Formula 1 season page

2026 Chinese Grand Prix qualifying: Kimi Antonelli took pole

Kimi Antonelli took pole for Mercedes ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton at Shanghai.

Explore the race weekend, results, standings, drivers, teams, and related Formula 1 history.

Race recap

Pole
Kimi Antonelli
Pole team
Mercedes
Front row
Kimi Antonelli and George Russell
Classified
Top 22
Round
2
Circuit
Shanghai
Qualifying date
March 14, 2026

The front of the grid

Kimi Antonelli qualified first for Mercedes. George Russell secured the other front-row place for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton third for Ferrari.

How the classification lined up

The first three positions were Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, and Lewis Hamilton. P4 through P22 were Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, Isack Hadjar, Oliver Bearman, Nico Hülkenberg, Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon, Liam Lawson, Arvid Lindblad, Gabriel Bortoleto, Carlos Sainz Jr., Alexander Albon, Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll, and Sergio Pérez.

Team representation

Alpine placed 2 cars, Aston Martin placed 2 cars, Audi placed 2 cars, Cadillac placed 2 cars, Ferrari placed 2 cars, Haas placed 2 cars, McLaren placed 2 cars, Mercedes placed 2 cars, Racing Bulls placed 2 cars, Red Bull placed 2 cars, and Williams placed 2 cars in the published classification. This summary reports only the supplied order and driver identities.

This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Mar 19, 2026.

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