Antonelli secures his first Grand Prix pole position in China
- Charlotte Mui
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Written by Charlotte Mui
Kimi Antonelli took pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix, ahead of his teammate George Russell. Lewis Hamilton slotted in behind the pair in third.
The young Italian driver capitalised on a problem with Russell’s car in the beginning of Q3 to snatch pole and gives himself a great chance at securing his first Grand Prix win tomorrow.
Qualifying 1
Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix got underway at 7:00 BST, with Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac the first car to leave the pits as drivers began their battle for pole position.
Oscar Piastri set the early benchmark, going to the top of the timesheets with a 1:33.990. The Australian will be hoping for a much stronger weekend than the season opener, where he failed to complete a lap in the race.
With 12 minutes remaining, Nico Hülkenberg sat in second position, only around a tenth behind Piastri. Audi appears to have found some early pace and has been performing impressively for such a new team.
With 10 minutes to go, Hamilton had a big slide on his used medium tyres and had yet to put a competitive lap on the board.
Meanwhile, the Mercedes duo switched from mediums to softs and quickly shot to the top of the timesheets. Russell set a 1:33.262, with Antonelli just four hundredths behind his teammate. With Mercedes looking like the clear early favourites, Antonelli may yet provide a serious challenge to Russell for pole position.
Hamilton then moved up to third, around two and a half tenths behind the young Italian driver. The seven-time world champion has historically performed well at this circuit.
With six minutes remaining, rookie Arvid Lindblad was forced to box due to a technical issue.
Charles Leclerc then produced a brilliant lap to displace Russell from the top spot, setting a 1:33.175. Mercedes had looked set for a front-row lockout, and Ferrari will be hoping to disrupt that for tomorrow’s race.
Racing Bulls appeared to resolve the issue on Lindblad’s car, allowing him to return to the session and set a final flying lap, placing him 11th fastest.
With two minutes to go, Red Bull looked to be in trouble as both their drivers sat in 14th and 15th. However, after switching to soft tyres for their final runs, Max Verstappen climbed to fourth while Isack Hadjar improved to eighth.
Q1 eliminations
17. Carlos Sainz
18. Alex Albon
19. Fernando Alonso
20. Valtteri Bottas
21. Lance Stroll
22. Sergio Pérez
Qualifying 2
Mercedes and Ferrari were the first two teams out for Q2. The battle for poles and wins do only seem to be between these two teams at the moment.
Antonelli set the first competitive lap, clocking in a 1:32.950. His teammate was quick to displace that, going almost half a second faster on his first flying lap.
The Ferrari duo then split the Mercedes pair, with Leclerc moving into second and Hamilton taking third
Meanwhile, Norris sat in seventh place. McLaren will be hoping for a repeat of sprint qualifying, where Norris managed to put his car in third. However, they appear to be lacking the pace they showed earlier in the weekend.
Ollie Bearman occupied sixth position, with the Haas driver continuing to impress after a strong performance in the previous round.
With seven minutes to go, both McLaren and Ferrari drivers switch onto new sets of tyres, having set their original laps on used sets.
Leclerc once again went to the top of the timesheets with an impressive 1:32.486. Hamilton followed closely behind, just four hundredths of a second slower than his teammate.
However, it was Antonelli who finished the session fastest, setting a 1:32.443 to lead the field into Q3.
Q2 eliminations
11. Nico Hulkenberg
12. Franco Colapinto
13. Esteban Ocon
14. Liam Lawson
15. Arvid Lindblad
16. Gabriel Bortoleto
Qualifying 3
At the start of the top-10 shootout, Russell slowed on track and reported a problem to his engineers before heading back to the pit lane for checks.
Meanwhile, McLaren occupied the second and third spots, while Antonelli once again led the pack, taking provisional pole. With Russell’s Q3 compromised, Antonelli looked well placed to secure the first Grand Prix pole position of his Formula One career.
Ferrari sat in fourth and fifth, with Red Bull in sixth and seventh. Russell was down in tenth, leaving the key question as to whether he would be able to return to the track and set a representative time.
With four minutes remaining, Russell appeared to be fitted with a fresh set of tyres, suggesting that he would be able to head back out for a final run.
With two minutes to go, the drivers headed out for their decisive flying laps. Antonelli improved once again, setting a 1:32.064. Hamilton and Leclerc slotted in behind him, while Piastri and Norris occupied fifth and sixth.
Russell’s final lap proved good enough for second place, but he will have to settle for starting just behind his teammate on the front row.
Sunday’s Starting Grid
1. Kimi Antonelli
2. George Russell
3. Lewis Hamilton
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Oscar Piastri
6. Lando Norris
7. Pierre Gasly
8. Max Verstappen
9. Isack Hadjar
10. Ollie Bearman
11. Nico Hülkenberg
12. Franco Colapinto
13. Esteban Ocon
14. Liam Lawson
15. Arvid Lindblad
16. Gabriel Bortoleto
17. Carlos Sainz
18. Alex Albon
19. Fernando Alonso
20. Valtteri Bottas
21. Lance Stroll
22. Sergio Pérez
Looking Ahead
Antonelli finds himself in prime position to take the first victory of his F1 career. However, his teammate and the two Ferraris are looming just behind. Having struggled with starts both in Australia and during the sprint this weekend, the young Italian may be vulnerable when the lights go out. He will need the best launch of his season so far if he hopes to keep them at bay into the opening corners.
Russell, meanwhile, will be aiming to secure another victory to extend his championship lead and, crucially, prevent his younger teammate from building early momentum in the title fight.
Sunday’s race promises a fascinating battle at the front, and Antonelli’s toughest test yet.
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