Antonelli revels in history-making Japanese GP win: ‘Pace was incredible’

09:25, 29 Mar

Updated: 09:30, 29 Mar

bySamson Ero

Kimi Antonelli has detailed his excitement after claiming a history-making victory at the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver, who made it consecutive wins following his victory last time out in Shanghai, described how pleased he was with the result.

Sharing his reaction after the race, Antonelli admitted to feeling very good about his win, noting his terrible start and the strong recovery he made. The 19-year-old also highlighted the impact of the safety car, which he used masterfully to his advantage.

"It feels pretty good! Of course, it's too early to think about the championship, but we are on the right track. I had a terrible start and need to check what happened. Then I was lucky with the Safety Car to be in the lead, but after that, the pace was incredible," Antonelli began.

"It was really nice. In the second stint, I felt very good with the car. I'm very pleased with that," he added.

Speaking about his race start and how he could improve, Antonelli noted that he could practise a few clutch drops to achieve better race start sequences.

"I can practice some clutch drops to get a better feel with it because, definitely, it's been a weak point so far this year. I need to improve that because you can easily win or lose races with it," he noted.

"On the medium tyres, we were strong once we had free air, and on the hard, the pace was incredible. I don't know what the outcome would have been without the Safety Car, but it made my life a lot easier," he concluded.

Antonelli crossed the line more than 14 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri, with Charles Leclerc finishing third. The victory also propelled the Italian to the top of the drivers’ standings, nine points clear of teammate George Russell.

Full drivers’ standings

F1 Standings 2026

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	72
2	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	63
3	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	49
4	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	41
5	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	25
6	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	21
7	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	17
8	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	15
9	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	12
10	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	10
11	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	4
12	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	4
13	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	2
15	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	1
16	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	1
17	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
18	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	0
19	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
20	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
21	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

Show Full Standings

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