Kimi Antonelli secured his second consecutive Formula 1 victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, following his maiden win in China two weeks ago. At 19 years, six months, and 28 days, he now stands as the youngest driver ever to lead the World Championship. After the race, Antonelli leads the Drivers' Championship by nine points over Mercedes teammate George Russell, with Mercedes having won all three races of the 2026 season so far.
Antonelli's race was marked by early adversity, as he had a poor start at Suzuka, being passed by five cars and dropping to sixth place after the first lap, according to official sources. The race dynamics shifted on lap 21 when a safety car was deployed after Oliver Bearman's crash. Antonelli benefited from the safety car timing with a free pit stop, allowing him to regain the lead, and he maintained the lead position for the rest of the race, official sources confirmed.
It was a terrible start, then I was lucky with the safety car coming out. But we were incredibly fast. I am very satisfied with the car.
Oscar Piastri finished second in the Japanese Grand Prix, 13.7 seconds behind Antonelli. Charles Leclerc finished third, according to multiple media reports. George Russell finished fourth, Lando Norris finished fifth, and Lewis Hamilton finished sixth, all according to major media outlets. Max Verstappen finished eighth, multiple reports indicate.
This victory marks Antonelli's second consecutive win, solidifying his rapid rise in the sport. Mercedes has now won all three races of the 2026 season, with George Russell having won the Australian Grand Prix, according to major media reports. The team's dominance is underscored by their perfect record in a season that saw the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grand Prix races cancelled due to the war in the Middle East, causing a five-week break until Miami.
Unbelievable. Wow, f***, our luck in these last two races.
The safety car deployment had significant strategic implications beyond Antonelli's gain. George Russell was unlucky with the safety car timing, having pitted just before it was deployed, according to multiple media reports.
Practice sessions at Suzuka revealed a competitive field with notable performances. Oscar Piastri qualified third for the Japanese Grand Prix, major media reports indicate. In Friday practice, Piastri ended the first day's running 0.092 seconds ahead of Kimi Antonelli, according to research sources. George Russell was third fastest in Friday practice, 0.205 seconds off Piastri's pace and 0.113 seconds slower than Antonelli, research sources show. George Russell set the pace early at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix, leading the field by a narrow margin in the first session, according to research sources. Russell topped the timesheets with a 1:31.666 in the first session, while Antonelli was just 0.026s behind with a 1:31.692 to secure second place, and Lando Norris was close behind in third with a 1:31.798, all according to research sources. Lando Norris missed the first half of the final session with a hydraulic leak and had a couple of off-track moments, research sources indicate. George Russell's pace compared to Antonelli was compromised by the way he was driving the Spoon corner, affecting battery level, according to research sources. Max Verstappen was struggling in 10th place in practice, 1.376 seconds off the pace, research sources show.
George, see what you can do from here, yeah. Super unlucky.
Technical issues affected several drivers during the weekend. Mercedes has identified poor race starts as a 'high-priority' weakness to address, according to Simone Resta. A software bug in George Russell's car caused a power unit issue that allowed Charles Leclerc to pass him, according to Toto Wolff and Andrew Shovlin.
Oliver Bearman's crash on lap 21 brought out the safety car, but his injury status is unclear. Sources disagree on the extent of Bearman's injuries, with one stating he emerged largely uninjured from his crash, according to major media reports.
George Russell and his engineer played mind games by fudging strategy during the race.
Max Verstappen's struggles continued in Japan, as he finished eighth and faced challenges in practice. Verstappen is considering retiring at the end of the 2026 season, according to his own statements. He will be replaced by Yuki Tsunoda for testing after the Japanese Grand Prix, multiple media reports indicate.
Logistical issues impacted the race weekend. The Japanese Grand Prix start was delayed due to barrier repairs at Turn 12 after a support race incident, according to multiple media reports. On the podium, Kimi Antonelli was served non-alcoholic champagne due to Japan's legal drinking age of 20, major media reports indicate.
I was surprised by the pace of McLaren.
The 2026 season has been shaped by external factors and early absences. The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grand Prix races were cancelled due to the war in the Middle East, causing a five-week break until Miami. Oscar Piastri failed to start the first two races of the season in Melbourne and Shanghai, according to major media reports, affecting his early championship standing.
Other notable performances and team dynamics emerged from the weekend. Briton Arvid Lindblad, who has a Swedish father, finished in 14th place in his Racing Bulls car, according to official sources. Ted Kravitz believes George Russell's 'tetchy' comments risked the wrath of Mercedes bosses, according to his analysis.
McLaren were pretty fast and a little bit of a surprise.
There is still some improvements to do and a bit of work to do tonight.
I don't see why the practice times wouldn't be representative.
Lando Norris had a pretty disrupted day but Oscar Piastri looked pretty on it from the first lap.
We have got some more to give and things weren't quite optimised on my side, especially with energy management.
Concerns that energy management would reduce the challenge of Suzuka were misplaced.
We are a bit down on speed into the first corner but the Esses is still super-fast, and the speed halfway down the back straight is the fastest ever.
My fears that energy recovery programmes would reduce the challenge of the Degners and the Esses had come true.
It is what they saw from the simulations and is the same for everyone.
We struggled a lot more with the balance of the car and grip, not similar to China but still off.
We are not really understanding why we are that far off in sector one, in medium to high speed a lot.
I had two opposites of balance today and they never get it together, going from one extreme to the other and bleeding a lot of lap time.