Italian Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli is the winner of the second Formula 1 Grand Prix of the season in China.
Antonelli led the grid in qualifying, making him the youngest ever Formula One qualifying winner.
The Grand Prix ended in victory for Antonelli. The 19-year-old Italian held the lead from the first laps of the race, and then did not let go of it until the very end. At the finish, Antonelli scored a one-two with another Mercedes driver, George Russell – the second Grand Prix in a row that the drivers of this team have taken the first two places (in Australia the winner was a Briton).
Despite being the youngest qualifier, Antonelli became only the second youngest driver in history to win a Grand Prix, a record still held by Max Verstappen, who did it in 2016 at the age of 18.
Top 5 youngest Formula 1 Grand Prix winners
- Max Verstappen (“Red Bull”, Spain 2016) — 18 years, 7 months, 15 days
- Kimi Antonelli (“Mercedes”, China-2026) — 19 years, 6 months
- Sebastian Vettel (“Toro Rosso”, Italy-2008) — 21 years, 2 months, 11 days
- Charles Leclerc (“Ferrari”, Belgium-2019) — 21 years, 10 months, 16 days
- Fernando Alonso (“Renault”, Hungary-2003) — 22 years, 26 days
Antonelli also became the first Italian driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix in 20 years, the last time Giancarlo Fisichelli did so was in 2006 in Malaysia.
In addition to the Mercedes drivers, the top 3 also included Briton Lewis Hamilton. With this podium, he broke a record-breaking streak without podiums in the Ferrari team.
Formula 1. Australian Grand Prix
- Kimi Antonelli (“Mercedes”)
- George Russell (“Mercedes”) +5.515
- Lewis Hamilton (“Ferrari”) +25.267
- Charles Leclerc (“Ferrari”) +28.894
- Oliver Berman (“Haas Team”) +57.268
- Pierre Gasly (“Alpine”) +59.647
- Liam Lawson (“Racing Bulls”) +1:20.588
- Isak Ajar (“Red Bull”) +1:27.247
- Carlos Sainz (“Williams”) +1 lap
- Franco Colapinto (“Alpine”) +1 lap