Kimi Antonelli leads world championship after Japan Race win

Kimi Antonelli converted pole into a safety-car–influenced victory at the Japanese Grand Prix after topping FP3 (1:29.362) and taking pole in qualifying with a lap of 1:28.778. His pole was his second consecutive pole of the 2026 season, making him the youngest driver to record back-to-back poles. He started on the front row alongside Mercedes' George Russell.

At the Race start McLaren’s Oscar Piastri vaulted from third to first, briefly disrupting Mercedes’ early advantage with Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris close behind. Late in the Race Oliver Bearman suffered a heavy, 50G crash that brought out the safety car and left him with a right-knee contusion. Antonelli, who had not yet pitted, stopped under the safety car and therefore lost less time than rivals who had already stopped, preserving track position and holding off Piastri after the safety-car restart.

Antonelli finished first with Piastri second and Leclerc third; Russell was fourth and radioed that the result was "unbelievable." The victory — Antonelli’s second consecutive Grand Prix win — vaulted the 19-year-old into the lead of the world championship, leaving Russell nine points adrift. Teams will regroup during a five-week break before the Miami round.