Antonelli takes Suzuka
Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka and, with that second straight victory, became the youngest driver to lead the F1 championship — he’s now nine points clear of teammate George Russell ( ). Oscar Piastri finished P2 and Charles Leclerc P3, and the season pauses for five weeks after Bahrain and Saudi GPs were canceled amid Middle East tensions ( ).
Antonelli began the race from pole but lost several places into Turn 1, dropping as low as sixth on the opening lap. (Formula1.com ) A crash for Haas driver Oliver Bearman brought out the mid-race safety car that reshaped the order, and Bearman was taken to the circuit medical centre with a right-knee contusion. (ESPN ) (Autosport ) George Russell pitted just before the safety car was deployed and dropped to fourth; he later radioed "unbelievable" as the timing cost him track position. (ESPN ) Antonelli set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:32.432 on lap 49, the time officially logged in the FIA race fastest-laps sheet. (FIA timing PDF ) (Wikipedia ) The winning margin over Oscar Piastri was nearly 14 seconds, with published reports putting the gap at roughly 13.9 seconds at the flag. (Forbes ) (PlanetF1 ) Antonelli was 19 years old on race day — born 25 August 2006 — and the official standings after Suzuka list him on 72 points while teammate George Russell sits on 63. (Wikipedia ) (NBC News )
