The Chinese GP provided an entertaining spectacle on Sunday, as well as a brand-new Grand Prix winner. At the age of 19, Kimi Antonelli became only the second teenager ever to win an F1 race. Record holder Max Verstappen was a lot less fortunate in Shanghai. After a late retirement, he lashed out at the regulations again, but according to the international media, they provided the necessary spectacle. Furthermore, a new title battle seems to be cautiously germinating at Mercedes.
Read more Wolff moved by ‘overwhelming’ podium: ‘Antonelli has the look of a champion’
“George, watch out,” opens the race report from Daily Mail. The 28-year-old driver still leads the championship, but according to the English medium, he must seriously fear teammate Kimi Antonelli. “Make no mistake, George Russell remains the title favorite at this stage of the season,” the editor on duty added. “He is in top form and would likely have won again if he hadn’t had gearbox problems in qualifying. He started second and also finished second, maintaining a four-point lead in the championship.”
‘You can’t ignore the cheering’
Naturally, attention also went to Lewis Hamilton, who finally secured his first Ferrari podium in Shanghai. “The seven-time world champion showed that he has lost none of his sharpness or competitive spirit,” according to the Daily Mail. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, had to bear the brunt. After his retirement and a new tirade against the F1 regulations, the English medium countered: “These new cars do provide enormously entertaining races, with battles across the entire field. The formula has its flaws, but it is difficult to ignore the cheers from the stands.”
In the Italian press, the focus was on Kimi Antonelli, the first Italian race winner in twenty years. The young Mercedes driver graced the front pages and is, according to many media outlets, a serious contender for the title. “If no major problems occur, only the Mercedes drivers will compete for the world championship,” reports La Gazzetta dello Sport. “But Antonelli has significantly changed the outlook. He no longer needs to gain experience; he can start focusing on a higher goal. Russell now knows that his young teammate learns lightning fast and is very strong; he can’t afford to give anything away anymore.”
Read more Alpine celebrates double points finish in Shanghai: ‘Nice when you can overtake Verstappen’
Perfect Antonelli
Our southern neighbors drew a similar conclusion. “The race weekend in Shanghai confirmed what the season opener in Melbourne already hinted at: the 2026 season will be a Mercedes party,” writes Het Laatste Nieuws. “With, as was the general conviction, George Russell in a quiet, unchallenged leading role. Due to more experience, being with the team longer, and so on. A specter of a boring season, then. But look: enter Kimi Antonelli. With his victory, the 19-year-old Italian not only confirmed all the good things predicted last year, he also raised hopes that there will still be a fight for the world title. Admittedly: George Russell struggled with problems in the decisive phase of qualifying and might have taken pole position without those technical troubles. But in the race, Antonelli did everything perfectly.”
A bit further south, there was also talk of a ‘perfect’ performance by Antonelli. At L’Équipe, they were very full of praise for Mercedes’ ‘promise for the future’: “The very young Kimi Antonelli achieved his first victory during the Chinese GP on Sunday after a perfectly controlled race. With this, he continues his accelerated learning process, in which his father Marco, his team boss Toto Wolff, and his race engineer Peter Bonnington have immersed him since he started driving for Mercedes.”
Read more Leclerc misses the podium, but enjoys the new car: ‘Hard but fair battle’
Read everything about the Chinese GP here
