The 19-year-old Italian became the second-youngest grand prix winner in history, a day after becoming the youngest to take pole position, with a controlled drive after briefly losing the lead at the start to Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari.
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Antonelli choked back tears and struggled to find words during his post-race interview as the enormity of the moment took in.
Russell’s second place ensures he maintains the championship lead, four points behind Antonelli, after a race compromised by the loss of positions after the early entry of the safety car.
Behind them, Hamilton and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc engaged in a gripping duel for the first two-thirds of the race.
They swapped positions several times at various points in the race before Hamilton finally secured his first podium for Ferrari since joining them at the start of last season.
The key stories of the race were:
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Antonelli comes of age with a perfect performance throughout the weekend
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The long battle for supremacy at Ferrari
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A series of high-profile retirements, including both McLarens, before the race even started.
How Antonelli won in China
Antonelli lost the lead at the start as the Ferrari drivers made their expected fast starts. Hamilton took the lead from third on the grid and Leclerc moved into third place ahead of Russell, narrowly passing Antonelli for second place in the long complex of corners that begin the lap.
Antonelli regained the lead down the stretch on lap two, while Russell took a little longer to move into second place, passing Leclerc on lap three and Hamilton on lap four.
The two Mercedes ran together in the lead until the safety car was triggered due to the abandonment of Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, which stopped in the exit area of ​​turn two.
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Russell’s chances of victory crumbled in the following laps. The four leading cars stopped together to change tyres, but while Antonelli retained the lead, Russell lost positions to the Alpine of Franco Colapinto and the Haas of Esteban Ocon, who had not stopped.
Russell then had a difficult restart. His tires were too cold and he had a series of clicks in the final corners before the restart and in the first corners of the lap and lost positions to both Hamilton and Leclerc.
Russell soon passed Ocon and Colapinto, but was trapped behind the Ferraris for 14 more laps.
When Russell passed into second place on lap 29, Antonelli was almost seven seconds ahead.
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Russell continued to try to close the gap, but his fastest lap was answered by one from Antonelli, underscoring that the youngster had an answer for everything Russell could throw at him.
There was a small scare for Antonelli when he had a hard lock at the end of the stretch with three laps to go, but he kept things under control to lead Russell home by 5.5 seconds.
Ferrari drivers star in a thriller
Russell’s attempts to overtake the Ferraris were complicated as Hamilton and Leclerc became trapped as they battled for supremacy within the team.
Hamilton led the race for the first part of the race and led a train with Leclerc and Russell for eight laps after the safety car restart.
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But on lap 23, Leclerc made a late move on Hamilton in Turn 14 at the end of the stretch, sparking a gripping battle for the next 15 laps.
After Leclerc took second place, the Ferraris moved side by side through the complex first corner, with Leclerc holding his own, before Hamilton regained second place at the hairpin on the following lap.
Leclerc passed him again at the start of the next lap, before Hamilton attacked at turn six and then passed his teammate again at turn nine, only for Leclerc to pass him again.
This time their battle allowed Russell to close in and he passed Hamilton on the straight on lap 27 and then Leclerc in the same spot two laps later.
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But once Russell left, Leclerc and Hamilton returned to their private fight.
Leclerc appeared to have won as he led Hamilton for a few laps, only for the seven-time champion to regain third place on lap 35.
Leclerc wasn’t done yet and passed Hamilton at Turn 14 four laps later, only for Hamilton to pass him again at Turn One on the following lap.
That prompted Leclerc to go on the radio and say, “It’s actually a pretty fun battle.” And this time Hamilton won, pulling away from his teammate.
“It was one of the most fun races I’ve had in a long time,” Hamilton said afterward.
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Retirements galore
Behind the top four, Haas driver Oliver Bearman took a solid fifth place after a hectic midfield battle also involving Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Verstappen, a four-time champion, seemed headed for sixth place, between Bearman and Gasly, until he retired with about 10 laps remaining.
Liam Lawson took seventh place for Racing Bulls, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Colapinto taking up the final top 10 points positions.
McLaren qualified behind the Ferraris on the third row, but neither driver started the race.
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Lando Norris never made it to the grid as a result of an electrical problem, and his teammate Oscar Piastri had to leave the grid and retire when a different electrical problem prevented his car from starting either.
Williams driver Alex Albon and Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto also did not make it to the race.
The other retirement was that of Fernando Alonso, who jumped from 17th to 10th on the grid on the first lap, only to fall behind when the lack of power from the Honda engine left him helpless.
Alonso finally retired due to discomfort caused by the vibrations of the Honda engine with 23 laps remaining.
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Television footage before his retirement showed Alonso taking his hands off the wheel on the straight and waving them to ease the impact.
It was a reminder that before the first race 10 days ago, team principal Adrian Newey had said the vibrations were so strong that drivers risked permanent nerve damage after no more than 25 laps.
top 10
1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
2. George Russell (Mercedes)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5. Oliver Bearman (Haas)
6. Pierre Gasly (alpine)
7. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
8. Isaac Hadjar (Red Bull)
9. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
10. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
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