Mercedes once again locks out the front row in Formula 1 2026, after Andrea Kimi Antonelli seized his first pole after team-mate George Russell hit problems. 

The Silver Arrows has been in command of the season so far, with Russell taking pole and the win in Australia, before adding sprint pole and victory to his scorecard on Saturday in China. 

But his golden run was ended in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon when he encountered numerous technical issues. 

This opened the door for Kimi Antonelli to fight for his first pole position, with the Italian becoming the youngest polesitter ever, taking the record Sebastian Vettel has held since 2008. 

Russell was able to recover to complete the front row in second, while Lewis Hamilton led the Ferraris in third ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc. 

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Oscar Piastri was the leading McLaren in fifth ahead of reigning world champion Lando Norris, while Pierre Gasly made it into Q3 for Alpine and went seventh-quickest. 

Max Verstappen was a disappointing eighth after Red Bull made radical changes to his car after a tough sprint, while Isack Hadjar is ninth in the sister car. The top 10 was completed by Ollie Bearman for Haas. 

2026 Chinese Grand Prix starting grid2026 F1 Chinese Grand Prix – Starting GridPos DriverNat.Team     1 Kimi AntonelliITAMercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team2 George RussellGBRMercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team3 Lewis HamiltonGBRScuderia Ferrari HP4 Charles LeclercMONScuderia Ferrari HP5 Oscar PiastriAUSMcLaren Mastercard F1 Team6 Lando NorrisGBRMcLaren Mastercard F1 Team7 Pierre GaslyFRABWT Alpine F1 Team8 Max VerstappenNEDOracle Red Bull Racing9 Isack HadjarFRAOracle Red Bull Racing10 Oliver BearmanGBRTGR Haas F1 Team11 Nico HulkenbergGERAudi Revolut F1 Team12 Franco ColapintoARGBWT Alpine F1 Team13 Esteban OconFRATGR Haas F1 Team14 Liam LawsonNZLRacing Bulls15 Arvid LindbladGBRRacing Bulls16 Gabriel BortoletoBRAAudi Revolut F1 Team17 Carlos SainzESPAtlassian Williams F1 Team18 Alex AlbonGBRAtlassian Williams F1 Team19 Fernando AlonsoESPAston Martin Aramco F1 Team20 Valtteri BottasFINCadillac F1 Team21 Lance StrollCANAston Martin Aramco F1 Team22 Sergio PerezMEXCadillac F1 TeamSubscribe to our F1 Newsletter