Kimi Antonelli claims maiden Formula 1 victory

Mercedes' keep perfect form up

It was another 1-2 for Mercedes in China, this time led by Kimi Antonelli, who became the second youngest race winner in Formula 1 history, after becoming the youngest polesitter in Qualifying. It was another tricky start where Ferrari shot past the Silver Arrows, but once Antonelli re-took the lead, there was no more fighting as he flew off into the distance. He had one shaky moment locking up at turn 14 with  3 laps to go, but having built a 9 second gap to his teammate George Russell, this posed no threat to his race win. Antonelli was emotional in the post-race interview, celebrating an achievement most never get to have. 

Double points finish for Alpine

Alpine's start to the year continues to get better, with both driver's scoring points in the Chinese Grand Prix. It's especially special for Franco Colapinto, who failed to score any points last season. During the safety car brought out for Lance Stroll on lap 10, the Argentine ran as high as 2nd. Unfortunately, contact with Esteban Ocon on lap 33 dropped him down the order. Ocon received a 10 second penalty for the incident. Pierre Gasly continued his good form to finish 6th. Alpine have 10 points after just 2 races this season, something that took them 9 races to accomplish last season.  

A weekend to forget for Max Verstappen

The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix weekend isn't going to be one Max Verstappen looks back on fondly in the years to come. After qualifying 8th, he dropped down the order just like in the Sprint off the start line, the RB22 struggling to get power at the start. Verstappen did manage to get up the order to 6th. But with 10 laps to go on lap 46, Verstappen slowed down and was asked to retire the car. With no smoke, the issue was unclear, after the race, Red Bull explained a failure with the ERS cooling was the reason for the retirement. His teammate Isack Hadjar also had some tricky moments, spinning on the opening lap, but was able to finish P8 to rescue some points for Red Bull, who are now 5th in the Constructors' Championship. Verstappen is P8, behind the Alpine driver Pierre Gasly and level on points with Liam Lawson at sister team Racing Bulls. 

4 drivers fail to start

Whilst there may now be 22 drivers on the grid, the opening 2 races haven't seen them all line up at the starting line. 4 drivers were unable to take part in the Grand Prix, those being Alex Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. It was a hydraulic issue that stopped Albon from racing, as his poor start to the year continues. Luckily for Williams, Carlos Sainz managed to finish 9th to claim the teams first points in 2026. More mechanical problems for Audi stopped Bortoleto from racing. But it was a disaster for McLaren as neither driver was able to race after suffering separate electronic problems on their cars. It means for Oscar Piastri, he's yet to complete a race lap in 2026 after the first 2 races, a prediction no one would have made going into the season. The back-to-back Constructors' Champions well on the back foot at the start of the season.