What is the revised grid for the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix with Lando Norris in the pit lane?

Kimi Antonelli stunned the Shanghai paddock by securing the first grand prix pole position of his Formula 1 career for the Chinese Grand Prix.

On a day when Russell looked unbeatable, Antonelli capitalised on an eventful qualifying session for his teammate to snatch pole position by two-tenths of a second. Here is the full starting order for the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

Kimi Antonelli on pole in China

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Mercedes again had an advantage over its rivals in qualifying trim, the W17 dominant as the teammates topped every session.

Russell was quickest in Q1 before a damaged front wing saw Antonelli come to the fore in the second segment.

Yet more problems for Russell, this time engine reliability, meant he only completed one late run in the pole position shoot-out and had to settle for second behind his teammate.

Antonelli made history as F1’s youngest ever pole-sitter.

As the teammates lined up two-by-two, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were Mercedes’ nearest challengers ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

However, McLaren discovered a problem with Norris’ MCL40 when the team fired it up ahead of the grand prix. “We had identified an issue on Lando’s car which we are still working to rectify,” they said 25 minutes before the race, leaving Norris to start from the pit lane.

The gap on the grid will not close up meaning the drivers behind the sixth box on the grid will remain in their qualifying spots.

Pierre Gasly was the outlier in the Alpine in seventh place on the grid, but sixth car in the running order, beating the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, while Oliver Bearman completed the top ten.

More from the Chinese Grand Prix

Antonelli becomes youngest ever F1 pole-sitter beating eventful quali for Russell

F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates

Nico Hulkenberg will line up 11th on the grid after missing out on a Q3 berth by 0.002s with Franco Colapinto a further 0.005s down in what proved to be a closely-fought contest in F1’s midfield.

Esteban Ocon is P13 ahead of Liam Lawson, Arvid Lindblad and Gabriel Bortoleto.

Williams, Aston Martin and Cadillac didn’t make it out of Q1 with Carlos Sainz in 17th place ahead of Alex Albon. The Thai-British racer has since been confirmed as a pit lane starter.

Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez all move up one place and will line up P17 to 20.

Chinese GP Grid

1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:32.064
2 George Russell Mercedes 1:32.286
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:32.415
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:32.428
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:32.550
6 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:32.873
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:33.002
8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 1:33.121
9 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:33.292
10 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:33.354
11 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:33.357
12 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:33.538
13 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:33.765
14 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 1:33.784
15 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:33.965
16 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:34.317
17 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:35.203
18 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1:35.436
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:35.995
20 Sergio Perez Cadillac 1:36.906

Pit lane – Lando Norris McLaren
Pit lane – Alex Albon Williams 1:34.772

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