Last Updated:
Kimi Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix for Mercedes to become the youngest Formula One championship leader at the age of 19.
Formula One: Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli wins Japanese Grand Prix (AP)
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli clinched the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday to become the first teenager ever to win two Grands Prix as well as the first teenager ever to lead the F1 World Championship.
It was his second consecutive victory, as the 19-year-old Italian further burnished his growing credentials in Formula One.
Pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli recovered from a dreadful start to take the chequered flag at Suzuka ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
George Russell, the previous championship leader, finished fourth for Mercedes.
Kimi Antonelli’s Reaction On Winning
He whooped with delight as he crossed the line, telling his team: “The pace was unbelievable today.”
He now leads the championship after three races, building on the first grand prix win of his career two weeks ago in China.
Mercedes’ George Russell, who started the day on top of the championship standings, finished fourth.
Russell battled Piastri for the lead over the first half of the race but pitted just before the safety car came out, dropping out of contention for the win.
Where Did Lewis Hamilton And Max Verstappen Finish?
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 previous four years, finished eighth after starting 11th on the grid.
How Kimi Antonelli Won Japanese GP?
Antonelli started from pole position for the second race in a row, having become the youngest pole-sitter in F1 history in China.
But the Italian had a shocking start, dropping to sixth by the first corner.
Piastri took the early lead ahead of Leclerc, with Norris, Russell and Hamilton all overtaking Antonelli.
Russell then moved up the field to latch onto Piastri’s tail as a game of cat and mouse began.
Antonelli also regained ground, but a crash involving Haas driver Ollie Bearman brought out the safety car midway through the race.
Bearman was limping heavily as race marshals helped him off the track, and his team later said he had “a right knee contusion”.
Antonelli dived into the pits moments after the safety car was deployed, a stroke of good fortune that effectively won him the race as he rejoined at the head of the pack.
Russell slipped out of contention, first being overtaken by Hamilton and then by Leclerc.
Antonelli extended his lead while Russell recovered, but Piastri held on to deny Mercedes a third successive one-two grand prix finish.
Haas said that initial X-rays showed Bearman had no fractures after his crash, which saw him hit the barrier at high speed.
The 20-year-old had climbed through the field after starting 18th on the grid.
Formula One now takes an extended break until the Miami Grand Prix on 3 May.
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races scheduled for April have been cancelled because of the war in the Middle East.
More to follow…
March 29, 2026, 12:21 IST
Read More
Source link
[ad_3]
