Kimi Antonelli claimed victory at the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, taking the championship lead with his second consecutive win. The Mercedes driver started from pole but dropped to sixth due to wheelspin. He credited a timely safety car for aiding his recovery.
Antonelli, the 19-year-old Mercedes driver, acknowledged his poor start at Suzuka was entirely his fault. He explained that he dropped the clutch too deeply, exacerbated by colder tires, leading to excessive wheelspin off the line. Despite this, a safety car on lap 23 allowed him to regain positions and showcase strong race pace for the win, propelling him to the top of the F1 standings in 2026. This follows similar start issues in Melbourne, where he fell from second to seventh, and Shanghai, including the sprint and main race losses to Lewis Hamilton. Antonelli said: “It’s an area where I need to work a lot, because it’s definitely not good enough and I’m just making my life a lot harder.” He added that the safety car timing was lucky, but his pace afterward was very strong. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff downplayed the blame, joking that younger drivers need lessons in clutch control after learning on automatics. Wolff noted team-wide start struggles, including teammate George Russell losing five positions on opening laps this season, and highlighted challenges from 2026 regulations without the MGU-H, requiring higher revs to spool the turbo while managing battery power.
