Antonelli Takes Win and Championship Lead
Kimi Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix and became the youngest leader of the World Championship standings in Formula 1 history. In addition, the 19-year-old Mercedes driver is the first Italian since 1953 to achieve back-to-back victories, dating back to the era of Alberto Ascari’s successes.
Antonelli: “It’s a great feeling, but it is still too early to think about the championship we are simply moving in the right direction. The start was extremely poor, and we need to understand what went wrong. Later, I benefited from the Safety Car, after which I moved into the lead.
The car’s pace was very strong, especially in clean air and during the second stint of the race. We also looked competitive on the harder tyres.
The priority now is working on our starts, as this is our weak point. There is a break ahead, and I plan to work on the procedure to better understand the clutch release and improve in this area.
Honestly, without the Safety Car, things could have been different, but today it clearly played in our favour.”
