Kimi Antonelli has etched his name into Formula One history by claiming pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix, becoming the sport’s youngest ever driver to achieve the feat.
The 19-year-old Italian posted a time of 1:32.064 at the Shanghai International Circuit, finishing 0.222 seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell.
At 19 years, six months and 18 days old, Antonelli surpassed Sebastian Vettel’s long-standing benchmark from the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, when the German was 21 years, two months and 11 days old.
The milestone also marks Antonelli as the first Italian to secure a world championship grand prix pole since Giancarlo Fisichella achieved the feat at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix.
Russell’s qualifying session was compromised by a suspected gearbox fault that brought his car to a halt during the early stages of Q3.
The championship leader, who had already triumphed in Saturday’s sprint race to extend his points advantage to 11, first noticed something amiss during Q2.
Russell reported over team radio: “Something is not right with the car. I’ve got major understeer.
“It is like the front wing is broken.”
Kimi Antonelli has etched his name into Formula One history by claiming pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix
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Despite the mechanical problems, Russell managed to return to the track with just two minutes remaining in the session.
He completed a single flying lap that proved insufficient to challenge Antonelli’s benchmark time.
Antonelli credited composure as the decisive factor in his record-breaking performance, acknowledging the unusual circumstances surrounding his teammate’s difficulties.
The Italian explained afterwards: “Yeah, it was a pretty clean session, so I am really happy.
Kimi Antonelli became the sport’s youngest-ever driver to achieve pole
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He added: “George had an issue, so it would have been cool to see him with two [runs], but it was a really good session.”
The teenager maintained his concentration despite witnessing Russell’s troubles unfold on track.
“I saw George had the issue, but I just tried to keep my focus, stay calm and deliver a good lap, which I did at the end,” Antonelli said, noting the session was free of errors.
Lewis Hamilton secured third position for Ferrari, edging out teammate Charles Leclerc, who will start fourth on the grid.
Kimi Antonelli posted a time of 1:32.064 at the Shanghai International Circuit
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McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris qualified fifth and sixth respectively, whilst Max Verstappen could manage only eighth place, finishing nine-tenths of a second adrift of Antonelli’s pace.
Williams endured another dismal qualifying session, with both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon failing to progress beyond Q1 for the second consecutive day.
“Terrible,” was Albon’s assessment of his performance, which leaves him starting 18th behind Sainz in 17th.
Aston Martin fared little better, with Fernando Alonso lining up 19th and Lance Stroll 21st.
