Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, taking his second Formula 1 victory in succession and becoming the youngest driver ever to lead the world championship.
The 19-year-old Italian started from pole position but fell back to sixth early on. He eventually crossed the line 13.7 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third.
Antonelli’s teammate George Russell finished fourth, with reigning world champion Lando Norris fifth in the other McLaren and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton sixth.
The win at Suzuka followed his earlier victory in China and gave Antonelli a nine-point lead over Russell in the standings. He is also the first Italian to win two F1 races on the trot since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Antonelli moved into the lead after his rivals, including Russell, stopped for fresh tyres just before a serious crash involving Haas driver Oliver Bearman brought out the safety car. This allowed Antonelli to pit and rejoin at the front, leaving Russell, who had stopped just a lap before, rather hard done by.
“I was lucky with the safety car, but the pace was unbelievable in the end,” Antonelli said over the team radio.
Bearman walked away from the high-speed crash after sliding into the barriers, and was later given the all-clear by doctors. He suffered a bruised right knee but no broken bones.
Norris also pitted under the safety car and briefly ran third, but couldn’t hold on to a podium place.
Pierre Gasly was seventh for Alpine, with Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen managing to salvage eighth. Liam Lawson took ninth for Racing Bulls, with Esteban Ocon rounding out the top ten in his Haas.
