Lewis Hamilton praised Kimi Antonelli for taking his first grand prix pole position as a teenager, before shifting his focus to developing “different tactics” to turn Mercedes’ challenging early pace at the Shanghai Sprint into a stronger result in Sunday’s full race.
Just over a year after the seven-time world champion replaced Hamilton as teammate of George Russell at Ferrari, on Saturday the 19-year-old Antonelli became F1’s youngest ever pole sitter, beating Sebastian Vettel’s record which had stood since 2008 by a full 20 months.
Hamilton qualified third behind Antonelli and Russell, but his bid for back-to-back Grand Prix pole positions at the start of the new season was jeopardized by an electrical problem – and after congratulating the young record-breaker at parc fermé, he paid tribute to the Italian teenager sitting next to him at the post-qualifying press conference.
“I have to say a big congratulations to you, this great young man here,” said Hamilton, F1’s record holder with 104 pole positions.
“It’s a great result…well he took my seat! And he gave his all from the beginning so it’s really great to see his progress and he really deserves it.
“And it’s a great record. It’s going to be a while before anyone comes close to that record.”
Mercedes manager Toto Wolff told Sky Sports F1: “A lot of people said this kid was too young, too young to be in Mercedes, we should have prepared him in a different way.”
“And the child did a great job today as well.”
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Highlights of the 2026 Chinese GP qualifying.
‘We have to come up with a different tactic’ – Hamilton vows to learn lessons from sprinting
Antonelli will be aiming for his third lucky spot on the grid this year after falling from second place at the start of last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix and Saturday’s Shanghai Sprint.
Ferrari, by contrast, has so far this season taken the lead from Russell on the first lap of the sprint, then made a lightning run with Hamilton after teammate Charles Leclerc took the lead in Melbourne on Saturday, leading to a head-to-head battle with the title contenders on the opening lap of the race.
However, Hamilton, who suffered tire wear and ultimately saw himself relinquish second place to Leclerc in a 19-lap dash, told Sky Sports F1: “Tomorrow we have to come up with a different strategy.
“Today was the first time I participated in the fight against energy deployment.
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Highlights of the 2026 Chinese GP sprint race.
“We made some changes to the development for qualifying, which will be better for us and hopefully tomorrow will be better for us as well.
“Something happens when they get into qualifying and they somehow manage to extract more power. In our case, we can’t wear out the tires like we did today, so we have to come up with something different.”
“I need to run the distance tomorrow and find a way to keep up the pace like I did in the last race (Australia).”
Hamilton, who is competing in his 26th race with the Italian team and is aiming for his first podium finish for the Italian team, added at the press conference:
“I’m looking forward to it. We learned a lot in the sprint race, so let’s hope it’s not as windy tomorrow. Our goal is to somehow break the gap with them (Mercedes).”
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Charles Leclerc complained about Lewis Hamilton over the team radio when his Ferrari almost collided in the sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Ferrari has not won a Grand Prix since October 2024, but Hamilton downplays the possibility of beating the Silver Arrows here, but remains hopeful that “there may be a way” to win over the 56-lap distance.
“I think it’s very unlikely that we can beat them in the race. So according to our statistics, their race pace is between four-tenths and six-tenths of a second,” Hamilton added.
“Regardless of whether you saw it in the first race or not, I think in clear air they’re right on top of us at the moment.
“So, I don’t know, maybe depending on the strategy, maybe something will happen, maybe at the start, maybe there will be a way. We have to be absolutely careful not to break the tires trying to catch up or stay behind. We need to drive better.”
Will Mercedes be able to hold off a flying Ferrari at the start?
A battery issue brought the W17 to a standstill on its outlap in Q3, but Russell and Mercedes made a spectacular recovery to secure a front row lockout for the team once again.
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George Russell had problems with his Mercedes and stopped at the start of Q3.
The Briton remains the favorite to win Sunday’s race and maintain his perfect start to the season, but is wary of the threat that Ferrari’s Hamilton and Leclerc – this time starting tandem on the second row – pose to both him and Antonelli again, especially at the start.
“If we can maintain a one-two it will be difficult for them to fight because I think we have a slight advantage,” Russell told Sky Sports F1.
“Of course we won’t do anything stupid between us. It’s the first time we’re both on the second row together and we know how quick we are off the line.”
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Lewis Hamilton leads the sprint after a thrilling start to the Chinese Grand Prix.
“I’d be happy if it was 1-2 after Turn 1, but I think everyone knows it’s not easy.”
And Antonelli, who would become F1’s second-youngest race winner after Max Verstappen if he turns pole position into his first win, said: “[Ferrari]certainly looks very strong, especially on cold tyres.”
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Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix came to a thrilling conclusion as Kimi Antonelli took pole position.
“They look like they have good pace, but of course the start is also a very strong point for them. So, yeah, we’ll just aim to get a clean start and we’ll see from there.”
Sky Sports F1 China GP Schedule
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A look back at the wildest moments captured on camera at the Chinese Grand Prix
Sunday March 15th
2:35am: F1 Academy Race 2*
5:30am: Preparation for Chinese Grand Prix: Grand Prix Sunday*
7am: Chinese Grand Prix*
9am: Chinese GP reaction: Checkered flag*
10am: Ted’s Notes*
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
F1 will host the first sprint weekend of the 2026 season in Shanghai with the Chinese Grand Prix, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
