Kimi Antonelli becomes youngest pole sitter ahead of Chinese Grand Prix
14th March 2026Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli becomes the youngest-ever pole sitter in Formula 1 history as the Italian pipped his teammate George Russell to the top spot ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.
Feature image credit: Mercedes F1
Antonelli has broken another record in Formula 1 history by becoming the youngest-ever pole sitter in the sport’s history, after already taking the title partially last year when he took pole position at the Miami Grand Prix sprint race.
The 19-year-old broke the 18-year-old record, which was set by Sebastian Vettel at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. Vettel, at the time, was 21 years, two months and 11 days old when he took the title. Now, the record is held by Antonelli, who is currently 19 years, six months and 18 days old.
Not only did he take pole position, Antonelli now also heads a Mercedes front-row lockout as Russell managed to take second place on the grid ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
When qualifying began, it looked like Mercedes might be under threat from Ferrari as Charles Leclerc pipped Russell to the fastest lap time, but the Briton returned to the top spot in Q2, despite complaining that his front wing was somehow broken at the end of the second third of qualifying.
Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto also brought out the double yellows late on in Q2 as the Brazilian driver lost control of his car into the final car, which sent the #5 into a slide across the gravel and into the barrier. Fortunately, he was able to continue on and return to the pits.
Drivers who arrived at that section had their final lap times deleted until it was cleared, such as Racing Bull’s Arvid Lindblad, who couldn’t improve from 15th on the grid as he had to abandon his final lap.
At the start of Q3, Russell faced trouble as he stopped out on track at turn three with a mechanical problem. He managed to get going once more, back to the pits and get the car sorted for one single flying lap. However, the final lap was not enough to demote his teammate from the top spot.
Who qualified where?
- Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes – 1m 32.064s
- George Russell, Mercedes +0.222s
- Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +0.351s
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +0.364s
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren +0.486s
- Lando Norris, McLaren +0.544s
- Pierre Gasly, Alpine +0.809s
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +0.938s
- Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing +1.057s
- Oliver Bearman, Haas +1.228s
- Nico Hulkenberg, Audi +0.911s // Q2 Cut-off
- Franco Colapinto, Alpine +0.914
- Esteban Ocon, Haas +1.095s
- Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +1.322s
- Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls 1.341s
- Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi +1.522s
- Carlos Sainz, Williams +1.142s // Q1 Cut-off
- Alexander Albon, Williams +1.597s
- Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +2.028s
- Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac +2.261s
- Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +2.820s
- Sergio Perez, Cadillac +3.731s
Read more Formula 1 here:
- 2026 Chinese Grand Prix – Sprint Race results
- F1 Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GP to be cancelled, reports suggest
- George Russell controls Chinese GP sprint qualifying to pole
- 2026 Chinese Grand Prix: Sprint Qualifying results
- George Russell heads Antonelli at sole Chinese GP practice
- Chinese Grand Prix Preview: Mercedes look to continue dominant form in Shanghai
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
