SportyTV | Antonelli becomes youngest F1 championship leader after exploiting safety car for Suzuka success

Kimi Antonelli became the youngest drivers' championship leader in Formula One history after taking advantage of a fortunate safety car to win the Japanese Grand Prix.

Antonelli had looked set to miss out on the podium for the first time this season, dropping from pole to sixth on the opening lap following another tough start for Mercedes.

The Italian was then running in fourth by lap 22, behind Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Charles Leclerc, when Oliver Bearman's Haas veered off onto the grass as he attempted to challenge Franco Colapinto for 17th place.

Bearman's car spun into the barrier at high speed and he appeared to be limping as he was helped away by marshals, although tests later showed he had avoided serious injury.

The crash led to a safety-car period, which granted Antonelli the ability to pit without losing as much time as his rivals at the top of the grid, all of whom had already pitted.

Antonelli was flawless after racing resumed and finished 13 seconds clear of Piastri, who had looked like the favourite to hold off Russell for victory prior to the safety car.

Russell made his frustrations clear over team radio as Mercedes failed to deliver a one-two for the first time this year, describing the circumstances of his fourth-placed finish as "unbelievable."

Leclerc was third with 2025 drivers' champion Norris in fifth, while Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top six after a back-and-forth battle between the two Brits late on.

Nineteen-year-old Antonelli now leads his team-mate Russell by nine points at the top of the drivers' standings, topping the table while three years younger than the previous youngest leader Hamilton, who was 22 when he first led the way with McLaren in 2007.

So nice, he had to do it twice pic.twitter.com/Asg9BrQhNw
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 29, 2026

Data Debrief: The kid is alright

Antonelli is the first driver under the age of 20 to ever lead the F1 championship after his back-to-back victories, having also tasted victory in China two weeks ago.

He has won both of those races from pole, becoming only the second Italian driver to ever achieve that feat in back-to-back races, after Alberto Ascari, who last did so in 1953, in the Netherlands and Argentina.

In both China and Japan, Antonelli also posted the fastest lap, becoming one of only 36 drivers to ever achieve a weekend hat-trick (pole, fastest lap, race victory) twice in F1.

TOP 10

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

4. George Russell (Mercedes)

5. Lando Norris (McLaren)

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

7. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

8. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

10. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS