Lewis Hamilton praises Kimi Antonelli after historic pole: “Mercedes is the perfect place for him to grow”. Lewis Hamilton reflects on Ferrari’s progress after Chinese GP qualifying.

Chinese GP qualifying, Ferrari chasing Mercedes

The top three from qualifying in China offers a snapshot that Toto Wolff will probably want to frame and hang in his office. On the timesheet there are the past, the present and the future of Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton effectively “accompanying” George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who has become the youngest pole-sitter in the history of Formula 1.

Lewis Hamilton himself was keen to congratulate the driver who has taken his place at Mercedes. In just over a year, Kimi Antonelli has earned the respect and admiration of two of the biggest figures in the Formula 1 paddock in terms of personality and success—Max Verstappen and Sir Lewis Hamilton himself. The Ferrari driver also admitted that he is looking forward to battling the young Italian in the Shanghai Grand Prix.

Hamilton’s words

“Kimi is truly a fantastic kid, he’s still a teenager. Mercedes is the best environment for his growth. It’s a winning team and I’m very happy for him. He has done an incredible job,” Hamilton said in his interview with Sky Sport F1. “Tomorrow will certainly be a challenge, but I’m sure we’ll have fun, just like we did in the Sprint. Hopefully tomorrow there won’t be as much wind, and our goal is to try to reduce the gap to Mercedes even further.”

According to Lewis Hamilton, the gaps seen today—less than four tenths from pole position—do not fully reflect the real picture. However, in the race there could be room at least to put pressure on the W17, especially considering Ferrari’s potential advantage at the start and the car’s competitiveness with a heavy fuel load.

“George has always been the fastest, but he wasn’t able to put the lap together. He probably would have had three more tenths. Beyond that, we have improved, we have made the car better and improved the power delivery, but the road ahead is still long. Today putting a lap together was difficult. Charles did a great lap, just like the Mercedes guys. I’m very happy to be in P3 and I’m very grateful to be here together with Russell and Kimi, who so far have been unbeatable. But the engineers have done a fantastic job and we managed to get a bit closer to Mercedes. Let’s see if we can take another step forward.”

Lewis Hamilton’s graciousness toward Kimi Antonelli highlights the unique passing of the torch currently taking place in the 2026 paddock. While the Silver Arrows remain the benchmark for Saturday speed, Ferrari’s steady reduction of the deficit suggests that the “road” Hamilton mentions might be shorter than initially feared. If the Scuderia can leverage their superior launch off the line tomorrow, we could see a fascinating tactical battle where experience meets raw, teenage speed. For fans, the sight of Lewis Hamilton chasing down the car he made famous will be the definitive storyline of the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.