[gpt3] hey I will give an article, you have to rewrite it and create a new and unique version of that content with Human Touch writing.
But remember don’t use hard language, only use simple language and easy words, writing style should be like a news content Content get from another site, may have unrelated content, please ignore it. Don’t include link or message with domain from this source domain: www.indiatoday.in –
A tearful Kimi Antonelli won the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on Sunday, leading a Mercedes one-two to claim the first Formula One victory of his career at the age of 19.
Antonelli started from pole and briefly lost the lead to Lewis Hamilton at the start before retaking it and controlling the race to the finish. The result makes him the second-youngest race winner in Formula One history, behind only Max Verstappen, who was 18 when he won his first race with Red Bull in 2016.
It is the second consecutive one-two finish for Mercedes to open the 2026 season, with Antonelli’s teammate George Russell finishing second after battling both Ferraris in the closing stages. Hamilton claimed third for Ferrari, his first podium since Las Vegas 2024 and his first since joining the Scuderia last year.
Teammate Charles Leclerc finished fourth after a lively battle between the two, with Oliver Bearman fifth for Haas and Pierre Gasly sixth for Alpine.
McLaren left on the sidelines
Reigning world champion Lando Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri both failed to start after McLaren identified separate technical issues on their cars in the minutes before the race. It was a stunning blow for the team heading into only the second round of the season.
Piastri was withdrawn from the grid after a radio message indicated an electrical problem. Norris did not leave the pits at all, having been due to start sixth. “Unfortunately, we identified separate issues on both cars which prevented them from starting the Chinese GP,” McLaren said.
It is the second time Piastri has failed to start a race in 2026, having also crashed before the start in Australia the previous week. Norris, who is defending his world title, now faces an early deficit in the championship standings with Russell pulling clear at the top.
Antonelli’s moment
“Thank you, everyone. Thank you so much. You made me achieve one of my dreams,” said Antonelli over the radio after taking the chequered flag. Speaking to the Shanghai crowd in his first interview as a winner, he added, “I’m speechless. I’m about to cry, to be honest,” — before doing just that.
It was a nervous finish for the Italian, who locked up and went wide with three laps to go, cutting his lead over Russell to 7.4 seconds before holding on to win by 5.515 seconds. “I gave myself a little bit of a heart attack towards the end with the flat spot,” he said.
Antonelli becomes the first Italian winner since Giancarlo Fisichella for Renault in Malaysia in 2006, a milestone acknowledged by Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali, also Italian, who congratulated him before the podium celebrations and the playing of the national anthem.
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races called off
The result was announced against an increasingly uncertain backdrop for the sport. Formula One confirmed on Sunday that next month’s races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will not go ahead due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The announcement came just hours before the chequered flag fell in Shanghai.
The cancellations throw the remainder of the 2026 calendar into uncertainty, with the sport yet to confirm whether replacement dates or venues will be sought.
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