F1 Results Today: Kimi Antonelli smashes record as George Russell kept off Japanese GP podium

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F1 Results Today: Kimi Antonelli smashes record as George Russell kept off Japanese GP podium

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 29 March 2026 09:07

Kimi Antonelli became the youngest ever leader of the F1 world championship after taking advantage of a convenient safety car to win the Japanese Grand Prix.

For the first time this year though, Antonelli wasn't joined on the podium by team-mate George Russell – instead spraying the champagne with Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc.

The race-changing safety car came out in the middle of the pit stop window on lap 22, allowing Antonelli to jump ahead of his rivals, who had all already pitted.

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That safety car came out after a huge crash for Haas youngster Ollie Bearman, who was caught off guard by the incredibly high closing speeds seen in F1 this season when he came up to Franco Colapinto at Spoon – getting onto the grass to avoid running into the back of the Alpine and sliding into the outside wall at high speed. Despite some apparent lower leg pain when he exited the car, Haas confirmed that subsequent X-rays showed no fractures.

Oscar Piastri had led most of the race before the stops, flying off the line to pass both Mercedes into Turn 1 before, impressively, keeping George Russell at bay and growing himself a gap of almost two seconds.

Restarting from the front with 25 laps to go, Antonelli was able to use the raw pace of the Mercedes to drive away from the pack with ease – while his team-mate, in traffic, actually lost a place at the start and spent the rest of the race in a furious battle with the Ferraris for the final spot on the podium behind Piastri.

Further down the field, Max Verstappen had another miserable afternoon. With nothing like the pace of the race leaders, he spent most of the race fighting the Alpine of Pierre Gasly for seventh place – a battle which he ultimately lost.

There was one other astonishing story toward the back of the field. Just two weeks after retiring at barely half race distance because of the force of vibrations in his Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso crossed the finish line for the first time in 2026, just days after becoming a father for the first time.

The two-time world champion finished 18th, ahead on the track of Alex Albon and Valtteri Bottas and just a lap down on Antonelli.

F1 Results: Japanese Grand Prix 2026

Japanese Grand Prix Race Results
Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	WINNER
2	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+13.722s
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+15.270s
4	George Russell	Mercedes	+15.754s
5	Lando Norris	McLaren	+23.479s
6	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+25.037s
7	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+32.340s
8	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	+32.677s
9	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+50.180s
10	Esteban Ocon	Haas	+51.216s
11	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+52.280s
12	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	+56.154s
13	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+59.078s
14	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+59.848s
15	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+1:05.008s
16	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+1:05.773s
17	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+1:32.453s
18	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+1 Lap
19	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+1 Lap
20	Alex Albon	Williams	+2 Laps
NC	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	DNF
NC	Oliver Bearman	Haas	DNF

Who is the current F1 world champion?

Lando Norris is the reigning F1 champion, and won his first drivers' championship last year.

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

View full biography

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