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Agence France-Presse

⁠Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday for his second straight victory as the 19-year-old Italian became the youngest driver in Formula 1 history to lead the world championship standings.
Antonelli took advantage of a mid-race safety car to leapfrog into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position at Suzuka and eventually led home McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
He whooped with delight as he crossed the line, telling his team “the pace was unbelievable today”.
He moved up to 72 points and leads the championship by nine points after three races, building on the first grand prix win of his career two weeks ago in China.
“Of course it’s still too early to think about the championship but we’re on a good way,” Antonelli said.
“I don’t know what would have happened, what the outcome would have been without the safety car, but it definitely made my life a lot easier.”

His Mercedes teammate George Russell finished fourth to drop to second in the championship standings on 63 points. Leclerc is third on 49.
Russell battled Piastri for the lead over the first half of the race but pitted just before the safety car to drop back out of contention for the win.
Piastri secured second in his first grand prix start of the season, after crashing on his way to the grid in the opener in Australia and missing the race in China because of a technical problem.
Piastri led for the first half of the race before the safety car gave Antonelli his chance.
“It would have been really interesting to see what would have happened without that,” Piastri said.
“A shame that we never got to see what would have happened, but I think for us to be disappointed at this point about finishing second is a pretty good place to be.”
McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris was fifth ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who had won in Japan for the past four years, was eighth after starting from 11th on the grid.
Antonelli was in pole position for the second straight race, having become the youngest pole-sitter in Formula 1 history in China.
But the Italian had a shocking start, sinking down to sixth by the first corner.
Piastri took the early lead ahead of Leclerc, with Norris, Russell and Hamilton all overtaking Antonelli.

The young Italian had made up some of the last ground when a crash by Haas driver Ollie Bearman brought out the safety car during the pit stop window.
Piastri had already pitted but Antonelli was able to dive in for fresh tyres moments after the safety car was deployed and emerged in front of the Australian, a stroke of luck that effectively won him the race.
Bearman got out of his car unaided but was limping badly as race marshals helped him off the track.
Haas later said he had “a right knee contusion” and initial X-rays showed no fractures after hitting the barrier at high speed.
Formula 1 now takes an extended break until the Miami Grand Prix on May 3.
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races scheduled for April have been cancelled because of the war in the Middle East.


Formula 1: Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli overcomes bad start to win Japanese Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli claims pole position at Japanese Grand Prix ahead of teammate George Russell

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri outshines Mercedes duo to go fastest in Japanese Grand Prix practice

F1 Japanese Grand Prix: smarting Verstappen asks journalist to ‘get out’ of media briefing

Formula One (F1)

Kimi Antonelli of Italy drives past the chequered flag to win the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka International Racing Course on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli celebrates his second win in a row. Photo: Reuters

Kimi Antonelli (centre) on the podium with Oscar Piastri (left) and Charles Leclerc. Photo: Reuters

Red Bull Racings Dutch driver Max Verstappen prepares to speak to the press on Thursday ahead of Sunday’s Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. Photo: AFP

Max Verstappen (centre) signs autographs in Japanese calligraphy for fans with Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar (right) and sumo wrestlers Ichiyamamoto Daiki and Daieisho Hayato (behind) in attendance. Photo: Reuters

Chinese snowboarding star Su Yiming claims second Crystal Globe trophy of the season

Snowboarder Su Yiming secured his second Crystal Globe trophy of the season on Saturday. Photo: FIS

Su Yiming won gold at the FIS Snowboard Big Air World Cup 2026 at Secret Garden, Zhangjiakou, China. Photo: Xinhua

Sport

Italian recovers after starting from pole and dropping to sixth to win second straight race, and becoming youngest championship leader ‌at 19


Italian recovers after starting from pole and dropping to sixth to win second straight race, and becoming youngest championship leader ‌at 19.


Mercedes-Benz

Charles Leclerc

Oscar Piastri

Formula 1: Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli overcomes bad start to win Japanese Grand Prix

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Italian recovers after starting from pole and dropping to sixth to win second straight race, and becoming youngest championship leader ‌at 19

Italian recovers after starting from pole and dropping to sixth to win second straight race, and becoming youngest championship leader ‌at 19