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Antonelli wins, Lawson in the points at Japanese GP
AAP • March 29th, 2026 8:30 pm
Kimi Antonelli celebrates victory in Japan, his second of 2026 | Photo: AP
Oscar Piastri has finished his first race of the Formula One season and only one other driver beat him across the line in Suzuka, 19-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli.
Piastri, who's had a torrid time to start 2026 in his McLaren, had not got to the starting grid in Melbourne and Shanghai but burst out of the blocks for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old Australian went from third to first before the opening corner, passing pole sitter Antonelli.
After a tussle with Melbourne GP winner George Russell on lap nine, which he survived, Piastri went from leader to sixth after a pit stop on lap 19.
He wasn't able to recover and Mercedes' Antonelli won his second consecutive Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was third with Russell fourth. McLaren's Lando Norris was fifth and sixth went to Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari in central Japan on a clear, sunny spring afternoon.
Antonelli won the first F1 race of his career two weeks ago in China, the second-youngest winner in history. The youngest was Max Verstappen in 2016 at only 18.
Russell was second in China a fortnight ago and won the season-opening race at Albert Park, which means Mercedes have victories in the first three races of 2026.
Antonelli now leads the season standings with 72 points - the youngest driver to do so in F1 history.
Kiwi driver Liam Lawson has backed up points from his 7th place finish in the Chinese Grand Prix earlier this month to be P9 at Suzuka.
After three race weekends, the Racing Bulls driver sits two points behind Verstappen to be 10th in the Drivers' Championship - with his team also just two points back of Red Bull Racing in the Constructors' standings.
Ollie Bearman narrowly missed running into Franco Colapinto on lap 22. Misjudging how quickly he was gaining on the Alpine car, the Haas driver lost control and hit the wall at a shocking 300km/h, carrying 50G of force at the moment of impact.
The 22-year-old limped off as the safety car came out, with his team later confirmed that X-rays cleared him of any fractures.
Formula 1 now takes a five-week break with races for April in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia called off because of the war in Iran - the next race is May 3 in Miami (May 4, 8am NZT).
Antonelli's and Mercedes again showed they are best at mastering the new car configuration for 2026, which features a 50-50 split between internal combustion power and electrical battery power.
The cars are also lighter, narrower and shorter than last season with many drivers complaining about the most radical changes in a decade.
- additional reporting by Sport Nation
