Italian becomes the youngest pole-sitter in Formula 1 history in a dominant Mercedes qualifying in Shanghai
Read more 2026 Chinese GP: F1 Sprint Race live from Shanghai
Kimi Antonelli wrote an important chapter in Formula 1 history this Saturday by taking pole position for the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix. The young Mercedes driver was the fastest in the decisive phase of qualifying held at the Shanghai International Circuit and secured his first pole in the category, also becoming the youngest pole-sitter in Formula 1 history.
Q3 began with the ten remaining drivers heading to the track in search of their first fast laps. Right from the first attempts, Antonelli showed strong pace and took the provisional lead of the session, while Oscar Piastri appeared in second and Lando Norris in third, momentarily putting McLaren ahead of the Ferraris.
The Ferraris reacted shortly after, with Lewis Hamilton jumping to second position and Charles Leclerc taking third place, still with a considerable gap to the time recorded by Antonelli.
George Russell, the Italian’s teammate, had a complicated start to the final phase of qualifying. The Briton faced a problem when his car stalled during one of his pit-lane exits. Russell managed to restart the car but had to return to the pits for verification and lost an important part of his first Q3 attempt.
With time running out, all drivers returned to the track for the final attempt that would define the pole-sitter in Shanghai. Russell appeared very strong in the sectors and even threatened his teammate’s mark, but ended up two-tenths behind the time set by Antonelli.
The Italian, in turn, still managed to slightly improve his own mark on the final lap, consolidating pole position and securing a historic result for his career and for Mercedes.
Thus, the German team secured a front-row lockout, with Antonelli starting on pole and Russell starting from second position.
The second row will be formed by the Ferraris, with Lewis Hamilton securing third place and Charles Leclerc starting fourth.
McLaren appears just behind, occupying the third row of the grid with Oscar Piastri in fifth and Lando Norris in sixth. Norris still tried to improve his lap on the final attempt but could not lower his own mark.
Pierre Gasly appeared as the best of the rest of the field and secured seventh position on the grid.
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Max Verstappen had a more discreet session and will start only eighth with Red Bull, beating Isack Hadjar by 0s119 on the final lap.
Hadjar starts ninth, while Oliver Bearman completes the top 10 of the starting grid for this Sunday’s race.
Qualifying began with Q1 eliminating Carlos Sainz, Alexander Albon, Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll and Sergio Pérez. In Q2, Arvid Lindblad, Liam Lawson, Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto, Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were left out of the fight for pole.
The Brazilian Audi driver managed to advance with a good margin to Q2 after finishing the first phase in seventh position, but faced difficulties in the second part of the session. In his last attempt, Bortoleto ended up losing control of the car at the entry of the last corner in Shanghai and spun at high speed, even touching the tire barrier with his left rear wheel. Despite managing to return to the pits, the incident prevented any further attempts and confirmed his elimination in Q2.
Even so, Audi showed positive signs of competitiveness. Hülkenberg was very close to qualifying for Q3 and was eliminated by just two-thousandths of a second, indicating that the team continues to evolve at the start of this season.
Earlier in the weekend, the Chinese GP Sprint Race was also won by George Russell, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton completing the podium. The result reinforces Mercedes’ strong start to the season, as they now start with both cars in the top positions for the main race.
The Chinese Grand Prix, the second round of the 2026 Formula 1 season, will be held this Sunday at the Shanghai International Circuit, with the start scheduled for 4:00 AM Brasília time. The expectation is for another intense battle between Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren, which have been showing themselves to be the most competitive teams at the start of this championship.
Follow all the information from the Chinese GP live and in real-time at F1Mania.net.
Check out the starting grid for the Chinese GP:
1) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), 1’32.064
2) George Russell (Mercedes), 1’32.286
3) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), 1’32.415
4) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 1’32.428
5) Oscar Piastri (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’32.550
6) Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes), 1’32.608
7) Pierre Gasly (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’32.873
8) Max Verstappen (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’33.002
9) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull/Red Bull Ford), 1’33.121
10) Oliver Bearman (Haas/Ferrari), 1’33.292
11) Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), 1’33.354
12) Franco Colapinto (Alpine/Mercedes), 1’33.357
13) Esteban Ocon (Haas/Ferrari), 1’33.538
14) Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’33.765
15) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford), 1’33.784
16) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), 1’33.965
17) Carlos Sainz (Williams/Mercedes), 1’34.317
18) Alexander Albon (Williams/Mercedes), 1’34.772
19) Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’35.203
20) Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’35.436
21) Lance Stroll (Aston Martin/Honda), 1’35.995
22) Sergio Pérez (Cadillac/Ferrari), 1’36.906
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