Kimi Antonelli Dominates In Japan, Takes Championship Lead

Kimi Antonelli has claimed his second Formula 1 race win. Despite a poor getaway at the start, the Mercedes driver fought his way back into contention, making the most of a Safety Car period by timing his pit stop perfectly. Oscar Piastri finished in second place, while Charles Leclerc secured third.

As with the previous two rounds, the third race of the season saw significant shuffling through the field after lights out. While Antonelli struggled off the line, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc enjoyed excellent starts. This allowed Piastri to seize an immediate lead, which the McLaren driver maintained until his scheduled pit stop.

Although his stop was clean, a Safety Car was deployed just a few laps later, playing right into Antonelli’s hands. Having not yet pitted, the young Italian capitalised on the situation to retain the lead, a position he did not relinquish for the remainder of the afternoon. Clearly the fastest man on track, Antonelli quickly pulled a gap on the chasing pack following the restart.

Behind him, Piastri, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and Leclerc were in a superb battle for the remaining podium spots. Notably, Hamilton also made the most of the Safety Car, mirroring Antonelli’s strategy by pitting immediately.

Piastri eventually emerged at the head of that pack to finish secon. Behind the McLaren driver, Leclerc ultimately claimed third; the Monegasque driver came out on top after a brilliant wheel-to-wheel battle with Russell, who had to settle for fourth at Suzuka.

As anticipated, weather conditions remained fair on Sunday, though slightly cooler than during Friday and Saturday’s sessions. While the sun dominated the early part of the weekend, the race was held under overcast skies with temperatures around 18 degrees Celsius.

Consequently, the race unfolded largely as expected from a strategic standpoint. Most of the grid opted for a one-stop strategy, with every driver—except Valtteri Bottas—starting on the Medium (C2) compound. Bottas chose to start on the Hards (C1); while the rest of the field switched to the Hard tyre for their second stint, Bottas moved onto the Mediums.

Antonelli now leads the World Championship standings with 72 points. Russell drops to second place with 63 points, while Charles Leclerc moves up to third with 49 points. Furthermore, Antonelli has made history as the youngest driver and the first teenager ever to lead the Formula 1 World Championship.

Kimi Antonelli – 1st

‘It feels great to get my second win! I made a bad start from pole and was kicking myself that we lost so many positions. When we were in free air on the Medium tyre though, I was able to improve my pace quite a lot. We were fortunate with the timing of the Safety Car and that put us in the lead; it made my life a lot easier! Who knows what would have happened without that, but I felt like we had the speed today to challenge for the win without it.

‘This is the best way to head into this mini break in the season. I am going to enjoy the moment but use the time well to work on where I can improve. As a team, and despite winning the first three races, we know we need to keep raising our game too. We had a real battle today and we know that it’s not going to be easy to keep up this run of form. We’re looking forward to using the time ahead of Miami well and hopefully putting ourselves in a strong position once the season resumes.’

Dario Marrafuschi – PIRELLI MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR

‘The quickest strategy on paper was essentially the one adopted by all the drivers in the race, with Valtteri Bottas the only driver to do something different. No team evidently considered it worthwhile to take a risk on the Soft compound, either at the start or in the final stages, despite it remaining a viable option thanks to the low degradation recorded in the preceding days. Albon’s use of the C3 was clearly not driven by strategic considerations, given the high number of pit lane visits he made. During the Grand Prix, the compounds did not restrict the cars’ race pace.

‘The safety car triggered by Bearman’s off-track moment certainly benefited those who had not attempted the undercut, including race winner Kimi Antonelli. Without the neutralisation, we still believe that the pit stop would have taken place in the laps immediately thereafter.

‘Pirelli’s Japanese trip will not end today, as on Tuesday and Wednesday we have scheduled two days of testing at Suzuka for the development of next season’s dry-weather tyres. Assisting us on track, with one car each, will be the Red Bull and Racing Bulls teams.’

Written by

Jarrod Partridge

Jarrod Partridge is the Co-Founder of F1 Chronicle and an FIA accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following Formula 1. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered F1 races at circuits around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every race report, driver profile, and technical analysis he writes.

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