The China Grand Prix is about to begin as I type this, but not to get ahead of the Eastern time zone, news from qualifying, as Mercedes second Kimi Antonelli became the youngest driver in F1 history to win pole position for a Grand Prix, and by a lot — 19 years, 6 months, 17 days — over previous record holder Sebastian Vettel, who was 21 years and 73 days old when he took ole at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

Antonelli covered the Shanghai International Circuit in 1:32.064, edging teammate George Russell by 0.222 seconds, giving Mercedes the front row of the grid for the second consecutive week.

Again, the two Ferraris were P3 and P4, and the McLarens took P5 and P6, making clear the top three constructors in the early going with the new power units and car setups.

My take: Pierre Gasly finished P7 for Alpine (Mercedes power unit) and he seems to have found something in his car. He finished in points in Australia (P10). He's the type of aggressive driver that can take advantage of the room these smaller cars provide on track. He's my dark horse to win a race this season.