Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli takes record pole for Mercedes in Shanghai as teammate George Russell overcomes car issues to secure front row lockout.
ITALIAN teenager Kimi Antonelli became the youngest Formula One driver to take pole position for a grand prix after qualifying fastest for Mercedes in China on Saturday.
The 19-year-old qualified 0.222 seconds faster than his championship-leading teammate George Russell, who secured a front-row lockout for the dominant team.
Antonelli demolished Sebastian Vettel’s previous record set when the German was 21 in 2008.
“It was a pretty clean session, so I’m really happy,” said Antonelli.
The Italian was already on provisional pole but went even faster with his second effort to stop the clock at one minute 32.064 seconds.
Russell came to a halt on track at the start of the final phase and complained over the radio that there was no battery and he could not shift gear.
The Briton managed to get the car going again and returned to the pits where mechanics worked to get him back out before the chequered flag.
“Definitely damage limitation,” said Russell, who won the earlier sprint.
“Starting the last lap I had no battery, no tyre temp, no nothing. But the team have done a really great job to get us into this position.”
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton qualified third fastest, a strong position for the seven-times world champion.
Charles Leclerc qualified fourth with the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and reigning champion Lando Norris fifth and sixth.
“It is still going to be a challenge, but I’m sure we’ll have some fun,” said Hamilton, who was third in the sprint.
Leclerc said he had been struggling at the track and had done his best.
“These cars have to be driven a bit differently in qualifying so there is some work going on to try and optimise everything,” added the Monegasque.
Pierre Gasly qualified seventh for Renault-owned Alpine with an unhappy Max Verstappen eighth for Red Bull.
“It’s incredibly tough to drive,” Verstappen said of his car.
“There’s no balance, I cannot lean on the car, every lap is a fight. I am not enjoying it at all.”
Oliver Bearman completed the top 10 for Ferrari-powered Haas, continuing a strong start to the season.
Williams, Aston Martin and newcomers Cadillac were the teams whose drivers failed to progress from the opening phase.
Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas outqualified Aston’s Lance Stroll while Williams continued to struggle with an overweight car.
“Terrible!” Williams driver Alex Albon shouted in frustration over the car radio after qualifying in 18th position.
