Kimi Antonelli Makes Formula One History at Chinese GP Qualifying

Kimi Antonelli breaks Sebastian Vettel's record to become the youngest pole sitter in the history of Formula 1 at the 2026 Chinese GP.

Kimi Antonelli Makes Formula One History at Chinese GP Qualifying

Kimi Antonelli (via F1)

In Short
  • Kimi Antonelli secured his first pole position in Formula 1 at the 2026 Chinese GP, becoming the youngest driver to achieve this feat at 19 years old.
  • Mercedes locked out the front row with George Russell starting in P2, despite facing mechanical issues during qualifying.
  • Antonelli expressed his happiness with a clean qualifying session and focused on his performance rather than Russell's problems.

Kimi Antonelli achieved his maiden pole position in Formula 1 at the 2026 Chinese GP. Following Mercedes’ dominant showing under the new regulations, Antonelli was able to fight against the rivals to achieve a P1 start for the race on Sunday. Now, the Italian has created history by being the youngest driver to achieve a pole position in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Notably, Sebastian Vettel was the youngest driver to take pole in Formula 1, at around 21 years of age. Even Max Verstappen achieved a P1 start much later than Vettel. Now, it is Kimi Antonelli who has etched his name in the record books, and by quite a margin. At just 19 years of age, Antonelli became the youngest pole sitter in the history of the sport.

Speaking of making history in Formula 1, Kimi Antonelli was certainly overjoyed. He notes that he is pretty happy, especially after achieving such a clean session. The Italian highlighted his disappointment after witnessing George Russell facing issues in his Mercedes challenger. Regardless, Antonelli made all the difference on the track and will start the Chinese GP from P1.

Was a pretty clean session, so really happy. Of course George had an issue in Q3, so would have been cool to see him with two sets. It was a really clean session.

Kimi Antonelli said in a post-session interview.

Kimi Antonelli highlighted that his focus wasn’t on George Russell‘s problems, but rather on his own performances. The Italian delivered a great lap in the final stages of the Chinese GP Qualifying and clinched the pole position. Moreover, Russell secured a P2 start as Mercedes locked out in the front row. Now, all eyes will be on the main race as the fans will cheer on the young gun as he aims to achieve his maiden victory in the pinnacle of motorsport.

I saw he had an issue, but I just tried to keep my focus and deliver a good lap.

Kimi Antonelli added.

George Russell applauds Kimi Antonelli’s historic pole position

Certainly, George Russell wouldn’t mind losing the pole position to Kimi Antonelli as he creates history in Formula 1. Russell was on the trajectory to achieve a stellar pole if it weren’t for the mechanical issues at the beginning of the Q3 session. Regardless, Mercedes achieved great collaborative results, and both Silver Arrows will start on the front row.

Toto Wolff, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli (via Formula1.com)
Toto Wolff, George Russell, and Kimi Antonelli (via Formula1.com)

As such, George Russell applauded the good job by the team, especially with fixing his car in time to lodge one final lap in the Q3 session. Russell even praised Kimi Antonelli for clinching the pole position and is looking forward to racing him on track at the Chinese GP. At the season opener in Australia, both Silver Arrows finished very close to one another in P1 and P2, and this could be the case in China as well.

The team did a really good job. It could have been much worse. And, a good job from this guy (Kimi)

George Russell said in a post-race interview.

Mercedes has remained the team to beat as they seem to be untouched in terms of performance. The German carmaker has started the 2026 season on the right foot, and they will only develop on top of these results. As such, the rivals have quite some margin to cover in development if they want to seriously battle with Brackley for race wins and ultimately the championship.

Read More: Max Verstappen Brands Red Bull Chinese GP Sprint Qualifying Performance a ‘Disaster’