Italian Kimi Antonelli, 19, will be the youngest driver to start from pole position in the history of the Formula 1 World Championship on Sunday at the Chinese Grand Prix, after topping the official practice sessions on Saturday in Shanghai.
Antonelli led a front-row duo for Mercedes alongside Briton George Russell, erasing the previous record of German Sebastian Vettel, who was 21 when he snatched pole position at the Italian Grand Prix in 2008.
The young driver said after completing his run: “The session was pretty clean, so I’m really happy. Of course, George had a problem, and it would have been great to see him with two sets of tires. I saw he was having a problem, but I just tried to stay focused and put in a good lap.”.
As in Australia last weekend, the Mercedes duo dominated the testing in Shanghai.
Antonelli clocked 1:32.046, 0.222 seconds behind championship leader George Russell, who won the sprint earlier on Saturday.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said: "Many said the boy was too young to be behind the wheel of a Mercedes, but the boy delivered what was required, the youngest to start from pole position, as I just heard," according to AFP.
Russell encountered problems after exiting the third session of official practice when his car stalled in the middle of the track, forcing him to return to the garage.
"It was definitely an attempt to minimize the damage," said the winner of last week's season-opening race in Melbourne.
He continued: “In the second part of the second session, the front wing broke, then in the third, the car stopped on the track and I couldn’t change gears. On the last lap, I had no battery, no tire temperature, nothing. The team did a great job.”.
Wolff commented on Russell's problems: "It's unfortunate that George couldn't complete the lap. It seems the problem was electrical, as we had to restart the car three times, turning it off and on again. I didn't think he would be able to get out onto the track.".
He continued: "Let's see how Ferrari's start goes, it will certainly be interesting.".
The Ferrari duo of Briton Lewis Hamilton and Monaco's Charles Leclerc will occupy the second row on the starting grid, followed by the McLaren duo of Australian Oscar Piastri and British world champion Lando Norris.
Dutchman Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion, finished only eighth at the end of a very difficult weekend for him with a Red Bull car that showed clear signs of struggling.
