This year’s Japanese Grand Prix confirmed the sport’s new standard-bearer while exposing a regulatory fault line that has grown too loud to ignore.
1:28:03.403
One hour, twenty-eight minutes and three seconds after lights out, Andrea Kimi Antonelli crossed the line at Suzuka to claim back-to-back victories and, with it, a place in the history books as the youngest driver ever to lead the Formula One championship.
The Italian is making this look easy.
“I made a bad start from pole and was kicking myself that we lost so many positions.
When we were in free air on the Medium tyre though, I was able to improve my pace quite a lot.
We were fortunate with the timing of the Safety Car and that put us in the lead; it made my life a lot easier!
Who knows what would have happened without that, but I felt like we had the speed today to challenge for the win without it.”
Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc completed the podium, with George Russell fourth and Lando Norris fifth.
13.7
Out front it was serene for Antonelli, who eased across the line 13.7 seconds ahead of Piastri.
For the Australian it was his first Grand Prix start of the season, and he made it count, leaving a timely reminder to the rest of the field that he is nowhere near out of the title picture.
“We go alright when we make the start! A good result today, it would have been really interesting to see what would have happened without the Safety Car.”
22
For the first time this season all 22 drivers lined up on the grid on Sunday, but only 20 would see the chequered flag.
One Aston Martin succumbed to a water pressure issue, and one Haas had a rather more dramatic ending.
308
Oliver Bearman’s race ended at 308 km/h.
Chasing Colapinto’s Alpine for 17th place out of the hairpin, Bearman had his boost button pinned to the floor while Colapinto ahead had nothing left in the battery.
The Argentine’s rear lights flashed red twice - the signal he was spent - and suddenly the speed gap between the two cars ballooned to 50 km/h.
Bearman moved left and caught the grass at the entry to the turn 13/14 ‘Spoon Curve’.
The Haas car cannoned into the barrier at a reported 50G impact, and somehow the 20-year-old climbed out, hobbling toward the marshals.
“Everything is good, I am absolutely fine.
[It] was a really scary moment that happened out there but everything is okay, which is the main thing.
The car is a bit worse for wear but we have a month now to reset and come back.
I can only apologise from the bottom of my heart to the team for that because it’s a lot of work for them.”
Oliver Bearman, Haas driver
This incident was not a case of driver error, it was a consequence of the new technology defining this season.
The 50/50 split between combustion and electric power creates violent, unpredictable speed differences between cars on the same stretch of track.
Leclerc had memorably compared it to hitting the “mushroom” in Mario Kart back in Australia, and Suzuka offered a chilling demonstration of just how dangerous that can be in the real world.
It was exactly the kind of incident many in the paddock had seen coming since the new regulations landed, and with the sport heading to street circuits later in the season, the window for the FIA to act is narrowing fast.
“Here we were lucky there was an escape road.
Now imagine going to Baku or going to Singapore or going to Vegas and having this kind of closing speeds and crashes next to the walls.
We, as the GPDA, warned the FIA these accidents are going to happen a lot with this set of regulations, and we need to change something soon if we don’t want them to happen.”
Carlos Sainz, Williams Driver
The FIA have responded, confirming the regulations will be reviewed before the next race.
“A number of meetings are scheduled in April to assess the operation of the new regulations and to determine whether any refinements are required.
The FIA will continue to work in close and constructive collaboration with all stakeholders to ensure the best possible outcome for the sport and safety will always remain a core element of the FIA’s mission.”
1:32.432
To round off a perfect weekend, Antonelli also took home the DHL Fastest Lap Award with a 1:32.432, falling just shy of his own Suzuka lap record of 1:30.965 set last season.
2
Ferrari took home the DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award after Hamilton was turned around on fresh hard tyres in exactly two seconds when the safety car came out following Bearman's crash, beating Mercedes' previous season best by 0.17 seconds.
He rejoined in fourth and swept past Russell on the restart, a podium suddenly very much on the cards, until Leclerc had other ideas.
The pair had already traded paint in China, and Japan was round two, with Hamilton ultimately having to concede.
Russell, on the other hand, will want to forget his pit stop entirely.
He came in one lap before the safety car, paid full price for his tyres in terms of time lost, and watched helplessly as the rest of the field got the free stop he had just missed out on.
5
Away from the headline battles, Liam Lawson quietly put together one of the drives of the afternoon.
Starting 14th, the New Zealander carved his way through the field to finish ninth, picking up two points that could matter a great deal come the end of the season.
“I am very pleased with today. From where we started and the doubts we had from yesterday's issues, the team did a great job rebalancing the car, which led to a strong race.
Three races in, and now a month to sit with it all.
Miami can't come soon enough (02 - 04 May).
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