Kimi Antonelli takes Chinese Grand Prix pole as George Russell suffers Mercedes issues

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Kimi Antonelli made Formula 1 history after becoming the youngest ever polesitter, when he took his maiden pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Several teams opted to begin the qualifying session on the medium compound, including Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.

The early flying laps saw Oscar Piastri go quickest, with the two Audi cars separating him from McLaren teammate Lando Norris in fourth. However, those benchmark times were set before Mercedes sent George Russell and Kimi Antonelli out onto the circuit.

With 10 minutes remaining in the session, Hamilton reported over team radio: “It feels good, the car,” before adding that there were “some snaps, particularly under braking”. Despite the encouraging feedback, the seven-time world champion initially found himself in the drop zone after his opening lap.

Russell soon moved to the top of the timesheets on his first flying lap, narrowly edging teammate Antonelli, who was just four hundredths of a second slower. The Mercedes pair again demonstrated the team’s strong pace, sitting seven tenths clear of Piastri before Hamilton improved to third, setting a time half a second quicker than the Australian.

Arvid Lindblad’s difficult weekend then threatened to worsen when Racing Bulls instructed the rookie to return to the pits with an “issue”. The Brit had already endured a challenging start to the weekend, retiring in FP1 at Turn 14 and spinning out of the Sprint race on the opening lap.

Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane later explained that Lindblad had “overcooked the clutch” while attempting to spin the car back around during the earlier race, which ultimately forced his retirement.

However, the team appeared to resolve the issue, sending Lindblad back out in the closing minutes of Q1. He responded with a strong final lap to secure P11 just before the chequered flag.

Mirroring the pattern seen during Sprint qualifying on Friday, both drivers from Cadillac, Aston Martin and Williams were eliminated in the opening segment of the session. An audibly frustrated Alex Albon quickly vented his anger over team radio, shouting “terrible” to his race engineers.

Carlos Sainz was more upbeat about his performance, telling the team over the radio: “That was a good lap.” Team principal James Vowles was quick to reassure the Spaniard, replying: “It was a good lap, Carlos, that’s all the car has in it. Let’s come back and see what we can do for tomorrow.”

Early flying laps in Q2 once again saw Russell lead the pack, although he was separated from teammate Antonelli by both Ferraris, with Verstappen sitting just behind the young Italian. McLaren appeared to be struggling for pace during the second phase of qualifying, with Norris down in seventh and Piastri tenth, prompting the team to send both drivers out early for a second run.

The closing moments of Q2 were disrupted by a yellow flag in the final sector after Gabriel Bortoleto spun into the gravel at Turn 15. The Brazilian lost the rear of his Audi through the final corner, sending the car sliding across the gravel and into the barrier.

Although Bortoleto managed to return to the pit lane, the mistake came at the end of his lap, leaving him at the bottom of the elimination zone.

At the end of Q2, Russell reported over the radio: “Something is not right with the car. I’ve got major understeer.” Mercedes were then left under pressure to repair the front wing in time for the final part of the session.

The team managed to get Russell back out early in the session, but his run was short-lived as he came to a stop at the exit of Turn 6. Initially, his race engineer reported that everything looked fine from the team’s side, to which Russell replied: “It’s not,” before managing to restart the car.

The championship favourite was able to limp the car back to the pit lane, complaining that he was unable to shift gears, leaving Mercedes racing against the clock to repair the issue with nine minutes of the session remaining.

With Russell out during the first flying laps, Antonelli claimed provisional pole ahead of Piastri and Norris who managed to leapfrog the Ferraris into the higher positions.

As the minutes ticked down, it appeared increasingly unlikely that Russell would make it back onto the Shanghai International Circuit. However, Mercedes managed to return the car to the track with just two minutes remaining in the session.

In the closing stages, Antonelli improved on his earlier pole time, putting the benchmark out of reach for the remaining nine drivers. Despite his earlier issues, Russell still managed to deliver an impressive lap to secure a front-row start for Sunday’s race.

Hamilton completed the top three, although he described qualifying as “difficult”, revealing that the windy conditions had made it hard to piece together a clean lap.