Andrea Kimi Antonelli improved his record of being the youngest polesitter in F1 history with a victory at the Chinese Grand Prix, becoming the second youngest Grand Prix winner in Formula 1 history at 19 years, six months and 18 days, only behind Max Verstappen, who was 18 years, seven months and 15 days old when he won the Spanish Grand Prix 2016.
Antonelli is also the first Italian to win a F1 Grand Prix since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2006, and alongside George Russell, who won the sprint race on Saturday and finished second in Shanghai, Mercedes gains a solid lead in the Formula 1 championships: 98 points, ahead of Ferrari's 67 points... with McLaren third with 18 points.
Defending the lead for most of the race after a brief overtake by Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli finished 5.5 seconds ahead of Russell. Max Verstappen retired due to an issue with his Red Bull, and Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll also retired, because of the problems with their Honda engines. And McLaren... did not even start, caused by an electrical problem on both cars. Piastri, runner-up last year, has missed two races in a row...
2026 F1 Chinese Grand Prix results:
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
George Russell (Mercedes) +5.515
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +25.267
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +28.894
Oliver Bearman (Haas) +57.268
Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
Esteban Ocon (Haas)
Carlos Sainz (Williams)
Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
Alexander Albon (Williams)
Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso retired, and Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri did not start.
2026 Formula 1 drivers championship:
George Russell - 51 pts
Kimi Antonelli - 47 pts
Charles Leclerc - 34 pts
Lewis Hamilton - 33 pts
Oliver Bearman - 17 pts
Lando Norris - 15 pts
Pierre Gasly - 9 pts
Max Verstappen - 8 pts
Liam Lawson - 8 pts
Arvid Lindblad - 4 pts
Isack Hadjar - 4 pts
Oscar Piastri - 3 pts
Gabriel Bortoleto - 2 pts
Carlos Sainz - 2 pts
Franco Colapinto - 1 pt
Esteban Ocon - 0 pts
Alexander Albon - 0 pts
Sergio Pérez - 0 pts
Lance Stroll - 0 pts
Fernando Alonso - 0 pts
Valtteri Bottas - 0 pts
Nico Hülkenberg - 0 pts