- Kimi Antonelli wins Chinese Grand Prix, second youngest Formula 1 winner
- Mercedes driver beats teammate George Russell by 5.5 seconds
- Lewis Hamilton finishes third, first Ferrari Grand Prix podium
- Max Verstappen retires; McLaren drivers fail to start race
Kimi Antonelli, a Mercedes driver, finally won his maiden Formula 1 race in the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday to become the second youngest winner in the history of the sport after the driver gave a calm performance at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The 19-year-old Italian took pole position by record time, which he converted into a win after losing the leadership to Lewis Hamilton on lap two, and kept the rest of the race without falling to late pressure on his part, by teammate George Russell.
Antonelli made the finish line in 1:33:15.607, and Russell was the 5.515 seconds before, and Hamilton took the third place in Ferrari, 25.267 seconds behind the winner. Based on the race timing as indicated by Reuters, Russell gained 18 championships points, which was an equivalent of second position, whereas the first Grand Prix Ferrari podium of the season garnered 15 championships points to Hamilton.
The victory was a breakthrough in the fast-growing career of Antonelli himself and gave Mercedes a significant stimulus in the 2026 championship race, in which the race was closely fought between the top teams.
Antonelli identified the win to be emotional, upon getting out of the car in parc ferme. "I'm speechless. I'm about to cry, to be honest". Antonelli said "so much to the people who have been part of my team and they have assisted me to realize this dream".
"I'm super happy. I told you yesterday that I really wanted to see Italy up on top again and we made it to-day, though I had to have a slight heart attack of my own just now with the flat-spot. It was a good race."
Shaping Race Destiny at an Early Lead Battle
The early stages of the 56 lap race were defining as Hamilton rocketed to the first position starting in the third on the grid using a good start and both Mercedes cars taking off at the head of the pack.
Antonelli, who, after the qualifying session on Saturday, was the youngest pole-sitter in Formula 1 history, lost the total lead, but before the end of the second lap, earned the front position again, as he turned into the hairpin at Turn 14.
Back in the front, the Italian driver slowly extended a gap on the competition, setting the pace using the first installment of the race.
After the restart after the one sole Safety car situation in the race Russell initially lost positions as he was unable to generate grip on fresh tires. Later, the Briton regained his position and came back to second place when he passed the two Ferrari drivers in the mid race.
Although he had to make do with second place, Russell remained top of the drivers championship positions after the event, with his win in the Saturday Sprint race.
For it, the Safety Car got out to a very early stage of the race, when an Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll parked at the racetrack, which forced other teams to change medium tires with hard ones.
Antonelli was still in the lead after the pit stop period and stayed in track with the Ferrari drivers and his now Mercedes colleague as the race restarted.
Highlights Ferrari Duel Mid-Race Action
Appendages of Ferrari teammates Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were developing one of the most fierce fights of the race as they struggled to secure the last position on the podium.
The two wheel-to-wheel racers completed a few laps changing positions in several corners of the Shanghai circuit and each motorist sought the effective advantage.
Leclerc took the lead of Hamilton in the middle of the race, although the seven-time world champion was able to re-take the position in decisive maneuver into Turn 1.
It was the intra-team duel that eventually enabled Antonelli to stretch his lead at the head of the pack creating a gap of close to seven seconds between him and the pursuing pack just before the closing of the race.
Leclerc the next day reminisced "on the contest even though he was not able to claim a podium and even mentioned to his team on radio that the race was actually very much fun."
Hamilton claimed third place which was his first Grand Prix podium in his Ferrari career, being a big achievement to the Italian race team in a venue he had also achieved victory in the Sprint race last season.
Incidents And Retirements Determine Final Positions
Along the line Haas driver Oliver Bearman also did a good job by finishing in fifth place, having been involved in an incident at the beginning of the lap with Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar.
The outcome by Bearman made him ahead of Pierre Gasly of the Alpine team in position 6, with Racing Bulls Liam Lawson, grabbing the number seven position.
Hadjar had regained his initial spin to finish in eighth position and Williams took the ninth with Franco Colapinto behind in 10 th place.
Nico Hulkenberg, who was driving an Audi, almost secured the points in the 11 th place, and Arvid Lindblad, a driver of Racing Bulls, ended the race in the twelfth position after his spin in Turn 14 in the middle of the race.
There were a number of drivers who did not make it to the finish line. Max Verstappen of Red Bull then retired with 10 laps to go leading in the sixth position, and both Aston Martin cars also dropped out of the race.
It was a sore disappointment especially to reigning champions McLaren as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri did not make the start with different electrical issues with their respective power units.
Other non starters were Audi Gabriel Bortoleto who had a hydraulic problem and Williams driver Alex Albon whose car was unable to move off the pit lane because of a suspension change.
Nowadays the victory by Antonelli makes him one of the youngest in Formula 1 history and promises a possible change in the competitive environment as the season of 2026 goes on.
The Formula 1 will resume later on in this month in Japan with the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka marrred between March 27 and 29 where the teams will be back in the championship race after a brief break in the racing calendar.
