Kimi Antonelli becomes youngest F1 driver to take Grand Prix pole position
Al Jazeera
Italian teenager breaks an 18-year-old record in China to become the youngest pole sitter in Formula One history.
Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli said it was “just the beginning” after he set a pole record in China with Mercedes predecessor and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton lavishing praise on him.
At 19 years, six months and 17 days Antonelli became the youngest Formula One driver ever to take pole position for a full Grand Prix on Saturday.
“A great record. It’s going to take a while for someone to ever get close to that one,” Ferrari driver Hamilton, whose seat Antonelli took in 2025, told a news conference after qualifying third.
The previous record was set by now-retired German driver Sebastian Vettel when he put Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls) on pole at the age of 21 and 72 days at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.
Big question marks hung over Antonelli when he arrived at Mercedes as a rookie alongside George Russell, the current championship leader, after Hamilton shocked the sport by moving to rivals Ferrari.
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