Italian 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes has won his second consecutive Formula 1 race, taking Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Oscar Piastri of McLaren. Antonelli finished a comfortable 13.7 seconds ahead of the Australian. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was third with George Russell of Mercedes in fourth. McLaren's Lando Norris was fifth with sixth for Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari at the Suzuka circuit 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. The young Italian also won from pole-position in China, the youngest to ever claim that spot. Antonelli has 72 points in three races and now becomes the youngest to ever lead the season drivers' standings. “It's too early to think about the championship but we're in a good way,” Antonelli said. “I got a terrible start, I just need to check what happened.” “Definitely it's been (the starts) a weak point this year and I need to improve that because you can easily win or lose races with that,” Antonelli added. Mercedes continue to dominateRussell was second in China two weeks ago and won the season-opening race in Australia, which means Mercedes has victories in the first three races of 2026 — and Antonelli has two of them. Antonelli started from the pole with Russell alongside, but neither got a great start with Piastri beating both to the first turn and holding the early lead. 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.