Kimi Antonelli takes maiden victory in China from Russell as Hamilton gets first Ferrari podium
Kimi Antonelli took his maiden Grand Prix victory in China to lead another Mercedes one-two ahead of teammate George Russell as Lewis Hamilton takes first podium for Ferrari.
In a weekend of firsts, 19-year-old Antonelli converted his inaugural pole position to victory after recovering the lead early from Hamilton who had another electric start in his Ferrari.
Antonelli was then unchallenged and stretched his lead to a peak of nine seconds but was cut to five after a heart-in-mouth lock up at the turn 14 hairpin with four laps to go.
Yesterday’s sprint winner George Russell fought with the Ferraris after being dropped at the start but eventually got past after a series of captivating and clean racing battles, maintaining his Championship lead.
Ferrari drivers Hamilton and Charles Leclerc continued the skirmish for the bulk of the race, executing thrilling racing between them which demonstrated their perfect racing etiquette in a battle we’d hoped to have seen from two of the best drivers on the grid.
World Champions McLaren were set to start from the third row but two separate electrical issues moments before the start saw the team suffer their first double DNS in 20 years. Despite points in yesterday’s sprint, this means Oscar Piastri is yet to complete a Grand Prix lap in 2026.
Fifth place was taken by Haas’ Ollie Bearman ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly – the two teams enjoying a good squabble throughout to head the midfield.
Liam Lawson (RB) finished seventh from Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who narrowly missed Bearman after spinning on the opening lap. Red Bull’s woes continued as Max Verstappen limped to the pits to retire from sixth in the closing stages.
Carlos Sainz drove a brilliant race for Williams to score their first points of the season by holding off Franco Colapinto who scored his first points for the Alpine despite his race coming undone with contact by Haas’ Esteban Ocon in the winding first corner complex.
Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) missed out on points from Arvid Lindblad – the RB man having a tougher weekend than his debut with a self-inflicted spin at the hairpin.
The two Cadillacs of Valterri Bottas and Sergio Perez, who spun on the first lap after contact with his teammate, were split by Ocon to round of the finishers.
The race featured seven non-finishers, four of which failed to start including Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Williams’ Alex Albon.
Lance Stroll retired his Aston Martin with issues which caused the race’s only Safety Car period, whereas teammate Fernando Alonso later retired stating he was losing feeling in his hands due to the car’s excessive vibrations.
The team are still yet to finish a Grand Prix distance ahead of engine provider Honda’s home race in Japan next time out.
F1 returns for the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks’ time, giving teams a chance to reflect on the learnings made from the opening double header of the sport’s biggest regulation change.
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