Italian Kimi Antonelli, aged 19, took pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix this Saturday (14), thus becoming the youngest driver to achieve the best time in a classification in the history of Formula 1.
Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) will start 16th.
Antonelli led the Mercedes one-two and will start on the front row alongside George Russell, breaking the record held by Sebastian Vettel, who was 21 when he took pole for the Italian Grand Prix in 2008.
“I’m happy with the lap I did. And I’m very happy to be on pole for the first time,” Antonelli told reporters.
“It was a pretty clean session. No mistakes, and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s race,” he added.
The Mercedes duo, just like in Australia last weekend, dominated the session this Saturday in Shanghai.
Antonelli flew his final qualifying lap with a time of 1 minute and 32.046 seconds. He was 0.222 seconds ahead of championship leader Russell, who had won the sprint race hours earlier.
Ferrari duo Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will occupy the second row of the grid for Sunday’s race, after qualifying in third and fourth place respectively.
Next came the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and world champion Lando Norris.
“The last corner here is the worst corner of the season for me, I just can’t get it right, and I made a really big mistake on my last lap. Where we are now is where we deserve to be,” admitted Norris.
Max Verstappen was only eighth quickest, prolonging a very unhappy weekend for Red Bull, who are clearly struggling.
“Nothing is working. So it’s just not enjoyable. I can’t attack. Honestly, every lap is a matter of survival for me. I’m not enjoying it at all. It’s very inconsistent,” the Dutch four-time world champion said bluntly.
“Limit damage”
Russell got stuck in gear on his first lap out of the pits in Q3 and had to return to the pits. When the problem was resolved, he only had time for one flying lap and was unable to overtake his teammate Antonelli.
The Briton was relieved to have set his best time at the very end of the session: “It was definitely a question of minimizing the damage.”
“In Q2, the front wing broke and, in Q3, I was stuck on the track and couldn’t change gear. On the last lap, I had no battery, no tire temperature, nothing. The team did a great job. I’m very happy to be here. It could have been much worse,” he added.
Behind the Mercedes will be the Ferraris, who have shown potential at the start of the season. Hamilton confirmed that he will have both Mercedes cars in his sights on Sunday.
“I’m sure we’ll have fun, I’m really looking forward to it,” said the seven-time world champion.
The six drivers who failed to progress to Q3, the top 10 qualifying session for pole position, were Nico Hülkenberg (Audi), Franco Colapinto (Alpine), Esteban Ocon (Haas), Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi).
The Williams duo, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, the two Aston Martins drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, and the two Cadillac drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez, who will start from the tenth and last row, were eliminated in Q1.
Earlier, Russell had won a thrilling sprint race after an intense battle in the opening laps with Hamilton, who finished third behind Leclerc.
This allowed the Mercedes driver, who won the first race in Australia, to extend his lead at the championship lead to 11 points over his teammate Antonelli and Leclerc. Hamilton is four points behind.
The Chinese Grand Prix is scheduled for 4 am on Sunday (Brasília time) and will have 56 laps on the Shanghai International Circuit, 5,451 km long.
Chinese GP starting grid
1st row:
Kimi Antonelli (ITA/Mercedes)
George Russell (GBR/Mercedes)
2nd row:
Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Ferrari)
Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)
3rd row:
Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes)
Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes)
4th row:
Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine-Mercedes)
Max Verstappen (HOL/Red Bull)
5th row:
Isack Hadjar (FRA/Red Bull)
Oliver Bearman (GBR/Haas-Ferrari)
6th row:
Nico Hülkenberg (ALE/Audi)
Franco Colapinto (ARG/Alpine-Mercedes)
7th row:
Esteban Ocon (FRA/Haas-Ferrari)
Liam Lawson (NZL/Racing Bulls-Red Bull)
8th row:
Arvid Lindblad (GBR/Racing Bulls-Red Bull)
Gabriel Bortoleto (BRA/Audi)
9th row:
Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Williams-Mercedes)
Alexander Albon (TAI/Williams-Mercedes)
10th row:
Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin-Honda)
Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Cadillac-Ferrari)
11th row:
Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Honda)
Sergio Pérez (MEX/Cadillac-Ferrari)
