F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2026 Recap: Kimi Antonelli wins at a canter as Mercedes secure another 1-2

Kimi Antonelli picked up his first-ever Formula One win as he drove a calm and composed race in Shanghai to convert his pole position into a victory to win the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.

The Italian also became the second-youngest race winner in F1 history, behind Max Verstappen, rounding out a strong weekend by also becoming F1’s youngest pole-sitter as Mercedes secured another 1-2 at the end of what was a chaotic race in China.

Antonelli’s teammate, George Russell, finished second to make it a double podium for Mercedes, while Lewis Hamilton picked up his first-ever podium for Ferrari, finishing third after an incredible race and an intense battle with his teammate, Charles Leclerc.

It was quite the race in Shanghai and had plenty of action not only on track, but also off it: only 15 drivers saw the chequered flag, seven were unable to finish the race, while four didn’t even start, including both McLaren drivers in what was the team’s first DNS since 2005.

Lando Norris didn’t leave the garage due to an electronic issue, while his teammate Oscar Piastri was pushed into the garage from the grid. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Williams’ Alex Albon also weren’t able to make the grid.

An absolutely chaotic race start saw Lewis Hamilton storm off the line to take the lead of the race, with Charles Leclerc pushing Kimi Antonelli to move up to P3 ahead of George Russell. A host of cars had a strong start, with Pierre Gasly moving up to P5 and Franco Colapinto moving up to P6, while Fernando Alonso was up to P10 in the opening few corners.

While some were making up places, Red Bull were struggling. Isack Hadjar spun into the gravel on Turn 1 while trying to fight for track position with Oliver Bearman and was asked by his team to head to the garage immediately. Cadillac also had a horrible start, with Sergio Pérez coming together with his teammate Valtteri Bottas, which spun the Mexican around. 

Antonelli re-took the lead from Hamilton the following lap as the Mercedes cars began to show their straight-line power on Lap 2. Russell breezed past Hamilton as well, heading into Turn 1 on the same lap as Mercedes regained their 1-2 position.

Max Verstappen and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson were the first ones into the pits on Lap 10, with Williams’ Carlos Sainz following them. Verstappen rejoined in 15th place as the race witnessed its first Safety Car when Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin stopped on the track.

The cars dove into the pits for their stops and Antonelli kept his lead when he came out, while non-stoppers Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon stayed out and moved up to second and third, respectively. The Safety Car ended on Lap 13 and Antonelli sped away, while Hamilton picked off Russell heading out of Turn 6 just as the 28-year-old was caught out by the Alpine and Haas drivers ahead of him.

Hamilton was up to P3 in no time, easing past Ocon, and while he was attacking at the front, his teammate Charles Leclerc got past Russell on Lap 15 to move up to P5. The Ferrari drivers continued to impress, with Leclerc clearing Ocon and Colapinto to move up to the podium places and right behind his teammate, albeit almost three seconds behind Hamilton.

After having a start to forget, Verstappen finally found some rhythm after the Safety Car restart and was up to P6 by Lap 23. Ahead of him it was the Mercedes–Ferrari clash, with Bearman running in fifth while being yet to pit.

The race saw an incredible scrap starting from Lap 24 as Leclerc pushed Hamilton to take second place, leaving the veteran Brit vulnerable to a charging Russell behind him. But the seven-time world champion showed all his experience and race craft to keep the Mercedes driver behind and, in the following couple of laps, there was another incredible all-Ferrari clash as Leclerc and Hamilton swapped places.

Heading in and out of each corner, it was Hamilton’s car that eventually lost pace on Lap 27, which allowed Leclerc to hold on to second place. Russell moved up to third, going past Hamilton heading into Turn 14. Leclerc got Russell back to hold on to second place, before Russell got back to second place on Turn 14 to move back up to P2 for the first time since the start of the race.

While the three behind him were involved in a spectacular sequence of swapping of places, Antonelli was undisturbed at the top, moving further and further away from the pack.

Esteban Ocon came together with Franco Colapinto heading out of Turn 3, crashing into the Alpine driver by going on his inside, which ended up dropping both drivers to the back of the grid. Hamilton moved back to third place on Lap 36 as Leclerc locked up at Turn 14 to go wide. Hamilton gladly accepted the open spot, and while Leclerc came at him right away, the veteran kept himself ahead with some mature defensive driving.

After four laps in third place, Hamilton finally lost the place as Leclerc got past him at Turn 14, but Hamilton was back up to third place as he overtook his teammate at Turn 1.

A couple of laps later, Red Bull asked Verstappen to retire his car on Lap 46 after an impressive stint from him that had him up to P6, but his car had suffered a mechanical issue that ended his race.

The final couple of laps saw Antonelli suffer one small lock-up on Lap 54 with three laps to go, but that was about it and the 19-year-old eased to a comfortable win, with Russell finishing more than six seconds behind in second.

For Hamilton, it was a special race as he finished third, picking up his maiden podium with Ferrari and a record tenth podium in Shanghai, with Leclerc unable to challenge Hamilton in the final stages of the race. Ollie Bearman finished fifth ahead of Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar, Carlos Sainz, and Franco Colapinto, who rounded out the points places in that order.

After a double-header to kick off the season, the Formula One grid will move to Suzuka for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place in two weeks’ time, on March 29.

With only 15 cars finishing the race in Shanghai out of 22, this is a much-needed break for some teams to sort out their mechanical and technical issues before they hit the track again.