2026 F1 Chinese Grand Prix - Qualifying Results

Kimi Antonelli took full advantage of a problem for Mercedes team-mate George Russell to secure pole position for the F1 Chinese Grand Prix. 

Antonelli became F1's youngest-ever pole-sitter, taking the record from Sebastian Vettel, aged 19 years, six months and 20 days.

Russell was able to return to the track after stopping early in Q3 with a technical problem, and grabbed a miraculous front row berth, fending off the Ferrari and McLaren drivers who completed the second and third rows. 

Red Bull ran the medium tyres with both Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen for much of Q1, but with the pair hovering perilously close to the drop zone, they were sent out on soft rubber in the closing stages. Escaping trouble, Verstappen registered the fastest final sector of the session to climb to fourth-fastest.

It was another poor day at the office for Williams, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon repeating their sprint qualifying performance as both drivers exited the running in the first phase. Summing it up, Albon yelled down his team radio, "Terrible." 

Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll, and Sergio Perez also dropped out to foot the grid.

The drama of Q2 was reserved until the final moments, when Gabriel Bortoleto spun off at the final corner, causing double-waved yellows to be shown. The flags denied Arvid Lindblad and Esteban Ocon the chance to knock struggling Hadjar out of the session, while Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto came agonisingly close, falling 0.002s and 0.005s shy, respectively.

Q3 began with an immediate shock, as Russell, who had been complaining of problems in Q2, stopped on the exit of Turn 4, reporting he had no power. Able to recover back to the pits,