Antonelli claims first grand prix pole after technical trouble for Russell in Q3

Andrea Kimi Antonelli became the youngest driver to claim pole position for a grand prix by topping today’s qualifying session in Shanghai.

He led another front-row lock-out for Mercedes ahead of team mate George Russell, who was only able to complete a single run in Q3 due to a technical problem.

The Mercedes pair will line up ahead of the Ferraris and McLarens, while Pierre Gasly out-qualified the Red Bull pair in his Alpine.

Q1

As many drivers had used an extra set of soft tyres in the sprint race, those who had a strong chance to progress through Q1 were eager to do so without using another set. In the event there were no dramas for the leading teams.

Mercedes took up their customary places at the top of the times to begin with, Russell narrowly beating Antonelli. However Charles Leclerc pulled out a quicker time than the pair of them in his Ferrari, just under a tenth of a second ahead of Russell.

Red Bull spent most of the session on the medium compound tyres as Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar assessed set-up changes to their cars after the problems they encountered earlier in the weekend. These seemed to work as intended and both drivers easily progressed to Q2.

Arvid Lindblad, who came to a stop in practice and retired from the sprint race, appeared to be out of luck again when his team told him to pit with a technical problem. He was only 16th at the time, but managed to rejoin the track and improve his time.

Williams briefly entertained hopes of getting their cars into Q2 but were brought back down to earth as others improved. They included Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, who had to use a third set of soft tyres as he secured his place in Q2. Alexander Albon summed up his team’s plight in a single word – “terrible” – as he returned to the pits.

The Aston Martins and Cadillacs also dropped out in the first round as expected. However Valtteri Bottas gave Cadillac some encouragement by beating Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin.

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Q1 result

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Q2

Russell’s name had been a fixture at the top of the times sheets prior to grand prix qualifying. But after Leclerc headed the first session, Antonelli was quickest in the second.

The championship leader was quickest earlier in the session, albeit by a narrow margin over his team mate and the Ferrari drivers. Antonelli’s final lap lowered the quickest time to a 1’32.443.

Russell warned his team something appeared to be wrong with his car as he returned to the pits. “Something’s not right with the car,” he said. “I’ve got major understeer,” he added, urging the team to replace his front wing.

The McLaren pair dropped towards the bottom of the top 10 after completing their first runs on used tyres, but moved up when they took new rubber later in the session. That put Red Bull under pressure.

Isack Hadjar failed to improve on his last run, leaving him vulnerable in 10th. Nico Hulkenberg came within two-thousandths of a second of eliminating him.

Other drivers in the drop zone were still to run, but Hulkenberg’s team mate Gabriel Bortoleto spun into the gravel trap at the final corner. As well as scuppering his final effort, the resulting yellow flags forced the luckless Lindblad and Haas’s Esteban Ocon to back off.

The last driver who stood a chance to beat Hadjar was Colapinto. However the Alpine driver fell fractionally short of making the cut, missing out on a place in Q3 by just five thousandths of a second.

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Q2 result

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Q3

Russell’s plight deepened when the final stage of qualifying began. Soon after leaving the pits his Mercedes came to a stop with an apparent power unit problem, Russell complaining of severe engine braking. He was able to return to the pits, without setting a time.

Meanwhile his team mate set about provisionally claiming pole position with a lap of 1’32.322. Leclerc fell three-tenths of a second shy of that while Hamilton had to correct a snap of oversteer in turn eight which left him almost seven-tenths adrift.

Both McLaren drivers beat Leclerc’s time, Oscar Piastri narrowly beating Norris to second. The Red Bull drivers couldn’t get within a second of Antonelli, and Verstappen was just two hundredths of a second ahead of Hadjar.

Quick work by the Mercedes mechanics ensured Russell was able to return to the track for his first run as the others began their second. But before he could, Antonelli lowered the benchmark to a 1’32.064.

Ferrari regained the initiative from McLaren on their final runs. Norris was unable to improve his time and Leclerc took over second place. Hamilton tidied up his final run and beat his team mate’s time, but his quickest effort was still slower than either of Antonelli’s.

That left Russell as the last driver who could beat his team mate to pole position. He produced a lap which was quick enough to make Antonelli grateful he’d improved his time, but his 1’32.286 was only good enough for second.

Gasly’s last run lifted him ahead of the Red Bulls, while Bearman claimed 10th on the grid.

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Q3 result

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