Teenager Kimi Antonelli took his first Formula 1 victory as he led team-mate George Russell home in a Mercedes one-two at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The 19-year-old Italian became the second youngest grand prix winner in history, a day after becoming the youngest pole-sitter, with a controlled drive after briefly losing the lead at the start to Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari.
Only Max Verstappen, who won for the first time aged 18 at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, has taken the chequered flag in F1 at a younger age than Antonelli.
Antonelli fought back tears and struggled for words during his post-race interview as the enormity of the moment sunk in.
Russell’s second place ensures he keeps the championship lead, by four points from Antonelli, after a race compromised by losing positions following an early safety car.
Behind them, Hamilton and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc staged a gripping duel for the first two-thirds of the race.
They swapped positions multiple times at various points in the race before Hamilton finally secured his first podium finish for Ferrari since joining them at the start of last season.
The key stories of the race were:
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Antonelli coming of age with a perfect performance all weekend
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The race-long battle for supremacy at Ferrari
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A number of high-profile retirements, including both McLarens before the race had even started.
How Antonelli won in China
Antonelli lost the lead at the start as the Ferrari drivers both made their expected fast getaways.
Hamilton took the lead from third on the grid and Leclerc moved into third ahead of Russell, and narrowly missed out on passing Antonelli for second through the long complex of corners that starts the lap.
“The start is still our weak point. I didn’t go with a great confidence because my two previous starts were really bad,” said Antonelli.
“Obviously I covered a little bit too much on the inside and left too much space on the outside. So I probably need to review that.”
Antonelli reclaimed the lead down the back straight on lap two, while Russell took a little longer to move into second place, passing Leclerc on lap three and Hamilton on lap four.
The two Mercedes ran together at the front until a safety car was triggered by the retirement of Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, which stopped in the run-off area at Turn Two.
Russell’s chances of victory unravelled in the next few laps. The four leading cars all stopped for fresh tyres together, but while Antonelli retained the lead, Russell lost positions to the Alpine of Franco Colapinto and Esteban Ocon’s Haas, who had not stopped.
Russell then had a sticky restart. His tyres were too cold, and he had a series of snaps through the final corners before the restart and the first corners of the lap and he lost positions to both Hamilton and Leclerc.
Russell soon cleared Ocon and Colapinto but was stuck behind the Ferraris for a further 14 laps.
By the time Russell was past and into second place on lap 29, Antonelli was nearly seven seconds ahead.
Russell pushed on trying to close the gap, but his own fastest lap was answered by one from Antonelli, underlining that the youngster had an answer for everything Russell could throw at him.
There was a minor scare for Antonelli when he had a heavy lock-up at the end of the back straight with three laps to go, but he kept things under control to lead Russell home by 5.5 seconds.
Reacting to the team’s success, and Antonelli’s inspired drive, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: “It is rare I am overwhelmed, but I am at the moment.
“The win has maybe come earlier than I expected. Last year we said that it’s going to be a very difficult year with many ups and downs and mistakes.
“Then, bam, second race. He has controlled it in the front, he has driven very well today, so he’s probably a little bit better than the trajectory I thought.
“He was actually quite calm and jovial before the race but then, on the grid, you see the eyes.”
Ferrari drivers stage a thriller
Russell’s attempts to pass the Ferraris were complicated as Hamilton and Leclerc got stuck into each other as they fought for intra-team supremacy.
Hamilton led the way for the first part of the race and he led a train featuring Leclerc and Russell for eight laps after the restart following the safety car.
But on lap 23, Leclerc made a late move on Hamilton into Turn 14 at the end of the back straight, setting off a gripping battle for the next 15 laps.
After Leclerc claimed second, the Ferraris went side by side through the first-corner complex, Leclerc just holding on, before Hamilton reclaimed second into the hairpin the following lap.
Leclerc passed him again at the start of the following lap, before Hamilton attacked into Turn Six and then passed his team-mate again into Turn Nine, only for Leclerc to re-pass again.
This time, their battle allowed Russell to close up, and he passed Hamilton on the straight on lap 27 and then Leclerc in the same place two laps later.
But once Russell was gone, Leclerc and Hamilton returned to their private fight.
Leclerc seemed to have it won as he led Hamilton for a few laps, only for the seven-time champion to reclaim third place on lap 35.
Leclerc still wasn’t finished and he passed Hamilton into Turn 14 four laps later, only for Hamilton to get back past again into Turn One on the following lap.
That prompted Leclerc to come on to the radio and say: “That’s actually quite a fun battle.” And this time Hamilton had it won, as he eased away from his team-mate.
“It was one of the most enjoyable races I’ve had for a very long time,” Hamilton said afterwards.
Retirements galore
Behind the batting top four, Haas driver Oliver Bearman took a strong fifth place after a hectic midfield battle which also involved Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Red Bull’s Verstappen.
Four-time F1 champion Verstappen looked on course for sixth place, between Bearman and Gasly, until he retired with about 10 laps to go.
Liam Lawson took seventh for Racing Bulls, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Colapinto taking the final points positions in the top 10.
McLaren qualified behind the Ferraris on the third row but neither driver started the race.
Lando Norris never made it to the grid as a result of an electrical problem, and team-mate Oscar Piastri was wheeled off the grid and into retirement when a different electrical problem meant his car could not be started either.
Williams driver Alex Albon and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto also did not make it into the race.
The other retirement was that of Fernando Alonso, who leapt up to 10th from 17th on the grid on the opening lap, only to slip to the back as the lack of power from the Honda engine left him helpless.
Alonso eventually retired as a result of discomfort caused by vibrations from the Honda engine with 23 laps to go.
Television footage before his retirement showed Alonso taking his hands off the steering wheel on the straight and shaking them to alleviate the impact.
It was a reminder that before the first race 10 days ago team principal Adrian Newey had said the vibrations were so bad that the drivers were risking permanent nerve damage after no more than 25 laps.
Top 10
1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
2. George Russell (Mercedes)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
6. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
7. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
8. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
9. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
10. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
What’s next?
Before the enforced month-long break because of the cancelled races in the Middle East, F1 travels to Japan for a 27-29 March race weekend. Suzuka’s high-speed corners will be another intriguing place to see how the new cars perform.
Source: www.bbc.com
