Antonelli claims first F1 win in Shanghai, extends dominant start for Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli has been repeatedly defined as Lewis Hamilton's successor and George Russell's teammate. Now he is a Formula 1 race-winner in his own right, the second-youngest driver in history to cross the line first in a Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old Italian pulled clear of an entertaining duel between Russell and Ferrari rivals Charles Leclerc and Hamilton to grab a commanding win at the Chinese Grand Prix in east China's Shanghai Municipality on Sunday. He shared the podium with his teammate Russell and Hamilton, the seven-time champion he replaced at Mercedes last season.

"I'm speechless. I'm about to cry, to be honest," Antonelli said, holding back tears. "Thank you so much to my team because they helped me to achieve this dream."

The win is seen as a vindication of the gamble Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff took in picking the youngster, who had joined the Mercedes junior program at the age of 11, to replace an all-time great when Hamilton moved to Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season. There were plenty of doubters when Antonelli crashed 10 minutes into his practice debut in 2024.

"Many said it was just too early last year and obviously we asked ourselves that question, whether it was too much to throw him into this pressure cooker," Wolff told Sky Sport Germany. "One year with ups and downs and he's young. We have to forgive him these mistakes and now he's in the second Grand Prix and brings it home ruthlessly. It's good."

Antonelli went in as the youngest pole-sitter in F1 history before briefly losing the lead to Hamilton at the start of the race. He recovered to move back to the front shortly afterward, staying in control the rest of the way.

Locking up a tire near the end caused him "a little bit of a heart attack", but he made it to the end to celebrate with his father, who once snuck his then-seven-year-old son into the F1 paddock hidden in a stack of tires to get closer to the action.

Mercedes earned another 1-2 finish to begin the season, as Russell came through a battle with both Ferraris to finish second. Hamilton crossed the line third for his long-awaited first Grand Prix podium finish with Ferrari.

The only driver younger than Antonelli to win a Grand Prix is Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who was 18 when he grabbed his first victory in 2016. The Mercedes man is also the first Italian to cross the line first since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2006, five months before Antonelli was born.

New regulations once again helped spark a dramatic battle for position between Mercedes and the fast-starting Ferraris, with Russell fighting his way past Leclerc and Hamilton in a multi-lap battle featuring numerous position changes. That allowed Antonelli to build his lead at the front.

Even after Russell had pulled away to seal second place, Leclerc and Hamilton kept up their own clash for third. "This is quite a fun battle," Leclerc exclaimed over the radio.

Leclerc took fourth with Oliver Bearman fifth for Haas, Pierre Gasly sixth for Alpine and Liam Lawson seventh for Racing Bulls. Isack Hadjar recovered from an early spin to place eighth for Red Bull, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. in ninth for Williams, while Franco Colapinto rounded out the top 10 for Alpine to score his first point since 2024.

Verstappen was running sixth when his car lost power. That forced the Dutchman to limp back to the pits in another blow for the four-time former world champion, who has been a leading critic of F1's new cars.

Reigning world champion Lando Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri were both unable to start, after their McLarens were diagnosed with technical problems in the final moments before the race got underway.