Both Kimi Antonelli, who broke the record for Formula 1's youngest pole-winner, and championship leader George Russell hit trouble. 351secs slower than Antonelli, more or less halving the deficit the next fastest car had to pole in both qualifying at the first race of the season in Australia and in the sprint qualifying on Friday in China. Seven-time champion Hamilton appears rejuvenated by the new 2026 cars, and seems back to something close to his previous form before the ground-effect cars of the past four years, with which he was never comfortable. We know Ferrari are quick off the line and we've got them in P3 and P4, which is the first time of the season, and Lewis was obviously great at the beginning of the race this morning, so I am sure it's not going to be straightforward. "With the overtake mode, the driver behind can use the boost button up to I think 330km/h, where the guy in the front can only use it to 290km/h," Russell said. " Chinese GP sprint race and qualifying review Antonelli youngest polesitter after Russell issues in China Max Verstappen: Why an F1 great is taking on a 24-hour race How to follow Chinese Grand Prix on the BBC Bahrain & Saudi Arabia Grands Prix to be cancelled.