Italian, Kim Antonelli (19) won his second F1 in succession and the lead of the world championship after being helped ot victory in the Japanese F1 Grand Prix by a safety-car Period, after Oliver Bearman’s Hass crashed heavily. Antonelli has not yet made a pit stop while his rivals for victory McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Mercedes team-mate George Russell had, and the crash gave Antonelli a pit stop that cost him less time than the others and ensured he could retain the lead.

Russell finished fourth behind Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli the youngest driver in history to head the championship and leads his team-mate by nine points. An improved performance from McLaren could have seen Piastri win without the safety car. The crash on lap 22 that led to the safety car in which Bearman suffered a 50G impact and suffered a right knee confusion after taking avoiding action, Bearman got on to the grass on the inside and lost control spinning across the track and smashing into the barrier on the outside having lost almost no speed.

Antonelli who made slow start and dropped to the back of the top six as Piastri swept into the lead and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris also passed Russell. 

At the restart Antonelli quickly built a lead over his competitors as Piastri managed to stay a couple of seconds clear of a scrap between Ferraris and Russell, with Hamilton, who also benefited from the safety car, passing his former Mercedes team mate aty the restart. Antonelli was lapping quickly enough once in the lead following the stops of Piastri, Russell and Lecierc that he was building a gap.