Kimi Antonelli becomes the youngest Formula 1 championship leader in history after victory in Japan

On Sunday’s victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli became the youngest race leader in the history of Formula 1.

The 19-year-old Italian leads the standings with 72 points, ahead of fellow Mercedes driver George Russell, 28, who sits in second place with 63 points after finishing fourth on Sunday.

Antonelli is so young that he was denied the usual Champagne at the stage celebration for being under the legal drinking age of 20 in Japan.

“It feels good,” Antonelli said after the race, although only three of the 22 races have been completed in the 2026 season, adding that he is not overstating it.

“I don’t think too much about the tournament. Of course it’s good, but there’s still a long way to go,” said Antonelli. “We need to keep raising the level because, you know, George is very fast and he will definitely get back to his normal level, and the rivals, eventually they will get closer. I think we have to keep our heads up and keep raising the level.”

Rounding out the field were McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third.

Antonelli broke the record set by Lewis Hamilton in 2007, when the 22-year-old led the world championship in his rookie season.

Antonelli qualified from pole position on Saturday but dropped from first to sixth on the opening lap after a poor start. He caught himself, took a slow back-road and used a lucky “safety car” caused by a crash to make a cheap pit stop and take the lead. On the restart, he drove the distance and won by about 14 seconds.

Russell, his teammate, passed Antonelli at the start and challenged for the lead. But he was on the unlucky end of the safety car series and lost position after a routine and long pit stop before the crash.

“We had a lot of bad luck this weekend and that’s unfortunate as we were fighting for the win today,” Russell said in a statement sent to the race. “I was very worried but that’s how the race goes sometimes.”

So far in 2026, Mercedes has established itself as the clear favorite in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. Russell started the season as favorite for the title and cemented that after winning the opening race in Australia.

But Antonelli, racing in his second F1 season, is now challenging himself.

The race also gave hope to McLaren, the reigning world champion, after a poor start to 2026 under the new rules. Piastri, who failed to start either of the first two Grands Prix, was leading the race in Japan with a clear shot at victory before the safety car came out.

“It would have been really interesting to see what would have happened without that,” Piastri said. “I’d keep George, and just before the stop we’re a bit off again. So, yeah, it’s a shame we couldn’t have seen what was going to happen. But I think at the moment the disappointment of finishing second is a very good place to be.”

Norris, the 2025 drivers’ champion, finished fifth.

The biggest crash that advanced the race occurred on Lap 22, when Haas driver Ollie Bearman was closing in on Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and trying to pass him. Colapinto moved to protect, but with fast closing speed, Bearman was forced to take evasive action before sliding into the grass, losing control of his car and smashing into the barriers.

Officials reviewed the incident and cleared Colapinto of wrongdoing. And Bearman’s injuries were fortunately minor.

“Bearman had a 50G impact, and after extricating himself from the wreckage, he received an X-ray at the medical center,” the Haas team said. “Bearman suffered a bruised right knee following the impact but was cleared of further injury and quickly released by medical staff.”

The horrific crash sparked criticism from F1 drivers after the race, who said the 2026 rules – and new powertrains that cause drivers to use and harvest power differently – made accidents like it more likely.

“First of all, everything is fine and I’m fine. It was a scary time, but everything is fine, which is the main thing,” Bearman said in a statement. “There was a very high speed – about 50 kph – which is part of these new rules, and we have to get used to it, but I also felt that I was not given a lot of space, considering the very high speed I was carrying. We need to be polite and be more prepared, as unfortunately this was the result of a high delta speed that has never been seen in Formula1.”

A spokesman for the FIA, Formula 1’s governing body, spoke of the incident and said it had always planned to carry out a “systematic review” of the new rules after the “opening phase of the season” and that meetings were scheduled for next month before the Miami Grand Prix on May 3.

There is a five-week gap until the Miami race after two races scheduled for April in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were canceled due to conflict in the Middle East.

“The FIA ​​will continue to work in close and constructive cooperation with all stakeholders to ensure the best outcome for the sport and safety will remain an important aspect of the FIA’s work,” added the FIA ​​spokesperson. “At this point, any speculation about the nature of potential changes would be premature.”