Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli won his second consecutive race, taking the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka by 13.722 seconds over McLaren's Oscar Piastri. Charles Leclerc made the podium for Ferrari. It's early, three races into the championship, but Antonelli, at 19, is the youngest racer to ever lead the F1 drivers championship.
Antonelli benefitted from a safety car, after Haas' Ollie Bearman had a violent crash, allowing Antonelli him to pit freely, in essence.
What's become evident is that it's a six car race every week. Mercedes has the most stable and efficient power unit, with Ferrari not far behind. That's it. It's a combination of those six cars. P4 through P6 in Japan were George Russell (Mercedes), Lando Norris (McLaren) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari). Pierre Gasly took P7 for Alpine, but they're using the Mercedes power unit this year. Max Vestappen was P8 and Liam Lawson P9, giving Red Bull and its development team Racing Bulls points, but it's clear they aren't nearly as fast as the top three constructors. Esteban Ocon got a point in P10 for Haas, which uses the Ferrari power unit.
Teams are now off for one month, after the suspension of races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, so there are opportunities to review, test and install upgrades to the cars well before what was planned. Let's see who can perhaps close the gap on Mercedes, which is unbeatable in clear air. The gap with Ferrari isn't that much. If it's going to be six cars at the top every race, fine — as long as it's close and makes for good racing.
THE ASYLUM
F1: Antonelli again
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli won his second consecutive race, taking the Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka by 13.722 seconds over McLaren's Oscar Piastri. Charles Leclerc made the podium for Ferrari. It's early, three races into the championship, but Antonelli, at 19, is the youngest racer to ever lead the F1 drivers championship.
Antonelli benefitted from a safety car, after Haas' Ollie Bearman had a violent crash, allowing Antonelli him to pit freely, in essence.
What's become evident is that it's a six car race every week. Mercedes has the most stable and efficient power unit, with Ferrari not far behind. That's it. It's a combination of those six cars. P4 through P6 in Japan were George Russell (Mercedes), Lando Norris (McLaren) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari). Pierre Gasly took P7 for Alpine, but they're using the Mercedes power unit this year. Max Vestappen was P8 and Liam Lawson P9, giving Red Bull and its development team Racing Bulls points, but it's clear they aren't nearly as fast as the top three constructors. Esteban Ocon got a point in P10 for Haas, which uses the Ferrari power unit.
Teams are now off for one month, after the suspension of races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, so there are opportunities to review, test and install upgrades to the cars well before what was planned. Let's see who can perhaps close the gap on Mercedes, which is unbeatable in clear air. The gap with Ferrari isn't that much. If it's going to be six cars at the top every race, fine — as long as it's close and makes for good racing.
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