitted with a new set of soft tyres, Hamilton moved up to third but still found himself 0.260s behind Russell's time, before team mate Leclerc caught the attention of many with a new fastest lap – a 1m 33.175s leaving him clear of Russell and Antonelli.

At the other end of the standings and on the cusp of elimination, Lindblad was called into pits with a potential issue before rejoining the track in the closing stages to move up to P13 in the final reckoning.

It placed the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Hadjar at risk, the pair having done their opening laps on the medium tyre before recovering to fourth and ninth respectively at the chequered flag with a new set of softs.

Between the pair, Hamilton occupied fifth from Norris, Bortoleto and Piastri, with Colapinto completing the top 10. Also progressing into Q2 were Bearman, Gasly, Lindblad, Ocon, Hulkenberg and Lawson.

As in Australia, Williams' Sainz was eliminated in Q1 despite proclaiming 'it was a good lap' and headed disgruntled team mate Albon, followed by the Aston Martin of Alonso and Bottas' Cadillac, with Stroll and Perez completing the order as less than four seconds covered the field.

Knocked out: Sainz, Albon, Alonso, Bottas, Stroll and Perez

Q2 – Russell reports issues as Antonelli tops times

Mercedes sent both cars out immediately at the start of Q2 with a used set of soft tyres, Russell setting a 1m 32.523s and leaving himself three-tenths clear of Hamilton and Leclerc, as Antonelli was half a second back in fourth.

Verstappen was initially best of the rest as Bearman set an impressive time to occupy sixth from Norris, Gasly, Hadjar and Piastri after the initial runs with a mix of old and new soft tyres in action.

On the second runs, Leclerc went fastest with a 1m 32.486s as Hamilton fell just 0.081s short of his team mate in P3, before Antonelli demoted them all to go fractionally quicker on a 1m 32.443s which remained top at the chequered flag.

Russell was left in third between the two Ferrari drivers, the Sprint winner unable to improve on his second run and complaining that 'something is not right with the car, I've got major understeer', as Mercedes inspected his front wing.

Norris finished fifth from Gasly, Verstappen, Piastri, Bearman and Hadjar, with Hulkenberg once again just missing out on a spot in Q3 after finishing 11th.

Colapinto was 12th, while Ocon, Lawson and Lindblad were unable to improve on their final efforts after backing off into the final corner when Bortoleto went off into the gravel, the Audi driver recovering to the pits and finishing P16.

Knocked out: Hulkenberg, Colapinto, Ocon, Lawson, Lindblad and Bortoleto

Q3 – Antonelli sets new record as Russell recovers to second

There was drama almost immediately at the start of Q3, as Russell came to a stop out on track after the opening corners, reporting 'something is not right, got massive engine braking' before crawling back to the pits stuck in first gear.

The Briton's misfortune opened the door for his team mate Antonelli, who set a 1m 32.322s with his first lap, leaving him three tenths clear of Leclerc with Hamilton a further four tenths back.

Antonelli lowered the benchmark even further with his second lap – posting a 1m 32.064s – which proved crucial as Russell was able to complete a single flying lap, falling two-tenths short of another pole.

The result means Antonelli becomes the youngest F1 polesitter for a Grand Prix, having taken pole for the Miami Sprint last season.

Hamilton bested Leclerc as both Ferrari drivers jumped ahead of McLaren duo Piastri and Norris, the reigning champions having placed themselves behind Antonelli after the opening runs.

The remainder of the top 10 saw Gasly take seventh from Verstappen, with Hadjar in ninth and Bearman in 10th.

Key quote

"It was a pretty clean session, so really happy," said Antonelli. "Unfortunately George had an issue in Q3, so it would have been cool to see him with two sets, but I think it was a really good session. A clean one, no mistakes, and looking forward to the race tomorrow."

What's next

The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix is set to begin at 1500 local time on Sunday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action from the Suzuka Circuit.