SHANGHAI (AP) — Kimi Antonelli stepped up Saturday when his Mercedes teammate George Russell hit trouble in qualifying to become the youngest-ever driver on pole position for a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

After holding off a challenge from Ferrari to win the sprint race earlier in the day, Russell seemed near-unbeatable. Then he stopped on track in qualifying and limped back to the pits with technical problems.

Russell’s team got the car going again with seconds to spare for him to set a time. It was only good enough for second on the grid, 0.222 of a second off Antonelli, who kept up Mercedes’ run of qualifying dominance after F1’s sweeping changes to the cars for 2026.

The Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will start third and fourth. Their fast starts could threaten Mercedes off the line, as they did last week in Australia and in Saturday’s sprint race.

Position
Driver
Team
Time

1
Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
1:32.064

2
George Russell
Mercedes
+0.222

3
Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
+0.351

4
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
+0.364

5
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
+0.486

6
Lando Norris
McLaren
+0.544

7
Pierre Gasly
Alpine
+0.809

8
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
+0.938

9
Isack Hadjar
Red Bull
+1.057

10
Oliver Bearman
Haas
+1.228

11
Nico Hulkenberg
Audi
Q2

12
Franco Colapinto
Alpine
Q2

13
Esteban Ocon
Haas
Q2

14
Liam Lawson
Racing Bulls
Q2

15
Arvid Lindblad
Racing Bulls
Q2

16
Gabriel Bortoleto
Audi
Q2

17
Carlos Sainz
Williams
Q1

18
Alex Albon
Williams
Q1

19
Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
Q1

20
Valtteri Bottas
Cadillac
Q1

21
Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
Q1

22
Sergio Perez
Cadillac
Q1

The 19-year-old Antonelli becomes the youngest driver to take pole position for a full Grand Prix race, though he was also on pole aged 18 for a sprint race last year in Miami.

“It’s just the beginning, so obviously there’s a lot more to come,” Antonelli said. “Really looking forward to tomorrow. Car is feeling really good, car is strong, so a lot to play for tomorrow. But just super happy with today.”

Russell said a damaged front wing and gear-change issues made for a “crazy” qualifying session. “As soon as I went out on the track, I could tell something wasn’t right,” he said. He then had to set a last-chance time with a depleted battery and cold tires.