Lewis Hamilton dismissed George Russell’s grievances about how Mercedes started the Chinese Grand Prix. Kimi Antonelli clinched the race after qualifying in P1 but both he and team-mate Russell were outpaced in the early phase by Hamilton’s Ferrari.
At a mere 19, Antonelli savoured his first Formula 1 race victory at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday morning following an impressive qualifying round. The Italian managed to outperform Russell, who qualified in P2, and Hamilton in P3.
However, his win was not without its peculiarities as the Ferrari demonstrated superior early speed and Antonelli conceded the lead to seven-time world champion Hamilton.
Nevertheless, the pace of the Mercedes, which had already secured a 1-2 at the Australian Grand Prix with Russell triumphing, emerged a lap later with Antonelli bouncing back to win and Russell finishing second after falling to fourth.
In the cool-down room afterwards, all three podium finishers discussed the start of the race, with sprint winner Russell particularly bemoaning his lost positions. Hamilton had a quick response.
Hamilton told Antonelli: “Your head was down from the get-go. You came past me and just left me.” Race victor Antonelli responded: “On the first stint George was better, but on the hard I felt better. The first two laps were terrible. I struggled like crazy.”
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The young Italian qualified in P1 ahead of Hamilton and team-mate Russell(Image: Getty)
Russell, who was equally disappointed with his start to the race, chimed in: “I lost three positions. I lost to you [Hamilton].” However, Hamilton reassured former team-mate Russell, responding: “But look where you ended up, that’s how quick you are.”
Antonelli was moved after his win. He said: “I’m speechless. I’m about to cry to be honest. Thank you so much to my team. They helped me to achieve this dream.
“We are just at the beginning, we keep pushing. George is an incredible driver, very strong on all aspects, so it’s going to take a lot to beat him.”
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Antonelli got his first race win at the Chinese GP(Image: Getty)
Post-race, Hamilton also told F1 TV: “Firstly, I have to say a huge congratulations to Kimi. I’m so, so happy for you buddy and I’m so honoured to share this moment with him.
“He took my seat at this great team, so a big congratulations to Mercedes. They’re really pulling ahead at the moment and we’ve got a lot of work to do to try to keep up.
“I had so much fun. We had a great start. I wasn’t able to keep these guys behind, but to stay in the fight, it was one of the most enjoyable races that I’ve had in a long, long time, if ever.”
