Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli became Formula 1's youngest ever Grand Prix pole-sitter at the Chinese Grand Prix, with the 19-year-old Italian securing his first career pole position on Saturday in Shanghai.
At 19 years, six months and 17 days old, Antonelli broke Sebastian Vettel's 18-year record, who was 21 years and 72 days old when he took pole at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix for Toro Rosso. Antonelli posted a time of 1:32.064 and beat teammate George Russell by 0.222 seconds to complete a Mercedes front-row lockout.
Russell, who won Saturday's Sprint race, suffered technical issues in Q3 that limited him to just one flying lap. Russell reported problems with his front wing in Q2, then his car stopped on track in Q3 and got stuck in first gear, but he managed to salvage second place with a last-minute effort.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc secured the second row for Ferrari, followed by McLaren's Oscar Piastri in fifth and Lando Norris in sixth. Max Verstappen could only manage eighth place, nearly a second off the pace. The Chinese Grand Prix takes place on Sunday at 3:00 PM local time.
