Kimi Antonelli, the 19-year-old Italian driver, won the Chinese Grand Prix, becoming Formula 1's second-youngest winner of all time. The win was seen as a boost for F1's new era, with cars with a controversial 50/50 split between combustion power and electrification, including a shift towards energy harvesting and battery boosts. However, critics remained critical of the new cars, with Max Verstappen criticising them as "playing Mario Kart" rather than racing. The race also saw Mercedes' past, present and future drivers sharing a podium with Peter Bonnington, who was Hamilton's engineer for Mercedes before he left for Ferrari. Despite the top four finishing in order they started, this did not reflect the stark contrast between the two extremes of the contest.