SUZUKA, Japan — Italian 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes has won his second consecutive Formula One race, taking Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Oscar Piastri of McLaren. Antonelli finished a comfortable 13.7 seconds ahead of the Australian.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was third, with George Russell of Mercedes in fourth. McLaren's Lando Norris was fifth, and Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari came home sixth at the Suzuka circuit in central Japan on a clear, sunny spring afternoon.

Antonelli won the first F1 race of his career two weeks ago in China, the second-youngest winner in history. The youngest was an 18-year-old Max Verstappen in 2016. The young Italian also won from pole position in China, the youngest to ever claim that spot.

Antonelli has 72 points in three races and now becomes the youngest ever to lead the season drivers' standings.

"It's too early to think about the championship, but we're in a good way," Antonelli said.

"I got a terrible start, I just need to check what happened.

"Definitely (the starts have been) a weak point this year, and I need to improve that, because you can easily win or lose races with that," Antonelli added.

Mercedes' reign continues

Russell was second in China two weeks ago and won the season-opening race in Australia, which means Mercedes has victories in the first three races of 2026 — and Antonelli has two of them.

Antonelli started from pole with Russell alongside, but neither got a great start, with Piastri beating both to the first turn and holding the early lead.

Antonelli and Mercedes again showed they are the best at mastering the new car configuration for 2026, which features a 50-50 split between internal combustion power and electrical battery power.

The cars are also lighter, narrower and shorter than last season, with many drivers complaining about the most radical changes in a decade.

Lucky break

Piastri got a great start. Antonelli didn't and wound up in sixth after the first lap, but clawed his way back. He had the lead on the 22nd lap when Haas driver Oliver Bearman lost control and hit a tire barrier, triggering the safety car.

Bearman limped out of the car, but was later reported to be in good shape by medical officials.

Antonelli said he got a bit "lucky" with the deployment of the safety car.

"I don't know what would have happened, what the outcome would have been without the safety car,"Antonelli said. "But that definitely made life a lot easier."

Piastri also wondered what might have been, but acknowledged Mercedes probably had too much pace.

"It's a shame we never got to see what would have happened, but for us at this point to be disappointed about finishing second — is a pretty good place to be."

Piastri did not even start the season's first two races. He crashed during a warm-up lap prior to his home race in Australia, and both McLaren cars failed to start in China following electrical faults.

Hamilton went all last season without a podium while driving for Ferrari, but managed third place in China. He was close to another podium in Japan, showing the Ferrari is far more competitive than it was last season.

"I've not lost what I had," Hamilton said this week in Japan.

April hiatus

F1 now takes a five-week break with April's races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia called off because of the ongoing conflict in Iran. The next race is May 3 in Miami.

Agencies via Xinhua