Record Broken: Antonelli is F1's Youngest Pole

Kimi Antonelli has achieved a historic milestone, becoming the youngest pole-sitter in Formula 1 history. At 19 years old, he secured pole position for the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit. Antonelli's remarkable lap time of 1:32.064-seconds placed him ahead of his Mercedes teammate, George Russell, by two-tenths of a second.

Russell, who had earlier dominated sprint qualifying and the sprint race, encountered a suspected gearbox issue in the final stages of qualifying. This problem briefly stopped his car on track and hampered his ability to change gears, significantly impacting his final qualifying effort.

Antonelli's record-breaking pole position at 19 years, 6 months, and 17 days surpasses Sebastian Vettel's previous mark. Despite a sprint qualifying pole in Miami last season, this marks his first official Grand Prix pole. Lewis Hamilton qualified third for Ferrari, with teammate Charles Leclerc in fourth.

Russell described his second-place start as 'damage limitation' after also suffering a broken front wing earlier in qualifying. He noted that his final run lacked essential components like engine battery and tire temperature due to the earlier issues.