Havana, March 14 (RHC) – Italian driver Kimi Antonelli won the starting grid for the Formula One (F-1) Chinese Grand Prix today and set a record by doing so at just 19 years old.
Antonelli set a time of 1 minute 32.064 seconds on his final qualifying lap, ahead of Britons George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
In doing so, he erased the record held by German Sebastian Vettel, who was 21 years old when he secured pole position for the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.
“It was a pretty clean session, without mistakes, and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s race,” said Antonelli.
It was a disappointing day for the Latin American drivers, as neither Argentinian Franco Colapinto, Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, nor Mexican Sergio Pérez managed to qualify for the final race.
The Chinese Grand Prix will be held tomorrow over 56 laps of the 5.451-kilometer Shanghai International Circuit.
