Kimi Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday to become the youngest Formula 1 championship leader in history at 19 years and 216 days old.
Antonelli beat out current Ferrari driver and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton for the feat. Hamilton was just over 22 years old when he became the championship leader in 2007.
Antonelli, who led 31 laps on the day, had a horrific start. He dropped from pole to sixth after the first lap and slowly climbed his way back up.
Antonelli needed a bit of luck though, and he got it. Shortly after race leader Oscar Piastri and teammate George Russell pitted for fresh tires ahead of him, a safety car came out when Oliver Bearman ran off the track and hit barriers in turn 13.
Antonelli pitted for fresh hard tires and kept the lead which he wouldn’t relinquish for the remainder of the race.
The win gives Antonelli his second victory of his young career and back-to-back wins from pole this season.
Antonelli currently beats his teammate Russell in the standings, 72 to 63 points.
Piastri finished second after taking his first grand prix laps of the season.
In his home race in Australia, Piastri crashed on the reconnaissance lap and with not enough time to repair the car, did not start the race.
Two weeks ago in China, Piastri participated in the sprint race on Saturday, finishing sixth for three points. But right before the main race on Sunday, McLaren found an issue with his car engine electrical system that prevented him from starting the race.
Rounding out the podium was Charles Leclerc who fended off the attacks of Russell in the closing laps of the race.
This was Leclerc’s second podium of the season with his first coming in the opening race in Australia.
Although Leclerc is one of the best drivers on the grid, he hasn’t won since the 2024 United States GP, 32 races ago. That is the third longest winless drought of his career since he won his first race in Belgium in 2019.
The longest winless drought in his career is 40 races between July 24, 2022, and May 19, 2024. With the state of the Ferrari engine versus the Mercedes engine, it looks like his winless streak of 40 may be broken this season.
Every team except Cadillac, who are in their first season, and Aston Martin have scored points this season. Haas has gotten off to a mega start, grabbing 18 points in the opening three races.
Second year driver, Bearman, currently sits seventh in the standings with 17 points while Esteban Ocon is fifteenth with one point.
Red Bull Racing has started off the season in poor form. Four-time champion Max Verstappen sits ninth in the standings with 12 points after grabbing four points in Japan, while Isack Hadjar has four points for twelfth in the standings with an eighth-place finish in China.
Red Bull has severely lacked pace at times and with the poor reliability of their cars. This season has not been kind to the six-time constructor’s champion.
Looking ahead, F1 will race on May 1 in the Miami Grand Prix.