Antonelli takes first F1 win after Mercedes-Ferrari battle

Kimi Antonelli earned his first Formula 1 grand prix victory, surviving a late-race scare to beat Mercedes team-mate George Russell to win the Chinese Grand Prix.

Antonelli had built a sizeable lead while Russell battled the Ferraris, and was looking comfortable before he had a big lock-up at the Turn 14 hairpin and ran wide with four laps to go.

He survived that moment to claim victory over Russell by 5.5 seconds.

How the race was won

Antonelli started from pole position for the first time in a grand prix, but it was Lewis Hamilton who led into Turn 1 ahead of Antonelli, Charles Leclerc and Russell, who dropped from second to fourth.

But Antonelli wasted little time in clearing the driver he replaced at Mercedes last year, easing past Hamilton into the Turn 14 hairpin on lap three of 56.

Russell passed Leclerc for third moments later and then passed Hamilton one lap later for second.

But he was compromised by a safety car for Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin stopping on track on lap 10.

Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon didn’t pit and ran between Antonelli and Russell at the restart.

That left Russell vulnerable to being passed by the Ferraris as 2026’s yo-yo style racing continued - with the trio routinely swapping places.

Antonelli used this opportunity to build a sizeable advantage while Russell squabbled with the Ferraris.

By the time Russell had cleared Leclerc and Hamilton, Antonelli had over seven seconds in hand in the race lead with the one and only pitstop already out of the way.

Russell was unable to make any serious inroads on Antonelli despite Antonelli’s moment at Turn 14, with 19-year-old Antonelli claiming his first grand prix win in only his 26th start - becoming the second-youngest winner in F1 history.

Hamilton ends podium wait

At the same circuit where he claimed sprint victory at last year, Hamilton finally stood on the grand prix podium as a Ferrari driver for the very first time.

Hamilton battled Leclerc hard for third place, trading the position on multiple occasions before making a decisive move into Turn 1 on lap 40 of 56.

Leclerc had to settle fourth ahead of Ollie Bearman, who was an excellent fifth for Ferrari customer Haas.

He already looked to have the beating of Max Verstappen, who had a turbulent race in the midfield before retiring while running in sixth place behind Bearman.

Pierre Gasly’s Alpine finished sixth, but it could have been an even stronger day for Alpine with Franco Colapinto looking likely to back Gasly up before he collided with Esteban Ocon’s Haas.

Ocon took full responsibility, having lost control of his Haas while trying to overtake Colapinto at Turn 1, after the Alpine driver had just emerged from the pits.

Colapinto still recovered to claim a single point in 10th - his first with Alpine - but he couldn’t quite make it past Carlos Sainz’s Williams for ninth.

Liam Lawson scooped seventh for Racing Bulls ahead of Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull, who recovered from spinning in front of Bearman at the start of the race.

Sainz and Colapinto completed the top 10, with Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi and Arvid Lindblad’s Racing Bulls 11th and 12th.

Cadillac drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez collided on the opening lap, but both survived (and avoided the ire of the stewards) to finish 13th and 15th.

Ocon split them in 14th, having served his 10-second time penalty and having lost time in the pits while Haas assessed his damaged car.

Fernando Alonso made it 32 laps before retiring his Aston Martin due to “discomfort from vibrations”.

Four cars out before the start

Neither McLaren made the start of the race, struck down with separate electronic issues.

It means Oscar Piastri hasn’t yet started a grand prix in 2026, having crashed out on his reconnaissance laps at the Australian Grand Prix.

They were joined on the sidelines by Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto (issue unknown) and Williams driver Alex Albon (hydraulic issue).

That meant there were only 18 of the 22 cars taking the race start.

Results

1 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
2 George Russell (Mercedes) +5.515s
3 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +25.267s
4 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +28.894s
5 Oliver Bearman (Haas) +57.268s
6 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +59.647s
7 Liam Lawson (RB) +1m20.588s
8 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +1m27.247s
9 Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams) +1 lap
10 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +1 lap
11 Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +1 lap
12 Arvid Lindblad (RB) +1 lap
13 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) +1 lap
14 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +1 lap
15 Sergio Perez (Cadillac) +1 lap
DNF Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
DNF Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
DNF Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
DNS Lando Norris (McLaren)
DNS Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
DNS Alexander Albon (Williams)
DNS Oscar Piastri (McLaren)