Kimi Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the world championship. The 19-year-old Mercedes driver, who started from pole but dropped to sixth at the first corner, recovered to take victory, with his two consecutive wins cementing his status as a genuine title contender. He takes the record from Lewis Hamilton, who had held it since 2007.
Antonelli crossed the line ahead of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, with Charles Leclerc third for Ferrari and George Russell fourth for Mercedes. The safety car, triggered by a serious crash for Oliver Bearman, gave Antonelli a free pit stop while his rivals had already pitted under green-flag conditions, promoting him to the lead for the restart.
Bearman walked away from a high-speed accident at Spoon Corner after swerving onto the grass to avoid hitting Franco Colapinto. The Haas driver had been travelling at 190mph when he encountered Colapinto, who was managing his energy deployment, with a closing speed of 31mph. Bearman sustained a 50G impact against the barriers but was unhurt apart from bruising to his right knee. He blamed himself for misjudging the closing rate, though his team principal, Ayao Komatsu, insisted it was not an error and that Colapinto had done nothing wrong.
The FIA said it would review the new regulations before the next round in Miami. For George Russell, the race was another setback; he pitted the lap before the accident and finished fourth, leaving him nine points behind his younger team-mate. Russell also struggled at the start, dropping from second to fourth, and expressed frustration at Mercedes’ recent run of bad luck.
