Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) won the 53-lap Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on 29 March, converting pole into victory even after losing five places at the start. He took the lead back by pitting under the lap-22 Safety Car, and the win puts him top of the drivers' standings on 72 points, nine clear of Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Race result: Antonelli's second straight win, Piastri second and Leclerc third
Antonelli's winning time was 1:28:03.403. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) was second, +13.722s, and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) third, +15.270s. Formula 1's own report says it was Antonelli's second career win and second in a row, and calls him "the youngest driver in history to head the standings". He also set the fastest lap, a 1:32.432 on lap 49 (Lapchive).
| Pos | Driver (team) | Grid | Gap | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antonelli (Mercedes) | 1 | 1:28:03.403 | 25 |
| 2 | Piastri (McLaren) | 3 | +13.722 | 18 |
| 3 | Leclerc (Ferrari) | 4 | +15.270 | 15 |
| 4 | Russell (Mercedes) | 2 | +15.754 | 12 |
| 5 | Lando Norris (McLaren) | 5 | +23.479 | 10 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) | 6 | +25.037 | 8 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly (Alpine) | 7 | +32.340 | 6 |
| 8 | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) | 11 | +32.677 | 4 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) | 14 | +50.180 | 2 |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon (Haas) | 12 | +51.216 | 1 |
How it unfolded: a delayed start and a lap-22 Safety Car
According to Formula 1, the start was delayed by 10 minutes while barriers were repaired after an incident in a support race. All 22 cars started on mediums except Valtteri Bottas, who chose hards. Piastri led into Turn 1, and Antonelli dropped five places at the start, Lapchive reports. Antonelli himself said: "I had a terrible start – I just need to check what happened."
The race turned on lap 22. Oliver Bearman (Haas) crashed heavily, with a reported 50G impact, and the Safety Car came out. Antonelli, who had not yet stopped, pitted under it and rejoined in the lead. The Safety Car came in on lap 27, and at the restart Antonelli was more than a second clear of Piastri. Russell lost a place to Hamilton. On lap 20 Russell had said on the radio: "I think I'm going to lose a lot of race time extending." Most of the field, including Antonelli, Russell and Hamilton, pitted on lap 22 (Lapchive's pit data).
The sources disagree on the crash. Formula 1 puts Bearman's crash at Turn 13 on lap 22, while Lapchive lists his retirement at lap 20 and the Safety Car from lap 22 to 27. Motorsport Week says the 50G crash happened at Spoon Curve. Haas said there were no fractures, only a right knee contusion.
Penalties and investigations: no time penalties
The FIA documents summarised by Lapchive list no time, drive-through or stop-go penalties. Contact incidents involving Hamilton and Verstappen (between Turns 14 and 15), Alexander Albon and Sergio Pérez (Turn 16), and Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz (Turn 11 exit) all ended with no further action. Formula 1 also reports that Hamilton's lock-up at Turn 16 was looked at for leaving the track to gain an advantage, but it was decided there would be no further investigation. Black-and-white flag warnings went to Hamilton (driving unnecessarily slowly on the pit exit road), Piastri and Franco Colapinto (impeding into Turn 15) and Arvid Lindblad (moving under braking). Lance Stroll stopped with a suspected water pressure problem.
Verstappen was knocked out in Q2, started 11th and climbed to eighth for four points. Ocon finished tenth for his first points of the season. The next round is the Miami Grand Prix on 1–3 May.