He's been defined by being Lewis Hamilton's successor and George Russell's teammate. Now Kimi Antonelli is a Formula One race-winner in his own right, and the second-youngest in history.

The 19-year-old Italian pulled clear of an entertaining battle between Russell and the two Ferraris to take a commanding win at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday and share the podium with his teammate and Hamilton, the seven-time champion he replaced last year.

It's a vindication of the gamble Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff took in picking the youngster, who had joined Mercedes' junior program aged just 11, to replace an all-time great when Hamilton moved to Ferrari.

There were plenty of doubters when Antonelli crashed 10 minutes into his practice debut in 2024.

"Many said it was just too early last year, and obviously we asked ourselves that question, whether it was too much to throw him into this pressure cooker," Wolff told Sky Sport Germany.

"One year with ups and downs and he's young. We have to forgive him for these mistakes, and now he's in the second Grand Prix (of 2026) and brings it home ruthlessly. It's good."

Antonelli was also the youngest pole-position starter and briefly lost the lead to Hamilton at the start of the race, but retook it soon after and was in control the rest of the way.

"We did it! We did it!" Antonelli shouted to his team over the radio amid laughs and whoops, adding:"Thank you everyone. Thank you so much. You made me achieve one of my dreams."

And he was holding back tears amid the celebrations and a TV interview soon after.

"I gave myself a little bit of a heart attack toward the end with the flat spot (on his tires)," said Antonelli.

"It was a good race."

Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali congratulated his compatriot, who also snagged the fastest lap of the day, before the podium celebrations and the playing of the Italian national anthem.

It was another one-two finish for Mercedes to start the season, as Russell came through a battle with both Ferraris to finish second.

Hamilton was third, making a long-awaited return to the Grand Prix podium — his first since joining Ferrari at the close of the 2024 season.

The only driver younger than Antonelli to win a Grand Prix was Max Verstappen, who was 18 when he took his first victory in 2016. Antonelli also becomes the first Italian to win a race since Giancarlo Fisichella for Renault in Malaysia in 2006.

'A fun battle'

The new regulations again produced a thrilling dogfight for positions between Mercedes and the fast-starting Ferraris, as Russell fought his way past Charles Leclerc and Hamilton in a multi-lap battle with numerous changes of position.

That allowed Antonelli to build his lead at the front.

Even after Russell had pulled away to secure second place, teammates Leclerc and Hamilton kept up their own fight for third.

"This is quite a fun battle," Leclerc exclaimed over the radio.

Hamilton agreed.

"It was one of the most enjoyable races I've had for a very long time," said the Briton during his post-race interview.

He was quick to congratulate his old team, as well.

"It's really special to see them back at the front, because this is a phenomenal team," he said.

"And I know we've got our work cut out to beat them, because when they're on form like this, it's not easy to beat."

Leclerc was fourth, with Oliver Bearman fifth for Haas, Pierre Gasly sixth for Alpine and Liam Lawson seventh for Racing Bulls. Isack Hadjar recovered from an early spin to place eighth for Red Bull, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr in ninth for Williams, while Franco Colapinto was 10th for Alpine to score his first point since 2024.

Verstappen was running sixth when his car lost power and he had to limp back to the pits in another blow for the four-time champion, who has been critical of his new car.

'Very frustrating'

Nobody has been more critical of the new cars, however, than reigning world champion Lando Norris.

He's not likely to change his mind either, after he and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri were both unable to start after encountering technical problems minutes before the race began.

Piastri was due to start fifth and Norris sixth for Sunday's race. Norris was in his car in the pits, but didn't leave for the grid, before Piastri was then withdrawn from the grid.

McLaren said it found "two different electrical problems on the power unit side" after an investigation.

It's the second race in a row that Piastri has failed to start, after he crashed before even reaching the grid of last week's season opener in Australia.

"It's been a while since I've watched two Grands Prix on TV," he quipped afterward.

Team principal Andrea Stella said it was "incredibly frustrating" that Norris and Piastri were left kicking their heels in the pit lane.

"We came here to go racing and today we were not in a condition to do so because of technical problems," Stella told Sky F1.

"This is very frustrating and disappointing for the team, for the drivers, for our technical and commercial partners, and obviously for our fans.

"So we are sorry for that. We will regroup.

"We will understand these technical problems and we will go again in Japan."

Norris, who came fifth in the season-opening race in Melbourne, told Sky Sports: "It's just frustrating.

"It is on the (power unit) side, so the guys tried as hard as they could to get things sorted, but they were unable to.

"My first DNS (did not start) in Formula One. It's tough to take, but that is racing sometimes."

Only 18 of 22 cars took the start, with Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto and Williams' Alex Albon also unable to make the grid.

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll triggered the safety car when he stopped on the track, and teammate Fernando Alonso also retired due to vibrations in the car from the Honda power unit that left the Spaniard losing sensation in his hands.

Verstappen also retired early after hitting trouble during the race.

Compounding the awful start to the season for constructors' world champion McLaren is the news that two races will be dropped from the calendar this year due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

F1 announced Saturday that next month's races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will not go ahead and will not be replaced, reducing Piastri's opportunities to actually start a race, let alone compete in one for points, even further.