Mercedes already took a one-two in qualifying for the third time this season. After the first session in Australia and the sprint qualifying in China – where George Russell took pole twice – it was Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s turn during qualifying on Saturday in Shanghai. The two Mercedes drivers were joined in the top three by an old acquaintance of the Silver Arrows: Lewis Hamilton. For Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, however, it is still taking some getting used to that Hamilton is now driving for Ferrari.
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The seven-time world champion managed to win six of his world titles in the service of Mercedes, between 2013 and 2024. Toto Wolff therefore made an understandable mistake when he saw the qualifying results in China. “For a moment I thought we had three cars,” the Austrian referred to Kimi Antonelli, Russell, and Hamilton. “That we had first, second, and third place. I still have to get used to it”. The current Ferrari driver worked closely with Wolff during his Mercedes years.
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The Austrian team principal then pointed to the screen where all three drivers could be seen together. “One is now driving in red,” said a Mercedes employee behind the camera, to which Wolff replied: “Still our driver”.
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Watch the whole moment in the Mercedes garage here:
When Toto spots a Mercedes 1-2…3? pic.twitter.com/EozkXagjTE
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 14, 2026
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Read everything about the Chinese GP here
