Kimi Antonelli sealed his spot in the Formula 1 history books with a maiden pole position and victory at the Chinese Grand Prix, but attention has swiftly turned to whether he is ready to challenge his Mercedes team-mate George Russell for the 2026 drivers’ title.The 19-year-old became the youngest driver to claim a grand prix pole position on Saturday, and backed it up with a (mostly) mature display on Sunday to win the 56-lap race.
Mercedes’ early-season speed, which has seen them secure back-to-back one-twos to start the year, has established both the team and their drivers as the championship favourites.
Russell had largely had things all his own way in Australia and then at the start of the weekend in China as he won Saturday’s Sprint, but he was left exposed by some gremlins in qualifying and was unable to recover from there.
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Highlights from the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix
Any thoughts that the Brit might be on course for a dominant march to his maiden title have been put on hold for now by Antonelli’s win, while it must also be noted that Ferrari have pushed Mercedes hard at various stages of the opening two rounds and retain their own aspirations.
Just a matter of minutes after the champagne had been sprayed on the Shanghai podium, attention was already turning to the debate over whether Antonelli can stay the course with Russell.
Antonelli seizes opportunity
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Kimi Antonelli hit the barriers in a huge crash during final practice at the Australian GP
Expectations have been high for Antonelli since he was fast-tracked into a Mercedes seat by team boss Toto Wolff as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement when the seven-time world champion decided to leave for Ferrari.
Billed as a generational talent – and treated like one by his team – Antonelli showed early promise in his rookie campaign before a mid-season slump raised doubts over whether Mercedes had rushed the process.A return to form in the latter stages of 2025 levelled his season out to somewhere…
2026-03-15 13:00:00
