Shanghai Showbooster Seizes Formula 1 Lead, Mercedes Rejoins Race for Crown

Antonelli Proved Mercedes Was Right to Have Faith China News Service - Getty Images A little bit of history was made in Shanghai on Saturday, when Kimi Antonelli became the youngest driver to take a pole position for a Grand Prix. (Notwithstanding the fact that he beat the same bunch of guys to take pole in the Miami sprint race 11 months ago. ) On Sunday, he followed up by becoming the sport’s second-youngest winner after Max Verstappen, when he took advantage of a bad start by Mercedes teammate George Russell to pull away, having overcome initial leader Lewis Hamilton.

He couldn’t have asked to stand atop the podium alongside two more appropriate guys than Russell and former Mercedes man Hamilton , whose shoes he had the near-impossible task of filling. They were also joined by engineer Peter “Bono” Bonnington, who accompanied Hamilton on his run of world championships with the team. His first win could easily have come last year, had Mercedes been more consistently competitive in a season dominated by McLaren and Red Bull.

It then became nearly inevitable in 2026, given the form shown by the team in testing and in Australia. Nevertheless, beating Russell fair and square in only the second race with the new cars was a very impressive effort. NurPhoto - Getty Images It was also redemption for Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff , the man who scooped up Antonelli for the manufacturer’s junior program when he was still in karting and made the bold call for him to jump from Formula Regional to F2 in 2024 without that near-standard extra year of education in F3.

And it was Wolff who insisted that he would be ready at the end of that season to replace Hamilton at Mercedes for 2025, essentially on the basis that he could do his rookie year under the old rules and thus be ready to win when the 2026 regs came in and Mercedes believed it would have a winning package. And the plan has worked perfectly, despite some ups and downs in that first year. There were mistakes, notably one that also took Verstappen out at the start of the Austrian GP last year.