The Chinese Grand Prix brought drama, chaos, and excitement, eventually ending with Kimi Antonelli coming out on top, and securing his first GP win of his F1 career. However, there was also many other talking points in the race. Read further to see the highlights from the Chinese Grand Prix of 2026.
- Only 15 Cars Finished Race
- Reliablity is definitely still an issue for many teams, as we’re only two rounds into the season that brought lots of new rules and regulations. Lots of teams and drivers fell prey to this during the Chinese Grand Prix, most notably the two DNS results for McLaren, which I will talk about in more detail later. Gabriel Bortoleto and Alex Albon also suffered from a DNS for their respective teams, after they were initially going to start from the pit lane before making the decision to not start. Aside from these four, there was also three DNFs during the race itself. Aston Martin had a rough time, after both drivers had to box to retire the car. Max Verstappen was another notable driver to not finish the Grand Prix, being told to retire the car due to some issues. In the end, only 15 cars out of 22 were actually able to see the checkered flag at the end of the race.
- Kimi Antonelli Earning his Maiden Grand Prix Win
- Sunday marked an important milestone in Antonelli’s F1 career. The Italian managed to drive an impressive race to be the first to see the checkered flag ahead of his more experienced teammate George Russell. At nineteen, his result made him the second youngest driver to win a Grand Prix, behind only Max Verstappen. And with the dominance Mercedes as been showing, many more wins will undoubtedly head in Antonelli’s direction.
- Super Solid Result for Ollie Bearman
- With both McLarens failing to the start the race, and Max Verstappen having to retire, more spots in the top ten opened up for the midfield runners. The driver that was able to maximise this was young Haas driver Ollie Bearman, who finished behind only the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers, meaning he crossed the line in fifth place. The Brit earned a solid ten points for his team, helping to boost them up to fourth in the Constructors standings.
- Both Drivers in the Top Ten for Alpine
- Pierre Gasly had been looking quite fast throughout the whole race weekend in China, and he was able to use that speed on Sunday to earn a solid eight points for the team after finishing P6. But that wasn’t the only positive for Alpine. Franco Colapinto, who didn’t have the best season in 2025 after replacing Jack Doohan, was able to secure tenth place, and a crucial additional point for Alpine. All this on only the second round of the year means that Alpine will certainly be in contention for best of the rest, alongside Haas.
- Both McLaren Drivers Failed to Start
- This was perhaps one of the highlights that brought the most drama to the race weekend, especially for McLaren fans throughout the world. The two drivers had separate power unit-related electrical faults, leading to neither being able to start the race. The reigning World Champion Lando Norris never managed to get his car out of the garage, while his teammate Oscar Piastri went out but failed to start his car up on the grid, and both McLaren racers being forced to withdraw. This followed what was an unfortunate race weekend for Piastri in Australia, where he couldn’t start the race after crashing before the lights went out. This incident in China means Oscar Piastri has yet to complete a race lap in a Grand Prix in 2026, though he mange to score some points in the Sprint. McLaren will hopefully figure out the issues and soon be back challenging Mercedes and Ferrari.
