Japanese GP 2026: Antonelli wins and leads the title race at 19

Kimi Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on 29 March, converting pole position into his second win in a row and finishing 13.7 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri. Charles Leclerc took third for Ferrari. George Russell, who led before his pit stop, finished fourth, and the result makes Antonelli, at 19, the youngest championship leader in Formula 1 history.

How the safety car decided the win

Pole was worth little at the start. Antonelli had too much wheelspin and fell to sixth, Russell dropped to fourth, and Piastri led from Leclerc and Lando Norris. Russell was second within four laps and briefly got past the McLaren, only for Piastri to take the lead back into Turn 1.

The race turned during the first round of stops. Piastri pitted from the lead to cover Russell, Russell came in soon after without clearing him, and Antonelli inherited first place. Moments later Oliver Bearman crashed heavily at Spoon: he closed far too quickly on Franco Colapinto's Alpine, which had cut its electrical deployment, went onto the grass and hit the barrier. Bearman was taken to the medical centre for checks.

Antonelli pitted under the safety car and rejoined still in front. Russell let his team know on the radio what he thought of the timing. From the restart Antonelli pulled clear of Piastri and added the fastest lap, while Piastri's second place came in his first grand prix start of the season.

Antonelli vs Russell

Antonelli was 0.298s faster than Russell in qualifying, and on F1 Duels he took both the Saturday and the Sunday at Suzuka. That puts him 2–1 ahead in their head-to-head in qualifying and in races. The safety car decided the order, but Antonelli had already recovered from sixth to fourth before the stops, so the timing only finished a job his pace had started.

Leclerc, Piastri and Verstappen win their duels

Lewis Hamilton had not stopped when the safety car came out and ran third at the restart. He could not keep it. Leclerc passed him, Russell followed, and Norris took fifth from him in the final laps. Leclerc then held off Russell to the flag, retaking third around the outside of Turn 1 when the Mercedes got ahead. Leclerc leads the Ferrari duel 2–1 in qualifying and in races.

At McLaren, Piastri out-qualified Norris for the third time in three rounds and beat him by three places. Norris stopped early and had to fight back through the field. In our count their duel stands 3–0 to Piastri on Saturdays and 1–0 in races, Suzuka being the first Sunday that counts.

Red Bull told the opposite story on each day. Isack Hadjar qualified eighth while Max Verstappen went out in Q2 in 11th, which gives Hadjar a 2–1 qualifying lead. In the race Verstappen climbed to eighth after a long fight with Pierre Gasly, and Hadjar slipped to 12th. It is the first race in their head-to-head that our model counts, and Verstappen took it.

Two duels were not counted. Lance Stroll retired with a suspected water pressure problem, while Fernando Alonso's 18th place, a lap down, was still Aston Martin's first finish of the year. Bearman's crash left Esteban Ocon to score Haas's point in tenth.

What it means for the championship

Antonelli leaves Japan on 72 points, nine ahead of Russell, with Leclerc on 49 and Hamilton on 41. Mercedes lead Ferrari by 45 points in the constructors' standings. Every teammate result from the weekend is on our Japanese GP duel page.