By: Shawn Corcoran

SUZUKA, Japan — The 40^th running of the Japanese Grand Prix saw no shortage of historic moments as Kimi Antonelli ran away with the victory, and the championship lead as Oscar Piastri finished second in his first race start of the season.

Kimi Antonelli Gets Second Consecutive Victory

Kimi Antonelli made history in China, becoming the second youngest driver to win a Grand Prix. Well his historic sophomore season continued in Japan. The 19-year-old had a good start to the race weekend, securing pole position for the second time this year. 

The start went somewhat the same as the past two races, with the Ferraris beating the Mercedes off the line, but this time, McLaren was there with them as Oscar Piastri jumped into P1. This left both Mercedes drivers with ground to be made up. 

The race still seemed promising for George Russell as he battled Piastri for the race lead. But soon the race would be shaken up as Oliver Bearman found himself in the barrier, bringing out the safety car as crews worked to clear the track. Antonelli took advantage of the opportunity, getting fresh tyres and came out with the race lead, setting the pace as the safety car ended. 

From there the 19-year-old Italian ran away with the race lead, setting a new fastest lap even after being told to take it a bit easier. In the end, Antonelli secured his second career victory, and surpassed his teammate George Russell in the standings for the driver’s championship, becoming the youngest driver to ever hold the top spot in the rankings. 

The race proved to be a frustrating endeavor for Russell, who had been battling for the lead with Oscar Piastri early in the race. However, Russell found himself in a tough situation with a pit stop just before the safety car. He was able to gain ground getting stuck behind the two Ferraris.

There was yet another battle between the Scuderia drivers, with Leclerc coming out ahead of Hamilton. This gave Russell the opportunity to pass the seven-time champion before battling Leclerc for the final podium spot. Despite a couple of good passes, Leclerc was able to hold off Russell to take the final spot on the podium.

Oscar Piastri Shows Promise in His First Race of the Year

Oscar Piastri had a disappointing start to the season. The Australian spun and crashed before the formation lap in his home race in Melbourne, and was unable to start in China due to a hardware issue.

This week got off to a great start, as Piastri had strong launches off the line, rivaling even Ferrari. The question was: would he actually make it to the grid. Well thankfully yes, in fact everyone did, as this was the first race of the year without anyone starting in the pit.

The impressive starts translated to the start of the race as Piastri launched past the two Mercedes to get into P1 from P3. The McLaren driver held the lead for a few laps, at one point even saying over the radio that he believed they could potentially hold off the Mercedes drivers. Piastri would pit just a few laps before the safety car came out. Not the greatest timing but Piastri was able to take home second place in his first full race of the season. 

His teammate, Lando Norris finished in in fifth. Securing some good points for McLaren, who hold third place in the constructors’ standings. However, this season has not been as promising for the defending champion.

Ferrari Provide Another Entertaining Race

We have seen a lot of potential from the Scuderia this year, with their lightning starts and a few exciting battles between Leclerc and Hamilton. This was once again showcased in Japan, with yet another lightning start from Charles Leclerc and another fun battle between him and teammate Lewis Hamilton. 

Hamilton wasn’t able to hold off Leclerc like he was in China, and despite past success in Suzuka, Hamilton would continue to fall back, being passed by Russell and Norris, and finishing sixth.

Meanwhile, Leclerc would soon find himself battling Russell for third. The pair traded the position a couple of times, but Charles, with well managed battery deployment was able to hold off the Mercedes, and claim his second podium of the season.

Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, Liam Lawson and Esteban Ocon also managed to finish in the points. Oliver Bearman, who got off to a good start, finishing P7 in Australia and P5 in China, and stands at fifth in the driver’s championship, had a more frustrating weekend. He qualified at P18, and had a nasty crash.

The crash occurred when the British driver deployed his battery to pass Franco Colopinto, who had depleted his battery, and was slowing down. This caused Bearman to take evasive action, resulting in a 50G impact with the barrier. 

Luckily, Bearman made it out without major injury. He was taken in for X-rays, which found no breaks or fractures, although he’ll probably be feeling it for a while.

And while Bearman made it out okay, the crash does bring up safety concerns with these new regulations. With some drivers, such as Carlos Sainz of Williams speaking out about it, saying “We’ve been warning them about this happening.” Similar concerns have been voiced by other drivers as well. 

Aston Martin also saw new success, as they actually managed to finish a race. But just one of their drivers finished. Lance Stroll wound up in the pits again due to a problem with his car. But Fernando Alonso managed to finish out the race. So…progress?

Both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will not take place in April due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East, meaning there will be no F1 racing in April.

For now, Kimi Antonelli remains the youngest driver to hold the lead in the championship as we head into a long break. Formula 1 returns in May for round four in Miami.