Ted Kravitz noticed that Toto Wolff had a ‘lump in his throat’ after Kimi Antonelli’s first F1 pole

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Ted Kravitz noted that Toto Wolff appeared to be emotional after Kimi Antonelli’s first F1 pole position.

The Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying session threw a curveball after George Russell suffered mechanical issues with his Mercedes, which resulted in Kimi Antonelli securing pole position.

Mercedes still had a positive Qualifying as their drivers will start from first and second on the grid with Antonelli on pole for the first time in Formula 1, and Russell in second place after getting back on track after the issues were resolved.

With Antonelli claiming pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix, the Italian driver has become the youngest driver in Formula 1 to start a Grand Prix from pole position.

Kimi Antonelli becomes the youngest driver to score a Grand Prix pole position in China!

Who is your favourite for the race win in Shanghai?

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Ted Kravitz discusses Toto Wolff’s reaction to Antonelli’s pole

Kravitz said, “A star is definitely confirmed, I think we knew that Kimi had arrived already. I thought it was interesting what Toto Wolff said about many doubting him, not least his own technical director.

“In the documentary ‘The Seat’, which Mercedes put out, it was James Allison, who said he thought it was too early for Kimi Antonelli.

“For Toto, who had a bit of a lump in his throat when I spoke to him after Qualifying, he was very happy that he has got the first out of the way, so we will see what happens.

“We all hope that this will be the start of a Championship fight between the two Mercedes drivers. Heaven knows, at the moment, it does not look like any other drivers will get involved in the Championship.”

Kimi Antonelli is now the youngest polesitter in F1 history

Is this the moment that a future world champion announced himself?

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Are Mercedes as unbeatable as originally believed?

After Russell dominated proceedings at the Australian Grand Prix a week ago, many expected the 2026 season to become a procession for the British driver.

However, there have been signs at the Chinese Grand Prix that the ‘Silver Arrows’, are not as unbeatable as first expected due to the issues Russell experienced in Q3 and the Sprint Race.

Lewis Hamilton finished in third place in the Sprint Race and qualified in third for the Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton now does not believe that Mercedes are as far ahead as first expected.

Hamilton said, “You see in Q1, we’re not that far away.” However, he does believe Mercedes are using a ‘party mode’ in Q2, as he explained, “And then all of a sudden, it’s like a huge step. One tenth in Q1 behind, I think it was, and then all of a sudden it’s another half a second.”