SHANGHAI (AP) — Kimi Antonelli stepped up Saturday when his Mercedes teammate George Russell hit trouble in qualifying to become the youngest-ever driver on pole position for a Formula 1 Grand Prix.
After holding off a challenge from Ferrari to win the sprint race earlier in the day, Russell seemed near-unbeatable. Then he stopped on track in qualifying and limped back to the pits with technical problems.
Russell’s team got the car going again with seconds to spare for him to set a time. It was only good enough for second on the grid, 0.222 of a second off Antonelli, who kept up Mercedes’ run of qualifying dominance after F1's sweeping changes to the cars for 2026.
The Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will start third and fourth. Their fast starts could threaten Mercedes off the line, as they did last week in Australia and in Saturday's sprint race.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:32.064 |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.222 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +0.351 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.364 |
| 5 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +0.486 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.544 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +0.809 |
| 8 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.938 |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | +1.057 |
| 10 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | +1.228 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | Q2 |
| 12 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | Q2 |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | Q2 |
| 14 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | Q2 |
| 15 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | Q2 |
| 16 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | Q2 |
| 17 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | Q1 |
| 18 | Alex Albon | Williams | Q1 |
| 19 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | Q1 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | Q1 |
| 21 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | Q1 |
| 22 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | Q1 |
The 19-year-old Antonelli becomes the youngest driver to take pole position for a full Grand Prix race, though he was also on pole aged 18 for a sprint race last year in Miami.
"It's just the beginning, so obviously there's a lot more to come," Antonelli said. "Really looking forward to tomorrow. Car is feeling really good, car is strong, so a lot to play for tomorrow. But just super happy with today."
Russell said a damaged front wing and gear-change issues made for a "crazy" qualifying session. "As soon as I went out on the track, I could tell something wasn't right," he said. He then had to set a last-chance time with a depleted battery and cold tires.
