Fraser MasefieldKimi Antonelli became the second youngest ever winner of a Formula One race after the Italian beat Mercedes teammate George Russell to win the Chinese Grand Prix at the age of 19.
Lewis Hamilton held off Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc for the final podium position with Oliver Bearman fifth from Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar.
“Grand Prix winner buddy!” 😮💨💪#F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/Ep2cZw1eFB
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 16, 2026
“What an incredible day! This win is a fulfilment of one of the dreams I’ve had ever since I first drove a go-kart,” commented Antonelli on the official Mercedes F1 press release.
“I want to say thank you to my amazing family and the incredible team at both Lauda Drive and Morgan Drive.
“I couldn’t have done this without any of them, and it means so much to take my first victory in F1. It was a very special moment for all of us.”
Carlos Sainz Jnr and Franco Colapinto rounded out the top ten but it was a nightmare race for McLaren as both cars failed to start due to electrical issues.
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Antonelli had already become the youngest ever pole sitter the day before aged just 19 and drove a mature race beyond his years after losing the lead at the start.
Indeed, it was old stager and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton who rocketed into the lead as Ferrari also did in Melbourne before Antonelli reclaimed the lead on the second lap.
A Safety Car situation played further into Antonelli’s hands and somewhat scuppered Russell’s chances, as he rejoined behind the Alpine of Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon’s Haas after the leaders pitted for fresh rubber.
“The race itself wasn’t easy,” added Antonelli. “I lost a position at the start and had to fight back to get ahead. We then had to manage the Safety Car restart which wasn’t easy on the Hard compound.
“It was difficult to get the tyres working but fortunately we were able to before we were under threat from those behind.”
Kimi reacting to his first F1 win had everyone tearing up 🥺 pic.twitter.com/rBGm5rnszj
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 15, 2026
Despite losing further places to Hamilton and Leclerc on the restart, Russell eventually cleared the Ferraris and set about catching his young teammate.
And having closing the gap to within six seconds, he just ran out of laps to put significant pressure on Antonelli.
“Firstly, huge congratulations to Kimi on his first victory in F1,” commented Russell on the Mercedes website.
“He drove a great race, and it was brilliant to be up there on the podium with him. I am sure it is a moment he will never forget and to do it with the team scoring a 1-2 is fantastic.
“My own race was not straightforward. I lost positions both at the start and then at the Safety Car restart as we struggled to switch the Hard tyres on.
“The Ferraris were quick, particularly in the early stages, and we had to get back past them twice. They were fast in all the right places and that made our job a lot more difficult.”
Russell’s second place still means he leads the championship by four points courtesy of his Sprint Race victory with Leclerc a solitary point ahead of Hamilton in third.
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Craig Scarborough