Kimi Antonelli made Formula 1 history at the Chinese Grand Prix when he became the youngest pole-sitter in the storied history of the sport.
Kimi Antonelli’s hot start makes more F1 history in Japan
Young Kimi Antonelli continued his torrid start to the 2026 F1 season in Japan, making history in the process
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
His win at the Japanese Grand Prix made even more history.
Antonelli converted another pole position into a victory Sunday in Suzuka, and when coupled with a fourth-place finish from teammate George Russell, the young Mercedes driver slid into the top spot in the Drivers’ Championship standings.
Becoming the youngest championship leader in F1 history:
Antonelli recovered from a slow start, which saw him finish the first lap down in sixth place. But he worked his way back through the field, and capitalized when a hard crash from Oliver Bearman allowed him to pit under the Safety Car along with Lewis Hamilton, the only two front-runners yet to make a stop. Mercedes bolted on a fresh set of hard tires and Antonelli came out of pit lane in the lead, and held on over the rest of the race for the victory.
“I think obviously we were very lucky with Safety Car, but on the Medium, we were really strong once I got some free air, and then on the Hard the pace was just incredible. I don’t know what would have happened, how the outcome would have been, without the Safety Car, but yeah, it definitely made my life a lot easier,“ said Antonelli trackside after the race.
Oscar Piastri, who was finally able to start a Grand Prix after a disappointing beginning to the F1 season, finished second while Charles Leclerc finished third. The biggest surprise on the grid continues to be Pierre Gasly at Alpine, as he held off Max Verstappen over the final stretch of the race to secure seventh, keeping Alpine in fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
As for Antonelli, he now leads the Drivers’ Championship at just 19 years old, surpassing the mark set by none other than Hamilton, who first stood atop the Drivers’ Championship standings at 22 years old, during his incredible rookie campaign in 2007.
Still, the young driver knows he has one area where he needs to improve.
His starts off the line.
“Yeah, I mean, luckily, I’ve got three weeks, so now I can practice some clutch drops just to get a better feel with it, because definitely it’s been a weak point so far this year and you need to improve that because you can easily win or lose races with that,“ described Antonelli.
Here are the full results from Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix:
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