Andrea Kimi Antonelli took his maiden pole after teammate George Russell suffered hassle, locking Mercedes out of the entrance row once more in 2026 F1.
The Silver Arrows have led the season thus far, with Russell taking pole and win in Australia and including a dash pole and win to his scorecard in China on Saturday.
However his golden run got here to an finish after he encountered numerous technical issues in qualifying for the Chinese language Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon.
This opens the door for Kimi Antonelli to compete for his first pole place, making the Italian the youngest pole sitter in historical past, breaking the document held by Sebastian Vettel since 2008.
Russell recovered to take the entrance row spot in second place, whereas Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton took third forward of teammate Charles Leclerc.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri completed fifth forward of present world champion Lando Norris, whereas Alpine’s Pierre Gasly superior to Q3 with the seventh quickest time.
Max Verstappen completed a disappointing eighth place as Purple Bull made basic modifications to the automobile after an intense dash, whereas Izak Hajjar in his sister automobile completed ninth. Haas’ Ollie Bearman accomplished the highest 10.
2026 Chinese language Grand Prix beginning grid
| 2026 F1 Chinese language Grand Prix – Beginning Grid | ||||
| place | driver | nut. | crew | |
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Staff | |
| 2 | george russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Staff | |
| 3 | lewis hamilton | GBR | Scuderia Ferrari HP | |
| 4 | charles leclerc | month | Scuderia Ferrari HP | |
| 5 | Oscar Piastri | out of | McLaren Mastercard F1 Staff | |
| 6 | land norris | GBR | McLaren Mastercard F1 Staff | |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | from | BWT Alpine F1 Staff | |
| 8 | max verstappen | NED | oracle purple bull racing | |
| 9 | Isaac Hajar | from | oracle purple bull racing | |
| 10 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | TGR Haas F1 Staff | |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | gel | Audi Revolut F1 Staff | |
| 12 | Franco Colapinto | A.R.G. | BWT Alpine F1 Staff | |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | from | TGR Haas F1 Staff | |
| 14 | Liam Lawson | new zealand | racing bulls | |
| 15 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | racing bulls | |
| 16 | Gabriel Bortleto | bra | Audi Revolut F1 Staff | |
| 17 | Carlos Sainz | psychic | Atlassian Williams F1 Staff | |
| 18 | Alex Albon | GBR | Atlassian Williams F1 Staff | |
| 19 | Fernando Alonso | psychic | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Staff | |
| 20 | valtteri bottas | fin | cadillac f1 crew | |
| twenty one | Lance Stroll | can | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Staff | |
| twenty two | Sergio Perez | Mexico | cadillac f1 crew | |
