Antonelli Secures Maiden Victory at Chinese Grand Prix
Former Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton congratulated Kimi Antonelli on his inaugural Formula 1 victory during the podium celebrations in China.
Mercedes achieved a one-two finish at the Chinese Grand Prix, with 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli winning from pole position ahead of teammate George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton earned his first podium finish for Ferrari, while the reigning constructors' champions McLaren failed to start Sunday's race due to separate electrical issues affecting both drivers.
Driver Ratings from the Chinese Grand Prix
Below are the driver ratings for the second weekend in China:
Kimi Antonelli - 9 - A landmark achievement for the young Italian, becoming the youngest ever polesitter and securing his first Grand Prix victory.
George Russell - 8.5 - Delivered a strong performance, recovering well from qualifying difficulties but struggled while battling the Ferraris during the race.
Lewis Hamilton - 9 - Hamilton appears to have regained his form, showing strong pace at the Shanghai circuit and engaging in intense battles with Russell and teammate Charles Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc - 8 - Demonstrated excellent wheel-to-wheel racing and competitive fights with Hamilton, though a mistake at Turn 14 allowed Hamilton to pass for the podium.
Oliver Bearman - 9 - The British driver impressed in the Haas, currently fifth in the drivers' championship, signaling a promising trajectory.
Pierre Gasly - 8 - Continued his consistent form by scoring points in consecutive Grand Prix events.
Liam Lawson - 7 - Showed significant improvement compared to last year, outperforming teammate Arvid Lindblad and securing points in both the sprint and race.
Isack Hadjar - 6 - Faced challenges due to car and power unit limitations but remained competitive with Max Verstappen; however, a spin during the race affected his rating.
Carlos Sainz - 7 - Managed to secure two points, showcasing skill and benefiting from others' misfortunes, while also performing well in qualifying.
Franco Colapinto - 6.5 - Although appearing out of depth in the sprint, narrowly missed Q3 and delivered a solid race to earn his first points since 2024.
Nico Hulkenberg - 5 - Had an unremarkable weekend but completed the race.
Arvid Lindblad - 5 - Experienced a learning weekend following earlier successes in Melbourne.
Valtteri Bottas - 5 - Outperformed Cadillac teammate Sergio Perez and finished the race.
Esteban Ocon - 4 - Continued to be overshadowed by teammate Bearman and made an ill-advised move on Colapinto during the race.
Sergio Perez - 4.5 - Encountered car issues and was unable to match Bottas's pace.
Max Verstappen - 6.5 - Limited by his car's performance, he qualified ahead of teammate Hadjar but only narrowly, and will be concerned by two poor race starts in succession.
Fernando Alonso - 6.5 - Faced a challenging weekend with Aston Martin; started well to enter the top 10 but was eventually forced to retire due to engine limitations.
Lance Stroll - 3 - Had minimal impact on the race, retiring after a mechanical failure and was out-qualified by Bottas.
Oscar Piastri - 5 - Failed to start two consecutive races; the issue in China was not his fault. Out-qualified teammate Lando Norris but did not match him in the sprint.
Lando Norris - 5 - Did not start the race and was behind Piastri in qualifying but finished higher in the sprint.
Gabriel Bortoleto - 3 - Crashed in Q2 and was unable to start the race.
Alex Albon - 4 - Struggled with an uncompetitive car and failed to make the race start; lagged behind teammate Sainz in sprint and qualifying.
Antonelli wins Chinese GP as McLarens fail to start
