The pilot Italian Kimi Antonelli adds his second consecutive victory in Suzuka and becomes the new leader of the Formula 1 World Championship. Although he started from pole, the Mercedes driver has prevailed thanks to the change in strategies caused by Oliver Bearman’s accident before the halfway point of the race.
That accident and the subsequent ‘safety car’ allowed Antonelli, who was the fastest of the weekend, to gain first position by delaying his passage through the pits more than his rivals from McLaren and Ferrari. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and the Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) have been second and third, respectively.
The Englishman George Russell (Mercedes), who gave up first place overall, finished fourth, ahead of his compatriots Lando Norris (McLaren) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), sixth at the finish line. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) crossed the finish line in seventh position, one ahead of the Dutch quadruple world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull).
Bearman accident and safety car
Kimi Antonelli’s victory is not so surprising when he came from winning the last Grand Prix and taking pole in Suzuka, but it is surprising after seeing the bad start of the Mercedes at the green light.
Antonelli lost the option of the first positions, where the McLarens and Ferraris were racing, and decided to risk entering the pits later than his rivals.
His strategy was favored by Bearman’s accident, which led to the safety car. At that moment Antonelli was running first and was able to change tires without losing positions.
The Italian is with this second victory the youngest leader in historyleads the World Championship with 72 points, nine more than Russell and 23 ahead of Leclerc.
Alonso’s Aston Martin finishes its first race
Regarding the Spanish drivers, Carlos Sainz (Williams) was fifteenth and Fernando Alonso finished eighteenth.
It is the first grand prix of the season that Alonso’s Aston Martin has managed to finish a race and see the checkered flag at the finish line. Alonso explained just before the race that the objective was – for the first time so far in the event – to finish the race, “hopefully with both cars and at least one.”
In the end, the Asturian double world champion crossed the finish line eighteenth – with “a very poor pace, which has not improved in the race” – and Stroll abandoned due to a hydraulic problem.
