Kimi Andrea Antonelli Is Now the Youngest Pole-Sitter in Formula 1 History, With an Asterisk

Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday morning and made history in doing so.



The Italian became the youngest driver ever to take pole for a Formula 1 Grand Prix, at 19 years, six months and 18 days old.



Sebastian Vettel had held the record since 2008 at the Italian Grand Prix, when he was 21 years and 72 days old driving for Toro Rosso.



Antonelli’s time of 1:32.064 beat his Mercedes teammate George Russell by 0.222 seconds after Russell suffered a gearbox problem in Q3.



Russell was stuck in first gear for a period, performed a system reset, and returned to the circuit with time for a single flying lap. He managed second.



The asterisk is real but minor. Had Russell been given clean runs throughout Q3, the pole battle might have been different.



Toto Wolff acknowledged this with characteristic honesty. “I’m so happy for Kimi to be on pole,” he said. “But obviously, if the kit lets the driver down, like on George’s side, you want to see them head-to-head and see what they can do.”



Antonelli himself stayed composed when asked about his teammate’s misfortune. “I saw he had the issue and tried to keep my focus to stay calm and deliver a good lap,” he said. “It was a pretty clean session, so really happy.”



Lewis Hamilton qualified third for Ferrari, 0.351 seconds off pole. Charles Leclerc was fourth. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took fifth and sixth.



Max Verstappen qualified eighth — 0.9 seconds off pole — in a result that extended Red Bull’s nightmare start to the new regulations.



There is one driver in the current field with a mathematical chance of taking the record from Antonelli. Arvid Lindblad, born August 8, 2007, is currently racing for Racing Bulls. His window closes in February 2027.



Hamilton was gracious when asked about the record. “A great record,” he said. “It’s going to take a while for someone to ever get close to that one.”
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