The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix delivered the kind of Sunday that reminds you why you started watching this sport. A 19-year-old Italian won his first Formula 1 race. Finally Lewis Hamilton stood on the podium in red. And the reigning world champion never reached the starting grid. Two races into the most comprehensive regulation overhaul in F1 history, the 2026 season already has its first star, its first feel-good story and its first real crisis.
Here are our winners and losers from the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.
Winner: Kimi Antonelli | mercedes
Nineteen years old. First Formula 1 win. The youngest Grand Prix polesitter in the history of the sport. And he did it the hard way: losing the lead to Lewis Hamilton off the line, fighting back through two aggressive Ferraris, and then completing a 56-lap race in Shanghai without a support net or any experienced teammates to hand him over.
Antonelli has been the subject of much discussion ever since Mercedes appointed him to the seat vacated by Hamilton. Hype has a way of crushing young drivers who aren’t ready for it. He looked ready. There was a scary moment late – a huge lockup at Turn 14 with four laps remaining that sent him deep into the runoff – but he kept it together, maintained the gap, and crossed the line 5.5 seconds clear of George Russell. Antonelli is the second youngest race winner in F1 history behind Max Verstappen. For American fans attending this game, remember the name. You’re going to be saying this a lot over the next decade.
Loser:McLaren
There’s no easy way to frame this. Both the cars did not start. Not one. Both.
Lando Norris never made it to the grid. Oscar Piastri, who has now failed to start a race in both rounds of 2026, was taken back to the garage before the formation lap with a separate electrical failure on each car. Two different problems, two different cars, same disastrous result.
McLaren won the Constructors’ title last year and arrived in Shanghai as one of the teams capable of making it a four-way championship battle. Right now, they have zero points in two races and a reliability crisis that should worry everyone at Woking. The 2026 power unit rules are clearly causing headaches across the paddock but no one’s headache has been that bad.
Winner: Lewis Hamilton ferrari
He is waiting for 26 races for this day. His first podium in the Ferrari red suit finally came in Shanghai, and he earned it the way you’d want the greatest driver of his generation to earn it – wheel to wheel, aggressive, lively. Hamilton led the race on the opening lap after a promising start from third on the grid. He battled with Russell for the lead, swapping positions several times, and when matters calmed down, he was in third place behind the two Mercedes drivers, who had the fastest packages on the day.
The inter-Ferrari battle with Leclerc in the final stages was the kind of racing that made people fall in love with the sport in the first place. Hamilton later said that it was one of his most enjoyable races in years. At 40, on a new team, in a new era, he still wants that. Don’t let anyone tell you that the Ferrari chapter is already over.
Losers: Max Verstappen and Red Bull
Ten laps from the end, Verstappen was running in sixth place and quietly saving something from a dirty weekend. Then the power unit died. He limped around the circuit for most of the lap before parking, and received his second retirement in two races, which is not necessarily true for a four-time world champion racing for a team with serious reliability concerns in Japan.
The bigger picture here is really worrying for Red Bull. The new Ford power unit reportedly arrives in 2026 with limited working batteries. Verstappen has been vocal about his frustration with the car’s behavior through the corners, and the gap to Mercedes in qualifying has been quite high both weekends. He’s not out of this championship conversation (he never really is), but Red Bull need answers before Suzuka, and they need them fast.
Winner: George Russell mercedes
George Russell leads the drivers’ championship by one point after Sunday’s race and defeat by his 19-year-old teammate. Think about that. Two races, two podiums, a win, a second place, a sprint win in Shanghai, and the fastest car on the grid by a clear margin.
Russell has been methodical, precise and completely professional throughout the first two weekends of the always chaotic new era. Beating Antonelli on Sunday doesn’t diminish what Russell is building here – it actually makes Mercedes’ story better. Two drivers capable of winning races, separated by one point in the standings, are teammates who will eventually have to compromise with each other. When Mercedes brought in Antonelli, Russell knew what he was signing up for. Right now, he’s handling it just fine.
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