It could have been worse for George Russell at the Japanese Grand Prix. He might have been his compatriot Ollie Bearman, who spun off at 191mph, yet somehow escaped with only a bruised knee.
But, still, Mercedes’ No 1 was toppled as world championship leader by his insurgent Italian team-mate, the frizzy-haired 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli whose speed threatens the Briton’s assumed status as title favourite.
It was an unlucky and patchy afternoon for Russell as Bearman’s accident brought out the untimely safety car that wrecked any chance of victory. He finished fourth – a result that put him nine points behind Antonelli.
Mercedes increasingly have an internal battle to contend with, though one not yet matured by the twists and turns of the season.
Antonelli, who is supremely quick, has been prone to errors in the early part of his career. But, at the start of his second season in the top echelon, he is displaying a confidence and reliability that has transformed him from an able No 2 into a nascent contender.
At 19 years and 216 days he is the youngest championship leader in history, the only teenager to hold the distinction. This was not written in the script George would have commissioned for himself.
Kimi Antonelli became the youngest world championship leader in history as he won the Japanese Grand Prix, his second race in a row
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri came second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished in third place
Russell curses his luck
Antonelli’s victory had not looked likely when he made a gloopy start from pole. With wheelspin, he fell down to sixth.
Russell, starting second, executed a brisker getaway but he was still passed by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Antonelli was running third by lap 22, the moment of Bearman’s shunt at Spoon Curve.
Russell, who was then behind only Piastri, had just pitted, moving him down the pack. Antonelli had not yet stopped and used the hiatus to take a free reshodding. He was leading at this stage and returned in front, a position he never surrendered.
His more senior team-mate Russell was fuming: ‘It’s unbelievable,’ he yowled. ‘Wow. F***, our luck these last two races.’
Team principal Toto Wolff responded: ‘See what you can do from here. Yeah, super unlucky.’
These were references to mechanical problems that hampered Russell in qualifying in Shanghai a fortnight ago, condemning him to finish second there behind Antonelli – just the result Russell did not want.
Russell fell back to fifth before passing Lewis Hamilton on lap 42. He then duelled with Charles Leclerc, passing the Ferrari man at the end of lap 50 before being repassed – a leitmotif of the whole fare with these new half battery-powered cars contributing to yo-yo racing. Zoom by one moment, be zoomed by the next. The cursed regulations, my purist friends!
Piastri, also hampered by the safety car, clung on for second place, 13.7sec back, representing a very decent revival by McLaren in the first race the Australian had started, having crashed on his way to the start in Melbourne and being undone by a technical gremlin in China.
Leclerc was third, defending champion Lando Norris a place behind Russell in fifth and Hamilton sixth.
George Russell endured a frustrating afternoon and Mercedes have an internal battle to contend with
No need to panic, says George
Russell had hoped to keep his foot on Antonelli’s larynx in this early part of the season. A succession of wins could have asphyxiated Kimi’s confidence. But it has not turned out that way.
Instead, Antonelli became the first Italian to win consecutive races since Alberto Ascari, the Milanese who lit the bonfire of motor racing in his country after the Second World War.
Russell was not exactly demoralised when he spoke afterwards but clearly a little punch drunk, his knees bending in annoyance as he spoke.
‘I had issues one after one another,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t recharge my battery at the safety car restart, so Lewis flew by me. And then I had another issue with the battery, and I had no speed and Charles passed me. So, it is one thing after the other.’
Of the safety car’s timing, he lamented: ‘That is pure luck. If it had come out one lap later, I would have won the race. Racing can go for you, and it can also go against you but over the last two weekends, I am the one going through that pain.’
Antonelli’s win was helped by the fact a safety car was deployed after Ollie Bearman’s crash
Momentum shift at Mercedes?
Why is the tide running against Russell?
‘Just how it has turned out,’ he replied. ‘I have not had a single issue in practice this season, but in qualifying instead.
‘It is the luck of the draw with these new cars, but it is race three of 22 and I am not concerned at all. It is a long year. I know I have got what it takes to bounce back and not to dwell on it.’
Is there a danger of momentum shifting towards Antonelli? ‘No, not at all,’ he argued defiantly. ‘It is just three races down.
His crash had a 50G impact but Bearman suffered no fractures and later returned to the garage
‘One lap different today (avoiding the safety car ambush) and the victory would have been on my side. I am confident about that. And in China I had been three-tenths quicker in sprint qualifying, so maybe I could have been on pole (for the grand prix without breaking down) and won. It is just how it turns out.
‘We have a four-week gap before the next race in Miami so there is no momentum to be carried over. We will reset.’
Max has smile back on his face
Small mercies for Max Verstappen. He started a terrible 11th, questioning whether he wanted to stay in the sport, brassed off by these gimmicky, Netflix-serving regulations. But the marginal gain of finishing eighth gave the Dutchman some consolation and he was spry afterwards as he spoke in the media pen.
‘I get worn down as certain days go on,’ he said, smiling. ‘But I go again the next morning.’
