F1 China, Qualifying results
| 1st row | 1. Kimi Antonelli 1:32.064 Mercedes |
| 2. George Russell 1:32.286 Mercedes | |
| 2nd row | 3. Lewis Hamilton 1:32.415 Ferrari |
| 4. Charles Leclerc 1:32.428 Ferrari | |
| 3rd row | 5. Oscar Piastri 1:32.550 McLaren |
| 6. Lando Norris 1:32.608 McLaren | |
| 4th row | 7. Pierre Gasly 1:32.873 Alpine |
| 8. Max Verstappen 1:33.002 Red Bull | |
| 5th row | 9. Isack Hadjar 1:33.121 Red Bull |
| 10. Oliver Bearman 1:33.292 Haas | |
| 6th row | 11. Nico Hülkenberg 1:33.354 Audi |
| 12. Franco Colapinto 1:33.357 Alpine | |
| 7th row | 13. Esteban Ocon 1:33.538 Haas |
| 14. Liam Lawson 1:33.765 Racing Bulls | |
| 8th row | 15. Arvid Lindblad 1:33.784 Racing Bulls |
| 16. Gabriel Bortoleto 1:33.965 Audi | |
| 9th row | 17. Carlos Sainz 1:34.317 Williams |
| 18. Alexander Albon 1:34.772 Williams | |
| 10th row | 19. Fernando Alonso 1:35.203 Aston Martin |
| 20. Valtteri Bottas 1:35.436 Cadillac | |
| 11th row | 21. Lance Stroll 1:35.995 Aston Martin |
| 22. Sergio Perez 1:36.906 Cadillac |
F1 China, Qualifying report
It is a historic day for Italian motorsport. Seventeen years after Giancarlo Fisichella’s at Spa, the tricolor returns to pole position: thanks to Kimi Antonelli, who will start ahead of everyone in the Chinese GP with a time of 1:32.064. The Bolognese beats teammate George Russell by two tenths and at 19 years, six months and 18 days becomes the youngest pole-sitter in the history of Formula 1: smashing the previous record held by Sebastian Vettel.
Read more Record-breaking Antonelli: he is the youngest pole-sitter ever in F1
The front row is signed by Mercedes for the third consecutive time, with Russell doing very well to limit the damage in Q3 after stopping due to an electrical problem with the power unit. A heart-pounding final part of qualifying for the Englishman, who feared for a long time he wouldn’t complete a lap before leaving the pits in the final seconds and finding an excellent time. Behind the World Championship leader are the Ferraris, which, net of Russell’s problems, seem to have slightly closed the gap on the single lap (but it remains just under half a second); above all, they still have the advantage at the start, and in the race, the SF-26s can put on a show at least in the first laps. Lewis Hamilton confirms himself ahead of Charles Leclerc (by only 13 thousandths) and tomorrow will have one of the best chances to erase that annoying zero under the “podiums” entry with Ferrari.
The grid confirms itself as very well defined, with McLaren and Red Bull as the third and fourth forces respectively, with Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen winning the internal duels. The only one who breaks the mold is Pierre Gasly, who did very well to keep the four-time world champion behind. Also in the top 10 is an excellent Oliver Bearman, for qualifying that almost exactly mirrors yesterday’s results: the same qualifiers in Q3, the same eliminated in Q2, and the same eliminated in Q1. And just like yesterday, Nico Hülkenberg is beaten by a matter of thousandths (only two!) by Isack Hadjar, while Williams, Aston Martin, and Cadillac are eliminated immediately. A small point of pride for the new entry, which for the first time beats an opponent on track.
F1 China, Qualifying live
You can relive the emotions of the Shanghai Qualifying with our live report.
The schedule
F1 returns to the track tomorrow morning for the second GP of the year: in Shanghai, the lights will go out at 8, with the Mercedes having to defend themselves once again from the aggressive start of the Ferraris.
