Australian superstar Oscar Piastri has been denied victory in the Japanese Grand Prix after a safety car ruined his chances and helped Kimi Antonelli secure the chequered flag.
Piastri, who’s had a torrid time to start 2026 in his McLaren, had not got to the starting grid in Melbourne and Shanghai but burst out of the blocks for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
He made dream start to jump into first place ahead of pole sitter Kimi Antonelli and his Mercedes teammate George Russell.
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After a tussle with Melbourne GP winner Russell on lap nine, which he survived, Piastri went from leader to sixth after a pit stop on lap 19.
He was the first of the leading bunch to pit, but then a safety car came out when Ollie Bearman crashed into the barrier at high speeds.
Nearly every driver who hadn’t yet pitted quickly went in under the safety car with Antonelli emerging in front once the safety car cleared off.
The 19-year-old then held on to secure his second victory after the season after also winning in Shanghai.
Piastri took second place in a brilliant performance considering it was the first time he had actually started a race this season.
“It would have been really interesting to see what would have happened without that (safety car),” Piastri said.
“I could keep George behind and just before the stops we were actually pulling away a little bit. So a shame we never got to see what would have happened. But I think for us to be disappointed about finishing second is a really good place to be.”
“Massive thanks to the team. We did a good job executing what we had. We clearly still need to find a bit of performance, but we took every opportunity we had today.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was third with Russell fourth. McLaren’s Lando Norris was fifth and sixth went to Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari in central Japan on a clear, sunny spring afternoon.
Antonelli won the first F1 race of his career two weeks ago in China, the second-youngest winner in history. The youngest was Max Verstappen in 2016 at only 18.
Russell was second in China a fortnight ago and won the season-opening race at Albert Park, which means Mercedes have victories in the first three races of 2026.
Antonelli now leads the season standings with 72 points.
Formula 1 now takes a five-week break with races for April in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia called off because of the war in Iran. The next race is May 3 in Miami.
Antonelli’s and Mercedes again showed they are best at mastering the new car configuration for 2026, which features a 50-50 split between internal combustion power and electrical battery power.
The cars are also lighter, narrower and shorter than last season with many drivers complaining about the most radical changes in a decade.
– With AAP
