SHANGHAI (AP) — Kimi Antonelli became Formula 1’s second-youngest race winner with a composed drive to victory for Mercedes in an eventful Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 19-year-old Italian was the youngest pole position starter and briefly lost the lead to Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari at the start but retook it soon after and was in control after that.
It was another 1-2 finish for Mercedes to start the season as Antonelli’s teammate George Russell
came through a battle with both Ferraris to finish second. Lewis Hamilton was third for his long-awaited first Grand Prix podium finish for Ferrari.
The only driver younger than Antonelli to win a Grand Prix was Max Verstappen, who was 18 when he took his first victory in 2016.
Formula 1 champion Lando Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri were both unable to start the Chinese Grand Prix after hitting technical problems minutes before the race began.
Piastri was due to start fifth and Norris sixth for Sunday's race. Norris was in his car in the pits but didn't leave for the grid, before Piastri was then withdrawn from the grid following a radio message which indicated an electrical issue.
“Unfortunately we identified separate issues on both cars which prevented them from starting the Chinese GP, with Oscar’s being removed from the grid shortly before the formation lap. We will now work to identify each issue,” the McLaren team said.
It's the second time Piastri has failed to start in 2026 after he crashed before the start of last week's race in Australia.
F1 is racing hours after it announced next month's races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will not go ahead because of the war in the Middle East.
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