F1 Review: Kimi Antonelli Takes Advantage Of Safety Car, Wins Japanese Grand Prix Going Away (h1)

Jeffrey Boswell

March 30, 2026

Credit: Jiri Krenek / ACTIVEPICTURES / Mercedes AMGF1

Pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli overcame a terrible start and later capitalized on a fortuitous and timely safety car to handily win the Aramco Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday (March 29th). The victory was Antonelli’s second in a row, and he leapfrogged his Mercedes teammate George Russell to take the drivers championship lead. Antonelli became the youngest Formula 1 driver to hold the championship lead.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, starting his first race after a recon lap crash in Australia and power unit issues in China, experienced the opposite of Antonelli regarding safety car luck and finished second. Piastri’s podium gave McLaren hope that they can indeed challenge Mercedes, and if not for the safety car on lap 22, Piastri could have won the race.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc held off Russell for the final podium spot, with Russell’s fourth probably feeling like a failure given his start of second on the grid and Mercedes’ early-season dominance.

McLaren’s Lando Norris took fifth, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton came home sixth, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly kept a frustrated Max Verstappen at bay for much of the race to secure seventh. Verstappen’s eighth-place finish for Red Bull will only fuel his desire to leave F1. Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson was ninth, and Haas’ Esteban Ocon finished 10th to score his first points of 2026.   

In the driver standings, Antonelli leads Russell 72 to 63, with Leclerc third with 49 points. leads with 51 points.

In the constructors standings, Mercedes increased its lead over Ferrari by 14 points and now leads 135 to 90. McLaren posted their best scoring race of the season with 28 points in Japan, and are third with 46 points.

The Race (h2)

A wild start saw Antonelli plummet down the order as Piastri seized the lead into Turn 1, followed by Leclerc and Norris. It was a dual statement by the McLarens, telling the Mercedes, “Don’t forget about us. You might have, because we weren’t even present at the last race.”

Antonelli’s terrible start, which left him behind Leclerc and the two McLarens, seemed like it would take him out of contention for the win. 

With Piastri holding off Russell, seemingly with relative ease, McLaren knew they had to be proactive to ensure Piastri had a chance to win the race. Piastri pitted on lap 19 for hard tires, and a 2.4-second stop put the pressure on Russell and Mercedes. 

Russell pitted on lap 22. Moments later, Haas’ Oliver Bearman lost control and crashed into the barriers at Spoon, bringing out the safety car, which was bad luck for Russell and Piastri, and good luck for Antonelli. Antonelli pitted under the safety car and assumed the race lead.

Green flag racing resumed on lap 27, and the Mercedes’ pace advantage sapped all the hope from McLaren as Antonelli pulled away. The young Italian’s lead was nearing five seconds over Piastri, and Russell, likely the only driver with the car to challenge, was mired in fourth, behind Hamilton.

Antonelli’s lead was over 10 seconds with 10 laps left, and Toto Wolff’s favorite teenager was well on his way to his second consecutive victory.  

The only drama for Mercedes rested in Russell’s pursuit of Leclerc in third, and a possible third-consecutive double-podium for the team. Russell made the pass on lap 51, but couldn’t make it stick, as Leclerc’s Ferrari swept back into third into Turn 1. Leclerc held on, while Antonelli, too far ahead to even notice the mini-drama behind him, crossed the line with a massive 15-second advantage over Piastri.  

The Bad (h3)

Heard over Lance Stroll’s team radio on lap 31: “Box now. We have an issue.” To that, I ask, “Just one?” But I also say “Congratulations. You made it to lap 31.” And, I might also add, “Since you’re already in Japan, why not march those Honda power units directly to Honda headquarters and say ‘I’d like a refund.’”

Could there possibly have been a mixup when Aston Martin placed their order with Honda? Did a simple misunderstanding play a role in Aston Martin’s monumental struggles so far in 2026? Did Aston say “power unit,” only for Honda engineers to hear “power eunuch?”  

Well, at least Stroll’s teammate Fernando Alonso is able to assert his masculinity off the track as the Spaniard recently welcomed his first child with partner Melissa Jimenez.   

But Japan was just the latest stop on the Aston Martin “Dysfunction Tour 2026.” The previous tour stop was the March 19th announcement that Adrian Newey is stepping away from his role as team leader to focus exclusively on technical matters. Or is he?

Reportedly, Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley is leaving that outfit to fill the team principal role vacated by Newey at Aston Martin. Or is he? Who knows? All we know now is that Wheatley left Audi for “personal reasons.”  

Just a few days ago, Aston Martin F1 ambassador Pedro de la Rosa said Wheatley isn’t joining the team “for the time being.” As open-ended statements go, it doesn’t get any more open-ended than that.    

Three races into the season, and these decisions reek of the desperation and all too reactionary ill-preparedness of Red Bull sacking Liam Lawson and promoting Yuki Tsunoda to the RB No. 2 seat, also done after two races in 2025.

In Aston Martin’s current state, there are a lot of questions that need answering. Like “Who?” “What?” “When?” “Why?” “Where?” “How?” And most importantly, “WTF?”

Max Verstappen may be struggling in 2026, but at least he’s consistent. And I don’t mean “consistent” in that he hasn’t finished better than sixth all season, I mean “consistent” in that he again reiterated his desire to leave F1. 

The Red Bull driver probably felt especially frustrated in Japan, at a circuit where Verstappen had won the previous four races. He again found himself battling mid-tier drivers for mid-tier points. In Japan, Verstappen, try as he might, couldn’t get by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly for seventh place. Verstappen finished eighth, and then provided the media with his all-too-familiar canned quote: “I’m not enjoying myself.” 

Verstappen has publicly expressed his dilemma as to whether he would rather spend time with his family or race in F1 despite not enjoying it. Does this mean his family time is more expendable when his car is capable of winning races? I dare any F1 media member to ask Verstappen that very question.  

As they say (for G-rated audiences), Verstappen needs to “urinate or get off the pot.” So Max, stop pouting and make a decision. Do it for the sake of your mental health, and also for the mental health of those who will no longer ask you the questions that so affect you.

The Good (h3)

The Haas team livery featured a Godzilla-themed paint scheme in conjunction with TOHO Co., Ltd, the Japanese studio that owns the Godzilla movie franchise. That’s mega-awesome, and also mecha-awesome. 

How on earth there wasn’t also a deal to put “Monster Energy” on the Haas cars baffles me.   

But to Haas, I say, “Why stop with just a Godzilla-themed livery?” You could have taken it a step further. Like, for example, outfitting the Haas pit crew in helmets adorned with Godzilla’s likeness. Then sending them, in full pit crew gear, to a random elementary school near Suzuka, either for promotional reasons, and/or to see if their appearance would send the students scurrying away in fear.

And a pre-race mini-concert by French heavy metal band Gojira in the Haas’ hospitality tent would have been a nice touch.  

McLaren’s Piastri had by far his best start of the season (which is not that impressive when you consider it was his only start of the season) when he bolted off the line at lights out and blitzed the two Mercedes for the lead. If not for an untimely (at least for Piastri) safety car, Piastri could have won the race, and we could then initiate the “Has McLaren been sandbagging?” debate. 

But what the heck? Let’s initiate that conversation. Has McLaren been sandbagging? In McLaren’s defense, it would be hard to accuse them of sandbagging so early in the season. And it would be even harder to accuse them of sandbagging directly after a race in China in which both Piastri and Norris failed to start, both with power unit issues. Now, if Aston Martin had somehow just placed a car in the top 15 in Japan, that would have been sandbagging, and the greatest case of sandbagging ever.

In actuality, McLaren is not sandbagging. Their performance in Japan was merely a response to no performance in China. Don’t forget, McLaren won the constructors championship last year with races to spare. They are not going down without a fight in 2026. I suspect sooner than later, they’ll have a car to challenge Mercedes. Piastri’s strength in Japan shows that McLaren is headed in the right direction.    

Actor and connoisseur of coolness Jack Black waved the checkered flag as Antonelli crossed the finish line. Black was at the race, along with Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Pratt, among others, to promote the new “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” in theaters April 1st.

Anyway, Black, who may or may not have been wearing a “Kyle Gass, No Brakes” t-shirt, waved the flag with aplomb, and his grip on the flag handle was strong. You could call it “Tenacious G” if you’re a fan of awful wordplay.  

But in all honesty, it would be more appropriate for Black to concentrate his flag-waving duties on displaying the black flag, a job he could share with Henry Rollins.  

Grid Walk Moments (h4)

F1 TV’s Alex Brundle, son of Sky Sports icon Martin Brundle, handled the “Grid Walk” at Japan, and now, what everyone has feared, and what Nostradamus predicted centuries ago, has happened: the Brundle family has completely monopolized the “Grid Walk” industry.

And since there’s no stopping this Brundle regime, I suggest, no, I beg of them, please invade NASCAR, kidnap Michael Waltrip, and never let him do another Grid Walk again. And if there’s another member of the Brundle family who can walk and hold a microphone at the same time, please give him/her/they NASCAR Grid Walk duties. I don’t care if the Brundle is a child; said child would show more depth as an interviewer than Waltrip ever could.

The Grid Walk was punctuated by a stirring rendition of the Japanese national anthem by renowned Japanese musician Yoshiki. The performance began with piano and violin and ended dramatically with pounding drums and shredding guitar. Is it patriotic to headbang with your hand on your heart? 

Yoshiki’s performance did what an anthem is supposed to do—it brought me to tears… that my country’s anthem is nowhere near as cool.

Apple TV Coverage Critique (h4)

F1 TV’s threesome of presenter Ariana Bravo and analysts Alex Brundle and Lawrence Barretto showed great teamwork and chemistry, and appear to be F1 TV’s “B” team in name only.

I especially commend Barretto for showing the bravery and conviction to interview Verstappen on the grid, knowing his head could be snapped off at any minute should the wrath of the Dutchman arise, had Barretto said something innocuous that could trigger Verstappen.

The Driver (h4)

With apologies to Piastri, Antonelli gets my vote for Driver Of The Day. Sure, Antonelli wouldn’t have won this race without the safety car, but once he was presented with that stroke of fortune, he dominated and left no doubt that if given the lead, he wouldn’t be caught. 

Antonelli doesn’t need to apologize for his good luck. Instead, he should say a big “Thank you” to Alpine’s Franco Colapinto for his lack of skill that forced Haas’ Oliver Bearman off the track and into the barrier, leading to the safety car that opened the door for Antonelli’s win.   

But Antonelli doesn’t have time to do either, not when he’s having the horseshoe surgically removed from his backside.

The Results (Aramco Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka International Racing Course)

Pos.No.DriverTeamLapsTime / RetiredPts.
112Kimi AntonelliMercedes531:28:03.40325
281Oscar PiastriMcLaren53+13.722s18
316Charles LeclercFerrari53+15.270s15
463George RussellMercedes53+15.754s12
51Lando NorrisMcLaren53+23.479s10
644Lewis HamiltonFerrari53+25.037s8
710Pierre GaslyAlpine53+32.340s6
83Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing53+32.677s4
930Liam LawsonRacing Bulls53+50.180s2
1031Esteban OconHaas F1 Team53+51.216s1
1127Nico HulkenbergAudi53+52.280s0
126Isack HadjarRed Bull Racing53+56.154s0
135Gabriel BortoletoAudi53+59.078s0
1441Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls53+59.848s0
1555Carlos SainzWilliams53+65.008s0
1643Franco ColapintoAlpine53+65.773s0
1711Sergio PerezCadillac53+92.453s0
1814Fernando AlonsoAston Martin52+1 lap0
1977Valtteri BottasCadillac52+1 lap0
2023Alexander AlbonWilliams51+2 laps0
NC18Lance StrollAston Martin30DNF0
NC87Oliver BearmanHaas F1 Team20DNF0
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2 thoughts on “F1 Review: Kimi Antonelli Takes Advantage Of Safety Car, Wins Japanese Grand Prix Going Away (h1)”

  1. Yes, the win was pure luck. never mind the fact that no other driver came anywhere close to his lap times, it was all pure luck.

    Reply

  2. I don’t disagree with you at all. But the thing about good luck is nobody refuses it. And if Kimi happens to win the championship by just a few points, nobody will attribute it solely to his luck in Japan.

    Reply

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