2025 Japanese GP – Mercedes. If there is one team confirming itself as the second strongest of this Formula 1 season, it’s Mercedes, which after the Japanese GP is now just 35 points behind McLaren. Still, with today’s race, speaking of the team as a whole may not be entirely fitting, considering how much the talent of the driver made the difference.
That applies not only to Max Verstappen, who won the race in exceptional fashion, but also to Mercedes’ Italian driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, not to mention several drivers further down the field who can be satisfied with how their race turned out.
Today, Kimi Antonelli proved to be stronger than even his teammate George Russell who, while remaining constantly in Leclerc’s slipstream, perhaps managed to bring home Mercedes’ goal (the podium) with an oddly anonymous performance.
Antonelli not only finished the Japanese GP among the standout drivers of the day, but with great satisfaction also broke two historical F1 records that had belonged until now to the reigning world champion. At just 18 years, 7 months and 11 days, Kimi became the youngest driver ever to lead a Formula 1 race.
A record that, as previously mentioned, had belonged to Max Verstappen, who had taken it from Sebastian Vettel at the 2015 Spanish GP at 18 years, 7 months and 15 days.
Antonelli’s moment came on lap 22, taking advantage of pit stops by the drivers ahead. The magic, if we can call it that, lasted ten laps until lap 31, when he pitted to switch from medium to hard tyres. Ten meaningful laps, as ahead of Lewis Hamilton, he managed to improve his time in every sector.
And that’s not all, because in today’s race Antonelli also took another record from the Japanese GP winner. On lap 50, he set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:30.965, becoming the youngest F1 driver to record the fastest lap during a Grand Prix. An impressive pace, enough to open a radio message to the pit wall saying: “Guys, I’m giving it everything.”
2025 Japanese GP, Mercedes – Antonelli: “I gave everything. I’m happy with how the race went and the pace I had”
Interviewed by Sky Sport F1 after the race, he began by sharing his sensations and emotions about having led the Japanese GP, even if only for ten laps. “It was a great feeling,” he said, “but it didn’t take away my focus on maintaining good race pace.”
And regarding race pace, he focused on the final part. He added: “I’m happy with how the race went and especially the pace I had on the hard tyres. In the final stint I was able to push the car much more.”
On Kimi Antonelli’s face was all the satisfaction of having completed a noteworthy race, becoming increasingly at ease with the car. But despite the happiness on his face, his mind was already on next weekend’s race in Bahrain. “I’m figuring out how far I can push the car, especially in qualifying. Next week we’ll be at a track I know very well and we’ll try to have a better qualifying – then we’ll see about the race.”
As for the fastest lap, “surprised” is the word he used to describe his reaction. “Let’s say I was surprised by the pace we had, especially when they told me I was the fastest on track – I was a bit taken aback. I gave it everything, especially because I saw I was catching the cars ahead and I believed in it until the end.”
His words reflect all the simplicity and humility of Kimi Antonelli. In a moment when many would start celebrating, he had already lowered his visor, focused on the next race. A mindset of someone who wants to let his driving speak for itself, working toward his personal goals and perhaps a first career win.
2025 Japanese GP, Mercedes – Russell: “I couldn’t make the difference. It wasn’t about pace, but race conditions”
On the other side of the garage, there was certainly satisfaction in achieving Mercedes’ objective, but also the disappointment of someone who had said after Saturday’s qualifying that he was aiming for the podium.
It was a disappointing result not only in qualifying but also in the race for someone who had so far been seen as McLaren’s main rival. Yes, we could say Suzuka is a tough track for overtaking, or that the car struggles in dirty air. But the truth is he finished the race just one second behind Leclerc, clearly not looking entirely comfortable.
In fact, the British Mercedes driver pointed the finger at Pirelli, claiming they didn’t do a great job with the tyres given the Suzuka asphalt. Speaking to Sky after the Japanese GP, he said: “In the last two weekends, strategy has been far too simple. I think when a track is resurfaced, Pirelli should consider using softer compounds. Today’s hards lasted forever.”
Returning to the sense that he wasn’t quite at ease, he also explained why he couldn’t get past Leclerc, saying: “We were pushing hard, but you just couldn’t overtake. Grip stayed constant, and that killed any chance for strategic play.”
It’s almost strange to hear him speak so “negatively,” so to speak, considering his recent performances in the last two GPs. But it’s clearly a frustrating situation, which showed on his face.
And before heading back to the garage, he concluded by commenting on his race pace: “I don’t think I had the pace to keep up with the top three. I couldn’t make the difference. It wasn’t a matter of pace, but race conditions.”
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