Kimi Antonelli has won the Japanese Grand Prix, his second career win and one that has given him the championship lead.
It wasn’t all plain sailing as the Mercedes driver suffered a poor launch that saw him drop from first to sixth. Armed with the Mercedes W17, which was particularly potent in a straight line, Antonelli made short work of getting past Lewis Hamilton on lap one and made his way into third by lap 15. Unable to make any inroads into the leading duo, Antonelli’s race was transformed by Ollie Bearman, who suffered a major crash on lap 22 that brought out the safety car. Running in first due to his having not yet pitted, Antonelli was able to make a free stop and emerge in the lead. From that point on, he ran virtually unchallenged, secured the fastest lap of the race and came home 13.7s clear of the field.
With this win, Antonelli has become the youngest driver ever to lead the world championship at 19 years and 216 days old and is the first Italian driver to take back-to-back wins since Alberto Ascari in 1953. It may have been a slightly fortuitous win, but there’s little denying Antonelli’s current status as a legitimate championship contender.
Behind him, Oscar Piastri was happy to have simply started a race in 2026. After qualifying third, the McLaren driver surged into an early lead. With good pace and optimal tyre wear, Piastri looked to be in contention for the win before his hopes of victory were dashed by the safety car. Even so, with a first podium of the season now under his belt, Piastri and McLaren have plenty of positives to take for this weekend.
Charles Leclerc had what he described as a ‘sweaty’ afternoon. After taking second off the start. The advances of the Mercedes as well as the safety car reshuffle meant third was the best Leclerc could hope for. After trailing George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in fifth, Leclerc slipped past the Mercedes driver on lap 37 and later pulled off a memorable move around the outside of Hamilton at turn one. After resisting a late race charge from Russell, Leclerc came through for his second podium of the season.
In contrast to his teammate’s good fortune, George Russell had a frustrating race. After losing out to Piastri off the start, Russell pitted on lap 21 and was unable to benefit from the safety car. Overt in his frustration, Russell later suffered a sudden power loss on lap 37 and slipped to fifth. The British driver was later able to use his straight-line speed to pass Hamilton on lap 43, but failed to pass Leclerc for P3. Having been on the back foot all weekend and lost the championship lead, Russell will hope to bounce back in Miami.
After losing out to the likes of Leclerc and Russell, Hamilton found himself under pressure from Lando Norris. The seven-time world champion was noted for cutting the chicane on lap 44 but was not investigated. Norris passed Hamilton on lap 47 only to lose the place down the main straight (a facet of these new rules that prioritises energy management). Norris was able to permanently take fifth on lap 52 to equal his best result of the season so far.
Pierre Gasly was the standout midfield entry. Starting seventh, the Alpine driver was able to retain track position after the safety car. Following which, he resisted the advances of a frustrated Max Verstappen for the duration of the race to come home a fine seventh.
Further back, Liam Lawson benefitted from his early stop to take ninth ahead of Esteban Ocon, who scored his first point of the season.
Nico Hulkenberg finished 11th ahead of Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoleto, Arvid Lindblad, Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto, who was harvesting energy and moved to the left at Spoon Curve which caused the incident with Bearman.
Sergio Perez finished 17th ahead of Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon.
Lance Stroll was forced to retire on lap 30 with a mechanical issue, while Bearman suffered a knee contusion after his crash.
Formula 1 is set for an unplanned mid-season break as the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix have been cancelled due ongoing situation in the Middle East. The teams will regroup in Miami on the first of May. Plenty of time for the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull to develop their cars and attempt to close down Mercedes.
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