Antonelli on pole for F1's Chinese Grand Prix after teammate Russell wins sprint

SHANGHAI (AP) — Kimi Antonelli stepped up Saturday when his Mercedes teammate George Russell hit trouble in qualifying to become the youngest-ever driver on pole position for a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

After holding off a challenge from Ferrari to win the sprint race earlier in the day, Russell seemed near-unbeatable. Then he stopped on track in qualifying and limped back to the pits with technical problems.

Russell's team got the car going again with seconds to spare for him to set a time. It was only good enough for second on the grid, 0.222 of a second off Antonelli, who kept up Mercedes’ run of qualifying dominance after F1’s sweeping changes to the cars for 2026.

The Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will start third and fourth. Their fast starts could threaten Mercedes off the line, as they did last week in Australia and in Saturday's sprint race.

The 19-year-old Antonelli becomes the youngest driver to take pole position for a full Grand Prix race, though he was also on pole aged 18 for a sprint race last year in Miami.

“It’s just the beginning, so obviously there’s a lot more to come,” Antonelli said. “Really looking forward to tomorrow. Car is feeling really good, car is strong, so a lot to play for tomorrow. But just super happy with today.”

Russell said a damaged front wing and gear-change issues made for a “crazy” qualifying session. “As soon as I went out on the track, I could tell something wasn’t right,” he said. He then had to set a last-chance time with a depleted battery and cold tires.

Russell won the first race of the season in Australia last weekend, and he followed up taking the 19-lap sprint in China.

As last week in Australia, the Ferraris were fast off the line and Russell and Lewis Hamilton swapped the lead several times on the first few laps. But Russell began to pull away after the early laps with Hamilton fading as the constant battles took a toll on his tires. Charles Leclerc was second with his teammate Hamilton third.

“Lewis did an amazing job in the in the early laps,” Russell said. “He caught me off guard — 20 years of experience. So I've still got a bit to learn.”

“It was pretty fun in the end,” Russell added. “A lot of strategy in play and overtakes. It’s not easy. I hope it was fun race to watch. Usually the sprint races are pretty boring.”

Hamilton received loud applause from the Shanghai crowd when he began his on-track interview by saying “Nǐ hǎo" — hello in Chinese.

“That speed (of Mercedes) on the straight is just a little bit too much at the moment,” said Hamilton, who won last year's sprint in China for his only victory since joining Ferrari. "I think I put up a good fight.”

Hamilton and Leclerc couldn't renew their challenge late in the race after a safety car period for Audi's Nico Hulkenberg stopping on track.

Lando Norris was fourth for McLaren and Antonelli fifth after serving a penalty for an early collision with Red Bull's Isack Hadjar.

Formula 1 has made massive engine and chassis changes for this season — the most radical in over a decade — that feature a 50-50 split between internal combustion and electric power.

Russell is one of the new era's biggest cheerleaders and said Saturday's sprint battle felt “like go-kart racing in the past ... I don’t ever remember Formula 1 being like that, where you can have three or four cars all fighting for the same position truly on track."

Drivers have struggled to handle the trade-off between using power and conserving it, and some have struggled with extra power coming in unexpectedly.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen is no fan of the changes and finished ninth in the sprint race.

“Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,” Verstappen said. “We just need to get our stuff together.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain waves after winning the Sprint Race of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Mercedes driver George Russell, right, of Britain leads Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain during the Sprint Race of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Mercedes driver George Russell, left, of Britain against Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain during the Sprint Race of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy, center, waves after getting the pole position beside Mercedes driver George Russell, left, of Britain and Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain during the qualifying session of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain steers his car during the qualifying session of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car during the qualifying session of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain sits inside his car before the start of the Sprint Race of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Second place Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco after the Sprint Race of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Winner Mercedes driver George Russell, right, of Britain talks with third placer Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain after the Sprint Race of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar of France steers his car during the Sprint Race of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Cadillac driver Sergio Perez of Mexico steers his car during the Sprint Race of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Mercedes driver George Russell, left, of Britain leads the pack during the Sprint Race of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

MONTREAL (AP) — Gage Goncalves scored off his own rebound at 9:02 overtime and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Friday night to force a Game 7 in the first-round series.

Goncalves scored soon after the Lightning killed scoring star Nikita Kucherov's penalty for tripping Alexandre Carrier.

Game 7 is Sunday in Tampa. The Lightning are trying to avoid a fourth consecutive first-round exit, while the Canadiens are chasing their first series victory in five years.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for Tampa Bay, and Jakub Dobes stopped 32 shots for Montreal. The first three games of the series also went to overtime.

The game was the second in three days to go to overtime scoreless, with Philadelphia beating Pittsburgh 1-0 on Wednesday night to end that series in six games. Before the season, the last 0-0 playoff game in regulation was in 2021.

Dobes and the Canadiens survived a flurry of shots on a late power play. The Lightning got the man advantage after Ivan Demidov broke in on Vasilevskiy, failed to score and was called for goalie interference.

Late in the second — with the Lightning’s Charle-Edouard D’Astous off for slashing Phillip Danault — Vasilevskiy stopped Demidov twice from close range.

Tampa Bay had a power-play chance early in the third after Kaiden Guhle was called for slashing Jake Guentzel. On the Lightning’s best chance, Nikita Kucherov fired a shot off the post.

Montreal had only one shot on goal on a power play to start the second period with Guentzel off for high-sticking Guhle with 11 seconds left in the first.

Danault kept it scoreless a few minutes later when he swept the puck away before it could cross the goal line. Montreal then killed Alexandre Texier’s high-sticking penalty.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Montreal Canadiens' Alexandre Texier (85) reaches for a rebound with Tampa Bay Lightning's Darren Raddysh (43) as Canadiens' Zachary Bolduc (76) and Lightning's Brandon Hagel (38) battle in front of the Lightning net during the second period of Game 6 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, May 1, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Zachary Bolduc (76) and Tampa Bay Lightning's Brandon Hagel (38) battle for the puck behind Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the second half of Game 6 in the first round of an NBA basketball playoffs series in Montreal on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Tampa Bay Lightning's Brayden Point (21) battles for a rebound with teammate Corey Perry (10) and Montreal Canadiens' Jayden Struble (47), Josh Anderson (17), Lane Hutson (48) and goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) during the first period of Game 6 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal on Friday, May 1, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Canadiens' Josh Anderson (17) collides with Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) as Lightning's J.J. Moser (90) defends during Game 6 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, May 1, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) stops a shot by Montreal Canadiens' Ivan Demidov (93) during the second period of Game 6 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, May 1, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)