2026 F1 Chinese Grand Prix qualifying, Round 2: Antonelli takes historic pole as Mercedes lock out front row

Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, Round 2 of the 2026 F1 season, took place at the Shanghai International Circuit on the afternoon of March 14, China Standard Time (UTC+8). Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) set a time of 1:32.064 to become the youngest pole-sitter in F1 history at 19 years, 6 months and 17 days.

The highly rated young Italian broke Sebastian Vettel’s record of 21 years, 2 months and 10 days, set at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, demonstrating to the world his credentials as a leading light of a new era.

Mercedes thus locked out the front row, but the two sides of the garage experienced sharply contrasting fortunes. George Russell complained in Q2 that “something is wrong with the car” and had his front wing changed before Q3, only to stop immediately after heading out onto the track.

Russell crawled back to the pits with the car stuck in first gear. After an all-out repair effort by the mechanics, Russell made it out for one final flying lap at the last moment, setting the second-fastest time, 0.222 seconds behind Antonelli, to complete a determined comeback.

Ferrari occupied the second row: Lewis Hamilton was third, with Charles Leclerc, who had been fastest in Q1, fourth. The two McLarens filled the third row, with Oscar Piastri outqualifying reigning world champion Lando Norris for the second round in succession.

After the humiliation of scoring no points in the Sprint, Red Bull made sweeping setup changes before the session, but the gamble failed to produce a dramatic turnaround. Onboard footage showed Max Verstappen wrestling with an unpredictable car.

The result was eighth for Verstappen and ninth for Isack Hadjar—both beaten by seventh-placed Pierre Gasly (Alpine), with Oliver Bearman (Haas) close behind in tenth. The former dominant force showed rare signs of weakness.

The battle for a place in Q3 was the fiercest of the season: behind Hadjar, who advanced in tenth, Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) and Franco Colapinto (Alpine) were both eliminated in Q2, missing out by 0.002 and 0.005 seconds respectively.

Late in the session, Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) went off at the final corner, bringing out double yellow flags and forcing several cars, including those of Racing Bulls, to abandon their flying laps.

The two Williams drivers, Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon, were seventeenth and eighteenth. Albon vented his frustration over the radio: “That was absolutely terrible!”

At Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso was nineteenth, while Lance Stroll languished in twenty-first, 0.792 seconds behind his teammate and behind Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac), with a gap of more than 0.4 seconds to Williams.

Sergio Perez (Cadillac) finished last. According to Formula 1’s team reaction reports, a fuel-system issue in Friday practice could not be repaired in time for him to take part in Sprint Qualifying. Speaking about Saturday qualifying, Perez said a late start had cost him one run and an energy-deployment issue had cost him a lot of time.

The race was scheduled for the afternoon of March 15 at the same circuit, China Standard Time (UTC+8).