The Facts and Figures Behind Kimi’s First Grand Prix Win

Age-related records, ending a national drought, and an exclusive club of winners.

There were plenty of facts and figures to unpick from Kimi’s maiden Grand Prix win in Shanghai.

Age-Defying

The records started on Saturday. Kimi’s pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix made him the youngest ever to record a Grand Prix pole at 19 years, six months, and 17 days old.

For good measure, he already held the record for youngest polesitter of any kind from last year’s Miami Sprint race.

The one-two on the grid was the first time the Silver Arrows had locked out the front row in back-to-back races since the Bahrain and Sakhir races in 2020 – George’s Mercedes debut.

A day later, the team recorded their first back-to-back one-two finish since the Portugal and Emilia-Romagna races in 2020.

Sunday’s triumph made Kimi the second youngest to win a Grand Prix, older only than Max Verstappen, who was 18 years, seven months, and 15 days old at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

Elite Company

Kimi became the 116^th driver to win an F1 Grand Prix World Championship race, and the third quickest to do so of those on the current grid.

The Italian reached the top step on his 26^th Grand Prix start. Of his 2026 peers, only Verstappen (24) and Lewis Hamilton (six) recorded fewer starts before their first win.

In the world of Mercedes, Kimi’s win makes him the second driver to have come through the Junior Programme to win a race for the three-pointed star, following in the footsteps of George in São Paulo in 2022.

It brings the number of drivers to win a Grand Prix for Mercedes in F1 to seven. Kimi joins an illustrious list of racers that includes Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Nico Rosberg, Lewis, Valtteri Bottas, and George.

Of that honour roll, Kimi matches Nico’s achievement of recording his first F1 victory in Shanghai while at the wheel of a Silver Arrow.

Forza Italia!

It was a huge day for Italy in Shanghai. While the exploits of Ferrari have always kept the Italian audience engaged and passionate about our sport, there has been less to cheer from an individual driver perspective.

That changed in China, as Kimi became the first Italian driver to win a race since Giancarlo Fisichella at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix for Renault.

Almost exactly 20 years on, Kimi took the chequered flag 7,301 days after Giancarlo.

Fisichella was also the last Italian to take an F1 pole, which came at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix while driving for Force India.

In total, Kimi is the 16^th Italian to claim a Grand Prix victory since 1950.

On Sunday at the podium, the Italian and German national anthems were played out one after another for the first time in 20 years.

The winner on that day two decades ago? Michael Schumacher and Ferrari.

Winning in Style

Claiming a first Grand Prix win is one thing but making it a hat-trick is something else. Kimi qualified on pole and set the fastest lap on the way to the top step on Sunday in Shanghai.

Indeed, had he also led the opening lap he would have claimed a Grand Slam, too.

By recording a hat-trick on route to winning their first Grand Prix, Kimi joins another exclusive club which includes world champions such as Ayrton Senna, Moss, Fangio, Niki Lauda, Nino Farina, Phil Hill, and Jochen Rindt.

The consistency in Kimi’s junior career success can be seen from the fact he has now won a race at every level of single-seater racing he has entered (Italian F4, UAE F4, ADAC F4, Formula Regional Middle East, Formula Regional Europe, Formula 2, and Formula 1).

Numbers Game

Kimi’s victory was the 38^th for a car adorned with the number 12 at a Grand Prix. The last came with Jenson Button in Hungary in 2006, a car which, like Kimi’s W17, was also built in Brackley!

Prior to that, legends such as Senna, Lauda, and Moss also won their maiden Grands Prix driving the number 12 car. The latter’s first win came with Mercedes in 1955.

We will leave you with one final connection between Kimi and his hero Ayrton Senna. Like the Brazilian, Kimi’s first race win came in the second Grand Prix of his second season, mirroring the three-time world champion’s achievement at Estoril in 1985.