Kimi Antonelli wins the Japanese Grand Prix and leads the 2026 F1 World Championship
The 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, held over 53 laps at Suzuka, concluded with a victory for Kimi Antonelli, who crossed the line with a time of 1:28:03.403. Following the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit, the 19-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli solidified this change by becoming the youngest leader in championship history. The Mercedes driver won his second consecutive race of the season and topped a podium completed by Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).
"Who knows what would have happened without that incident, but I felt we had the pace to fight for the victory even without it today," said Antonelli. At just 19 years old, Antonelli already has two victories and became the youngest leader in championship history, surpassing the record held by Sebastian Vettel, who had first topped the standings at 21 years and five months.
Other young drivers were not so fortunate. Argentine Franco Colapinto (Alpine) finished 16th in the Japanese Grand Prix and lamented the effect the safety car's deployment had on his final position. "Today was a very long and frustrating race in which we spent a lot of time looking at the rear wing of another car," explained Colapinto. He added that he had achieved a good start and was in the points zone before the incident, but the neutralization altered the race's development: "We had a very good start and gained a position on the first lap... but the safety car came at the worst time for us and made us lose positions."
Japanese Grand Prix Results The start of the Japanese Grand Prix quickly changed the expected order. Meanwhile, Mexican Sergio 'Checo' Pérez, now with Cadillac, finished 17th but assured it was his most solid performance so far this season. "This has been our best race so far this year. We have experienced great progress in a short space of time and we can be happy to have crossed the finish line with both cars again," explained the 36-year-old tapatío. Pérez also mentioned that the team resolved technical issues: "Yesterday we had some problems with energy deployment, but today we noticed we had everything much more under control."
The Mexican assured that the car's pace showed positive signs against some direct rivals: "We were much faster than Aston Martin, and we saw that our pace is improving." The team has wins in the first three races of the year, after George Russell's victory in Australia and Antonelli's win in China.
After the race, the Italian admitted the start was not easy: "I had a bad start and I was really angry with myself for losing so many positions." Antonelli also admitted that the safety car influenced the race's outcome: "We were lucky when the safety car came out."
The incident caused the safety car to be deployed. Antonelli and other drivers who had not yet made their pit stop used the neutralization to enter the pits. From that moment on, he maintained control of the race until the checkered flag.
Final Results of the Japanese Grand Prix | Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Pts. | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 53 | 1:28:03.403 | 25 | | 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 53 | +13.722s | 18 | | 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 53 | +15.270s | 15 | | 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 53 | +15.754s | 12 | | 5 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 53 | +23.479s | 10 | | 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 53 | +25.037s | 8 | | 10 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 53 | +32.340s | 6 | | 8 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 53 | +32.677s | 4 | | 30 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 53 | +50.180s | 2 | | 31 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 53 | +51.216s | 1 | | 27 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 53 | +52.280s | 0 | | 26 | 26 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull Racing | 53 | +56.154s | 0 | | 35 | 35 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 53 | +59.078s | 0 | | 41 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 53 | +59.848s | 0 | | 55 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 53 | +65.008s | 0 | | 43 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 53 | +65.773s | 0 | | 11 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Cadillac | 53 | +92.453s | 0 | | 14 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 52 | +1 lap | 0 | | 77 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 52 | +1 lap | 0 | | 23 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 51 | +2 laps | 0 | | NC | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 30 | DNF | 0 | | NC | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 20 | DNF | 0 |
2026 F1 World Championship Standings after the Japanese Grand Prix After three races, the drivers' championship is led by Kimi Antonelli with 72 points.
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) — 72 points
- George Russell (Mercedes) — 63 points
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) — 49 points
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) — 41 points
- Lando Norris (McLaren) — 25 points
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) — 21 points
- Oliver Bearman (Haas F1 Team) — 17 points
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine) — 15 points
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) — 12 points
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) — 10 points
In the constructors' championship, Mercedes leads with 135 points, ahead of Ferrari (90) and McLaren (46):
- Mercedes — 135 points
- Ferrari — 90 points
- McLaren — 46 points
- Haas F1 Team — 18 points
- Alpine — 16 points
- Red Bull Racing — 16 points
- Racing Bulls — 14 points
- Audi — 2 points
- Williams — 2 points
- Cadillac — 0 points
- Aston Martin — 0 points
When is the next Formula 1 race in 2026? The championship will now have an extended break. The races scheduled for April in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were canceled due to the war situation in the Middle East, which will cause a five-week hiatus. Formula 1 2026 will resume on May 3 with the Miami Grand Prix, where teams will seek to fine-tune their cars after the season-opening dominance of Mercedes and the emergence of the new generation of drivers.
With information from EFE and AP
