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Andrea Kimi Antonelli became the youngest-ever F1 Grand Prix polesitter with pole for the 2026 Chinese GP, yet qualifying was not a perfect affair for Mercedes on Saturday.
The Silver Arrows have been the class of the field so far this year, with Antonelli now joining George Russell in scoring a pole in the W17. Antonelli has also now smashed the record that Sebastian Vettel set in 2008, as he became the first driver to ever score a pole as a teenager.
Antonelli scored pole for the Chinese GP by 0.222s over Russell, as he registered a 1:32.064 lap of the Shanghai International Circuit compared to his teammate’s 1:32.286 on Saturday. Ferrari racer Lewis Hamilton was the best of the rest in P3 with a 0.351s deficit to Antonelli.
Mercedes will now hope to continue their perfect start to the 2026 F1 season, after Russell won the Sprint in China earlier on Saturday. Antonelli will also hope he can get a good start on Sunday, having lost places off the line in the Australian GP and the F1 Sprint in Shanghai.
Russell’s P2 in qualifying for the Chinese GP was a positive in itself. The Briton saw Antonelli end his pole streak after a troubled session, during which he nearly faced failing to set a Q3 time. With that in mind, here are five things we learned from qualifying for the Chinese GP.
George Russell suffered reliability issues but will start the Chinese GP from P2 on the grid
Who was your star of qualifying?
Mercedes may be the fastest, but George Russell learned the W17 is not bulletproof
Russell had held an edge over Antonelli in every qualifying and race session so far this term, heading into qualifying for the Chinese GP. But just securing P2 was a very positive outcome for the Briton by the end of qualifying for the Chinese GP, even though the Italian took pole.
READ MORE: How to watch the 2026 Chinese GP, including Grand Prix start time
Mercedes had to work on repairing Russell’s front wing between Q2 and Q3, and the issues only got worse for the 28-year-old from there. Russell ground to a halt exiting Turn 4 on his out lap to start Q3, and he radioed in to reveal he had no battery and could not change gear.
The King’s Lynn native fortunately managed to get back moving, although stuck in first gear, and got back to the pits, where Mercedes addressed the electrical glitch. He ultimately had only one chance to post a flying lap, which put him P2 on the grid for Sunday’s Chinese GP.
Has Kimi Antonelli just shown he is an F1 world champion in the making?
Kimi Antonelli is now the youngest polesitter in F1 history
Is this the moment that a future world champion announced himself?
While one half of the Mercedes garage were busy trying to fix Russell’s car for him to get at least one flying lap, Antonelli kept it together to score pole for the Chinese GP. And with his record-breaking pole, has Antonelli proven that he is an F1 world champion in the making?
Even McLaren rival and 2025 champion Lando Norris entered 2026 by calling Russell the F1 title favourite, with Mercedes widely tipped to be the team to beat – which has so far been the case. Antonelli is only in his second year on the Formula 1 grid, but he may fight Russell.
Antonelli showed brilliant bounce-back ability in Australia after his crash in FP3, and he also fought back throughout the F1 Sprint in China on Saturday after his poor start left him in P9. The 19-year-old also got a 10s penalty for a first-lap clash with Isack Hadjar, but finished P5.
Now, Antonelli’s pole position for the Chinese GP on a day that Russell hit trouble will have fired a warning across the garage that he will be there to punish any issues or mistakes. But Antonelli’s real test will come in Sunday’s Chinese GP, and whether he can earn his first win.
Ferrari may lack qualifying speed but their race pace is stronger
Lewis Hamilton left David Coulthard wincing with this move on Charles Leclerc in the Shanghai Sprint
Did Hamilton go too far on his Ferrari teammate?
Ferrari will lock out the second row of the Chinese GP grid, after Hamilton qualified P3 and Charles Leclerc qualified P4 with deficits of 0.351s and 0.364s to Antonelli’s pole effort. But the Scuderia will take encouragement from the F1 Sprint that their race pace will be better.
Like in Melbourne last Sunday when Leclerc fought Russell in the early laps of the Australian GP thanks to Ferrari’s fast-starting SF-26 shooting off the line, Hamilton got the jump during the F1 Sprint in Shanghai and fought his fellow Briton for the lead throughout the early laps.
Hamilton damaged his tyres fighting Russell in the F1 Sprint, which allowed Leclerc to claim P2. But Ferrari will see their quick starts and ability to do battle with Mercedes in the early laps as a very encouraging sign that they can battle Antonelli and Russell in the Chinese GP.
Red Bull still do not know how to fix their balance problems at the Chinese Grand Prix
Gabriel Bortoleto’s late spin in Q2 helped Isack Hadjar avoid an early exit during qualifying
How alarmed should Red Bull be about their pace in Shanghai?
The Chinese GP weekend has been rather brutal for Red Bull so far, and it did not get much better for Max Verstappen and Hadjar during qualifying. Verstappen only managed to claim P8 and Hadjar only achieved P9 during Q3, with deficits of 0.938s and 1.057s to Antonelli.
Hadjar nearly bowed out of qualifying during Q2, as well, with Audi ace Gabriel Bortoleto’s late spin helping to spare Red Bull’s blushes. Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine ace Franco Colapinto finished Q2 just 0.002s and 0.005s shy of knocking Hadjar out of qualifying in Q2.
Verstappen and Hadjar’s lack of pace was not surprising, either, as Red Bull have struggled to find the right set-ups to resolve the RB22’s horrible balance issues. Verstappen branded Sprint Qualifying in China a “disaster” on Friday, when he qualified P8 and Hadjar was P10.
Anthony Davidson saw Red Bull’s issues clear as day whilst watching Verstappen’s onboard during qualifying for the Chinese GP. The four-time champion was continuously fighting his steering wheel during Q1, as he left Davidson in awe of how he dealt with Red Bull’s issues.
Davidson said on Sky Sports F1 (14/3, 07:16): “It doesn’t look good to drive. It really doesn’t. He had a bit of rear locking into Turn 6, he wasn’t comfortable with the over-rotation, as we call it, where the car pivots too much in the corner.
“Let’s see what it’s like in Turn 11. [It was] OK there, but he’s really having to be careful, take his time and look here, just getting on the power and the rear [is] all over the place.
“And in the high-speed in Turns 7 and 8, I don’t know if the changes they’ve made to that car have made things worse, or [whether] that’s how the car has always been.
“But it’s a huge difference to the luxuries that Ferrari and Mercedes have in terms of their car balance and grip.”
Davidson added: “How does that driver wring the car’s neck like that, and get performance out of it? It didn’t look like that car was worthy of being up in P4.”
Cadillac show progress as Valtteri Bottas out-qualifies Lance Stroll for the Chinese GP
Williams’ pain continues with both drivers out in Q1 at the Chinese Grand Prix
Use one word to describe Williams' season so far
The story at the bottom of the timesheets in qualifying for the Chinese GP was again the tale of Aston Martin’s miserable start to 2026 and Cadillac finding their feet as an F1 team. Aston Martin and Cadillac qualified on the final two rows of the grid, with a 0.431s deficit to P18.
Yet while Sergio Perez qualified P22 and last with a 0.911s deficit to P21, the fact that Lance Stroll will join the Mexican on the final row of the grid showed the progress that Cadillac are making. Valtteri Bottas even beat Stroll’s 1:35.995 lap time in Q1 by 0.559s to qualify in P20.
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