Kimi Antonelli botched the start from the pole, focusing too much on his teammate George Ruseell, and watched Lewis Hamilton scoot into first. The mistake proved no more than an inconvenience as Antonelli moved into first on the second lap and then pushed on with the race to win the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai (March 14).
After setting the record for being the youngest pole-winner in Formula 1 history, Antonelli capitalized with his first win. Russell followed his Mercedes comrade, giving the team 1-2 finishes in both races this season.
Hamilton earned his first podium for Ferrari with Charles Leclerc grabbing the fourth spot. Oliver Bearman earned a quiet fifth, somehow, with Pierre Gasly crossing the line in sixth.
Liam Lawson crossed the line in seventh with Isack Hadjar slotting into the eighth spot. Carlos Sainz held on to ninth, an admirable feat, seeing how his teammate Alex Albon failed to even start the race. Franco Colapinto survived to take the final points-paying position.
The start of the race saw the Ferraris and Mercedes doing a fantastic racing tango while the rest of the grid shuffled on behind.
The safety car on lap 10 for Lance Stroll parking his Aston Martin near turn 3, shook up the running order in the slightest of ways, scattering mid-markers into the top of the grid and giving Antonelli a buffer to Russell.
By lap 20, Antonelli held fast over Hamilton with Leclerc nipping at his rear wing and Russell recovering to fourth and looking to inevitably pass Leclerc. Verstappen had moved into sixth, though sat 18 seconds behind in the running order, a rare place for the four-time champion.
Verstappen worked to make up for his poor start by cutting through the field and passing drivers who did not pit. The Red Bull seems to have a stern handling capability, but is felled by its getaway.
Hamilton and Leclerc put together a fantastic show of racing for a few laps before Russell pushed past first Hamilton and then Leclerc, moving into second by lap 30. The problem for Russell was that the entertaining battle between the two Ferraris cost him valuable time to challenge for the lead.
On lap 33, Esteban Ocon became presumptuous in trying to overtake Franco Colapinto and caused both of them to spin. The contact seemed likely to bring out a yellow flag of some sort, but the race continued. The stewards delivered a 10-second penalty to Ocon for his questionable decision-making.
Fernando Alonso joined his teammate Stroll by retiring his car in the paddock on lap 35, bringing the total number of cars out of the race to six. The growing pains of the new regulations
At lap 40, Antonelli held almost a second-second lead over Russell as Hamilton and Leclerc sat behind. Bearman held onto fifth with Verstappen sitting behind. Gasly led Lawson, and Hadjar was holding onto ninth. Sainz managed to hold onto the tenth spot.
On lap 46, Verstappen retired his Red Bull, bringing the car casualty number to seven. His DNF did not bring out a yellow, which kept the race going steady, allowing Antonelli to enjoy his cruise out front.
