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Formula OneAndrea Kimi Antonelli is now Formula One's second-youngest ever race winner after storming to a comfortable Chinese GP victory. The Italian teenager has firmly thrust himself into the title conversation after keeping well clear of championship leader and teammate George Russell. The Mercedes 1-2 finish, the second in as many Grands Prix, does not tell the full story of a hugely entertaining Sunday, though, with Ferrari putting on a show for the ages.
This race was still emblematic of F1 early in a new regulation period, though, as evidenced by four drivers not even making the grid. Alex Albon and Gabriel Bortoleto remained in their garages for the race, but it was the reigning champions, McLaren, who had the bloodiest nose. Both of their drivers suffered separate technical issues preventing them from racing, leaving the team with its first DNS (Did Not Start) since the infamous 2005 US Grand Prix at Indianapolis.
There was action all throughout for the remaining 18 drivers who could join the grid. Antonelli led from pole position, but the rapid launches of the Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc meant that he didn't last long. Hamilton's getaway had him storming to P1 before Turn 1's braking point, while Leclerc kept Antonelli busy on the run to Turn 2. The teenager held off Ferrari's Monegasque driver, though, to claim P2, while fellow front-row starter Russell dropped to fourth.
While Mercedes might rue their opening lap, there were bigger problems for Red Bull Racing further back. Max Verstappen again struggled with his race start, dropping through the order off the line, losing 10 places before Turn 1. Isack Hadjar, meanwhile, had to fight off Haas' Ollie Bearman, but ended up spinning by himself on the run into the long 1.2 km back straight.
That frantic first lap was an indication of what was to come. Antonelli used Mercedes' speed advantage to reclaim P1 from Hamilton at the end of Lap 2, but the Silver Arrows' fight with Ferrari was just beginning. Lap 3 began with Russell easing by Leclerc and ended with Hamilton falling at the same point. Fears that Mercedes would simply drive off into the distance as they did in Australia would not come to pass, though. At least not in the race's first half.
Lance Stoll's Turn 1 retirement triggered a Lap 10 Safety Car that saw most cars rush into the pit lane. With Pirelli's projections suggesting a one-stop race, choosing to stop was an obvious decision, but it changed the dynamic once green flag racing resumed. Antonelli enjoyed a buffer of Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon, who chose not to stop, between him and the Ferraris, but Russell had Hamilton stuck to his rear wing. It was game on.
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The Mercedes man, stuck behind the Colapinto-Ocon battle, locked up at the Turn 6 hairpin, and Hamilton needed no excuse to slice up the inside. The Hard Pirelli tyres worked wonderfully for both Ferraris, with Leclerc next easing by Russell, gifting the Italian outfit two possible podium positions. Any thoughts that Ferrari would invoke team orders to keep Russell behind, though, never came. Instead, a sensational scrap between the two Scuderia racers followed in a multi-lap overtaking extravaganza.
Leclerc was the first to strike, taking Hamilton into the Turn 14 hairpin, but that move did not stick for long. Hamilton tried to get by on the outside of Turn 1 but couldn't. He instead waited a lap to pass his teammate in the same braking zone. Leclerc got by. Again, though, the Ferrari fight persisted. Leclerc came back at Turn 1, somehow getting by on the outside at Turn 2. Undeterred, Hamilton went wheel-to-wheel with Leclerc through the sweeping Turn 7 and 8 section, briefly passing by, before Leclerc snuck back in at Turn 10.
Russell, a mere spectator to this, was watching his teenage teammate extend the gap in clean air ahead. The battling had slowed down the Ferrari pair and Russell, with all three using up their Pirelli rubber. Russell, however, had bided his time and pounced on Hamilton down the back straight with no answer from Hamilton. Two laps later and Leclerc fell in the same move, but Russell had towed Hamilton closer to the second Ferrari, too.
Mercedes eased into their one-two positions, but Russell could not close the gap on Antonelli that he had lost amid the Hamilton-Leclerc battles. And those battles had not ended, either. Hamilton was keeping close in the mirrors of Leclerc, and that ever-looming presence eventually ended with a lockup for Leclerc at the Turn 16 hairpin. Hamilton breezed by without issue, and there was one final push back from Leclerc, which Hamilton eventually won out on. The fight at the front finally cooled down after one of the best shows F1 could have hoped for to allay fears of the new regulations.
It was easy to forget there were nine other teams in on-track action, and they also kept things busy. The gap behind the Mercedes and Ferrari teams was sizeable, but big points were on offer after McLaren couldn't even reach the grid. Bearman was the primary beneficiary, after his avoiding action during Hadjar's spin kept him in the race, and he picked up P5. Both Alpines also took points, with Pierre Gasly going toe-to-toe with Verstappen before the Red Bull driver retired. Colapinto recovered from contact with Ocon for his first point since 2024. Meanwhile, Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson beat out Hadjar in a chastening day for the energy drinks team.
The day belonged to Antonelli, though, whose tearful interview demonstrated how much the victory meant. He shared an emotional podium with teammate George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, the driver he replaced at Mercedes. And in a true 'sports can be stranger than fiction' moment, Pete "Bono" Bonnington, the voice in Hamilton's ear for his Mercedes success, joined his old and new driver on the rostrum. With confirmation that the Bahrain and Saudi Grands Prix are cancelled, next weekend's Japanese GP represents the last chance for F1 points until May.
