Five Winners, Five Losers: Chinese Grand Prix
- Peter Johnson
- 7 minutes ago
- 10 min read
Written by Peter Johnson, Edited by Meghana Sree
The second race in Formula One’s season-opening double-header once again provided wheel-to-wheel racing throughout the field, but who came out on top?
Winner — Kimi Antonelli
The Chinese Grand Prix was truly a coming-of-age performance from Kimi Antonelli, the young Italian enjoying a couple of record-breaking days in Shanghai.
A second-placed start for Saturday’s sprint may have been followed up with a slow getaway and collision with Isack Hadjar that ultimately yielded a slightly disappointing fifth-placed finish for Antonelli, but the 19-year-old was imperious in the sessions that followed to etch his name into F1 history.
Aided as he was by George Russell’s issues in the final part of qualifying, Antonelli still had to set his pole time in a car blighted by front-wing problems that cost him a couple of tenths on his final run.
In snatching P1 on Saturday, Antonelli shattered an 18-year-old record for youngest-ever Grand Prix polesitter, outdoing Sebastian Vettel at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix by a full two years.
He again lost a place at the start of Sunday’s race, dropping behind the fast-starting Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, but soon regained the lead and never looked back.
A lock up at the hairpin on Lap 53 was evidence of a driver feeling the pressure as he closed in on his first F1 victory, but moments later Antonelli became the 116th driver in the sport’s history to take victory, and the second youngest.
He also became the youngest-ever driver to achieve a hattrick (pole, victory and fastest lap), and had Hamilton not overtaken him off the line would also have had a Grand Slam for leading every lap.
Mercedes backed Antonelli as the star of his generation by drafting him in to replace Hamilton in 2025, but for every odd flash of brilliance last year there were a couple of disappointing moments.
A couple of slow starts aside, though, Antonelli has been right on it at the start of 2026 and may yet be better equipped to mount a title charge than anybody expected.
Winner — Lewis Hamilton
What a delight finally to see Hamilton enjoying racing once more. For the first time since the seven-time world champion’s heartbreak at the end of 2021, Silverstone 2024 aside, he seems to have a glint back in his eye and a true smile on his face.
A happy, motivated Hamilton is arguably still quicker than anybody else, a lesson that teammate Charles Leclerc certainly found out in Shanghai.
Although Leclerc would be the first to admit that he does not particularly enjoy driving the Shanghai International Circuit, the Monégasque is regarded as the fastest driver in the sport over one lap. Nevertheless, Hamilton outqualified him in both qualifying sessions in China, and showed greater turns of pace in both races.
The 41-year-old could consider himself unlucky not to pip Leclerc to a podium last time out in Melbourne, and after a prolonged, tyre-killing battle for the lead in the sprint against Russell, lost out to the Monégasque again.
However, after a titanic tussle with Leclerc on race-day, it was the Briton who came out on top to claim his first Grand Prix podium with Ferrari at the 26th attempt — the longest-ever wait for a driver in red.
It could not have been a more perfect roster to commemorate such an iconic moment, either, sharing the podium with his long-time race engineer Peter Bonnington, who was up there himself to celebrate his current steed’s first-ever victory.
Hamilton has already led more laps in 2026 than he did in the whole of 2025, and has not looked this at home in a car for five years.
The GOAT means business.
Winner — Alpine
Alpine will have been underwhelmed to score just a solitary point in Melbourne, with the promised performance from the team’s new Mercedes power unit not really apparent.
The A526 began to show more of its potential in Shanghai, and not just at the hands of Pierre Gasly. Franco Colapinto, who underperformed throughout his first year with Alpine, delivered arguably the best drive of his short career so far in Sunday’s race.
The young Argentine ran second after the first safety car, granted without having pitted, but held his own in a fight with Haas’ Oliver Bearman and did not drop back through the field anywhere close to the rate at which might have been expected.
When Colapinto eventually did pit on Lap 33, he was promptly spun round by the sister Haas of Esteban Ocon, and did phenomenally well to continue on to salvage his first point for the Enstone team.
Gasly, meanwhile, put in one of his typical car-wringing performances, achieving an impressive sixth place.
A first double-points finish for Alpine since their double podium at the 2024 São Paolo Grand Prix marks an upturn in performance that, if replicated, promises a fruitful season ahead.
Winner — Oliver Bearman
The likes of Russell, Antonelli and Hamilton will take the plaudits after impressive starts to 2026, but arguably no driver has kicked off this season in better form than Haas’ Bearman.
The young Brit achieved an eyebrow-raising P7 in Melbourne, and followed that up with an even more impressive showing in Shanghai. One point for eighth place in the sprint is small change for Bearman these days, as he drove a phenomenal Grand Prix to cross the line fifth.
The man from Chelmsford showed in Mexico City last year that he is comfortable fighting near the front, and in a five-way scrap with his teammate, both Alpines and Max Verstappen in China, he emerged at the front of the bunch to finish best of the rest behind the Mercedes and Ferraris.
Like many, the 20-year-old may have benefitted somewhat from McLaren’s travails on Sunday, but he was in the top 10 in every session across the weekend and deserved the extra couple of places more than anybody else.
Sitting fifth in the Drivers’ Championship with 17 points, it remains to be seen whether this is just a patch of particularly good form or a genuine reflection of the Bearman-Haas package. However, as long as he and his team continue to perform while the likes of McLaren and Red Bull struggle, this will surely not be the last time we see the Brit earn a chunk of points.
Winner — Cadillac
They may only have earned any screentime when they came together on the opening lap of Sunday’s race, and then again when they were lapped, but Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez gave new boys Cadillac plenty to build upon in Shanghai.
It may not be much for the established teams to be ahead of Aston Martin, given the Silverstone team’s well-documented struggles, but outqualifying a well-established outfit is an achievement by a new entry that cannot be downplayed.
Bottas’ P20 in Saturday’s qualifying session placed him ahead of Aston’s Lance Stroll, and Cadillac continued to demonstrate a certain edge over several other teams on Sunday.
Bottas and Pérez delivered the team’s first-ever double finish, crossing the line 13th and 15th respectively, while Aston, Audi, McLaren and Red Bull were all forced to withdraw at least one car through reliability concerns.
It may currently count for little in terms of points, with the American outfit still at the back in terms of pure pace, but having a car that can get from A to B is the first key step for any racing team, and already places Cadillac ahead of several of its rivals in one respect.
Loser — McLaren
It is almost inexplicable that McLaren currently ranks third in the Constructors’ Championship, despite Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri enjoying just one Grand Prix start between them in the first two rounds.
Piastri’s plight in Melbourne was well-documented and he would at least have expected to see some Grand Prix racing action in China, but moments before the formation lap found himself being wheeled to the garage to join his stricken teammate, whose own participation in the race had already appeared doubtful for some time.
Both drivers confirmed they had experienced separate issues with their power units, which means twice the troubleshooting work required.
Not since the infamous 2005 U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis had neither McLaren started a race, and reliability issues were not to blame on that occasion. And until Piastri this year, not since Bruce McLaren himself failed to start the final two races of the 1969 season had a driver in papaya not participated in two consecutive Grands Prix.
When the McLarens were actually out on track, they appeared to be more in the ball park than they were in Melbourne. Norris qualified third for the sprint with Piastri fifth, while they dropped places to Hamilton and Leclerc to finish fourth and sixth respectively.
Locking out the third row for the race they would eventually not start, McLaren do at least appear to be solidly the third-quickest team, and their standing in the championship with just one full race between both drivers suggests there may be hope of being competitive soon.
Loser — Max Verstappen
If Verstappen had a bingo card for things that could go wrong during his weekend in Shanghai, the chances are that he left the paddock on Sunday evening with a full house.
The four-time world champion had a difficult start to the weekend, qualifying eighth for the sprint race. He dropped way back at the start and only recovered as far as ninth by the chequered flag, marking the first ever time he has failed to score points in a sprint.
In qualifying proper, Verstappen again qualified eighth, further promoted to sixth due to McLaren’s troubles. By Turn 1 on Sunday, though, the Dutchman was already down in 17th after another torrid launch.
After being overtaken by Bearman’s Haas on pure pace, he swiftly pitted, only for a Safety Car to be called for Stroll’s stricken Aston Martin moments later, giving everybody around him a cheap stop.
After a five-way battle with the Haas cars and pair of Alpines, throughout which the Dutchman was generally at the rear, he was eventually put out of his misery in Lap 45 when a coolant leak forced his retirement.
Verstappen doubled down on his early negative feedback regarding the new regulations, branding the new battery-aided racing a “joke”. He is not a happy customer currently and has so far failed to adapt to the new era, as has his team.
The four-time world champion did suggest at the start of the weekend that he has had productive discussions with the FIA about amending the new regulations to promote purer, harder racing, and his ordeal this weekend will only cement his stance that change is needed.
Loser — Esteban Ocon
There is a handful of drivers who could really do with a good run of form this season to make up for an underwhelming 2025. Hamilton and Antonelli are two such drivers, and both have indeed shone at the start of this year.
Ocon, on the other hand, has not. The Haas driver started last season well at Haas before being squarely beaten by then-rookie teammate Bearman.
While Bearman has scored well in all three races so far this season, Ocon has continued to drive in his shadow. He finished a decent 10th in the sprint, in which only the top eight scored points, and while a grid position of 13th for the Grand Prix was three places shy of his teammate, he had a platform upon which he could move forwards.
Locked in a battle with his teammate and both Alpines, Ocon was vying for points in the first half of the race.
However, at the start of Lap 34 he clumsily slid into the side of Colapinto, who had just emerged from the pits, sending both into a spin. Ocon immediately admitted culpability and was hit with a 10-second penalty, which put paid to his chances of a top 10 finish.
The mistake was an unseemly reminder of the Ocon of old, who tangled regularly with then-teammate Pérez in often avoidable situations.
With Jack Doohan recruited as the team’s reserve driver, the Frenchman may soon find his spot on the grid under pressure without an upturn in performances.
Loser — Aston Martin
It was another dreadful weekend for Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso and Stroll had already had a miserable sprint before Stroll was outqualified by Cadillac’s Bottas on pure pace on Saturday afternoon.
The team’s Sunday was over fairly quickly, too, with Stroll forced to retire on Lap 9 with a battery problem.
Come Lap 32, Alonso, who had at one stage run in the top 10, joined his teammate in the garage. While his car was still running, the Spaniard reported that he was losing feeling in his hands due to vibrations from the engine.
Retirement through a mechanical issue or collision is fairly commonplace in F1 these days, but to retire because a car is quite simply undriveable is one of the most worrying indictments of Aston’s current predicament.
Loser — Alex Albon
It hasn’t been a particularly happy start to 2026 for Williams, either, although their problems perhaps seem trivial compared to those of Aston Martin.
Despite being the third slowest team ahead of Aston and Cadillac, Carlos Sainz was able to capitalise on the retirements of those around and in front of him to nab a couple of world championship points from a P9 finish on Sunday.
Alex Albon had no such joy, though, and had a thoroughly miserable weekend throughout. Departing in Q1 and outqualified by Sainz on both Friday and Saturday, Albon was forced into a pitlane start for both races due to car modifications outside of parc fermé.
Tagging onto the back of the pack by the end of the sprint was nothing to celebrate, but was at least preferable to the outcome of his main race, which he ultimately never even started.
