Kimi Antonelli wins Chinese GP as Mercedes continue their early F1 2026 dominance

Kimi Antonelli won his first-ever F1 race as he and Mercedes team-mate George Russell secured a one-two finish at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old became the second-youngest ever winner in the sport, a day after becoming the youngest pole-sitter, as he produced a drive beyond his years to take victory.

Only Max Verstappen has won a F1 race at a younger age – with the Dutchman doing so aged 18 at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

Antonelli was visibly moved upon realising a childhood dream, saying post-match: ‘I’m speechless. I’m about to cry, to be honest. Thank you so much to my team, because they helped me to achieve this dream.’

In crossing the chequered flag first he becomes the first Italian to win a Grand Prix in more than 20 years after Giancarlo Fisichella’s triumph at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix.

‘I’m super happy,’ he continued. ‘I said yesterday I really wanted to bring Italy back on top and we did today, even though I gave myself a little bit of a heart attack towards the end with the flat-spot. It was a good race.’

Despite finishing second, Russell leads the championship by four points from Antonelli after winning the curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix last week.

Lewis Hamilton completed the podium in third ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc.

However, it was a nightmare race for Verstappen and reigning world champion Lando Norris.

Verstappen looked set to finish sixth but retired with 10 laps to go, while Norris never made it to the grid as a result of an electrical problem. The latter’s McLaren team-mate suffered a similar fate too.

That trio were one of seven races who did not finish the race.

The next race is the Japanese Grand Prix across March 27-29.