Mercedes F1 driver Kimi Antonelli was pretty satisfied with his 2025 F1 Japanese GP result. In fact, the young Italian driver ended his third ever Formula 1 race in P6, even signing the fastest race lap of the event. Antonelli showcased a rather strong pace, and even became the youngest driver to ever lead a Grand Prix.
A good day at the office
His brief stint in P1, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, the driver he has replaced at Mercedes, happened because of his more prolonged run on the medium tyres, which he managed to make last for 32 laps and displayed great pace in the second part of that stint as well.
Thus, Antonelli was extremely upbeat as he spoke in the print media zone after the end of the 2025 F1 Japanese GP, especially comparing his performance of the day to the P8 he had achieved in the previous round.
“I’m much, much happier with today, much better than China. I was really happy about the pace. Finally, we showed some good pace and consistency, especially on the hard.”
The second part of the Italian driver’s race, which he carried out on the harder compound, allowed him to have an even faster race pace, and it saw him close the gap to his teammate George Russell.
He also was able to quickly develop a 7-second gap to Hamilton in P7, in spite of the fact that his pit stop had been a rather slow one. While on the hards, he had also signed the fastest lap of the day in 1:30.965s, becoming the youngest driver to set one during the Formula 1. It’s a lap record at Suzuka, too.
“On the medium, the first 15 laps were a little bit of a struggle. But then, once I got in free air, the pace improved quite a lot. And then, once I went to the hard, it was another step forward. So I’m really happy with that.”
A sudden change in strategy
Stopping that late hadn’t been in the cards for the young Mercedes talent. However, while monitoring the conditions and his lap-by-lap tyre degradation, the team and the Italian were both impressed with the consistent performance of the tyre, and decided to extend. This turned out to be the best strategical call.
Antonelli became the youngest driver to lead a Grand Prix in the process.
“I have to tell you the plan was different, it was to stop earlier. But, as the pace was improving lap by lap and [it was] consistent, we decided to stay out, because we had no threat from behind. We just tried something different.
“And I’m not going to lie, at one point, on medium, it started drizzling. So, I was really hoping for some rain, but unfortunately it didn’t come. At the same time, I cannot complain, because today was a really good experience.”
Antonelli looking for a consistent performance throughout the weekend after F1 Japanese GP practice struggles
The former Prema driver was also pleased with the fact that he had finally capitalized on qualifying after a couple of tougher sessions. While he had ended the inaugural round in Australia just outside of the podium position, he hadn’t made the cut for Q2 and started from P16.
He was over a second off Mercedes F1 teammate George Russell in final practice at Suzuka, but the 18-year-old produced a stunning turnaround to qualify P6, and then produce a storming drive today.
“Qualifying was a big click. Because, definitely, I was able to feel more the car and push it more already in qualifying. Today was another step forward. I’m really looking forward to exploring even more in the next few weekends.
“Because, now, I have the feeling that I can again play with the car, something that I couldn’t really do in the previous two weekends. Just because I was a bit more tense while driving.
“But now, of course, I’m getting more experience with the tyres and the car itself. So, I’m able to feel it more as well. So, definitely a good boost of confidence over the next weekend.”
What’s next?
Next round will be in Bahrain, one of the few tracks where Antonelli has already driven his Mercedes Formula 1 challenger, as well as previous experience in F2. For the added experience he has, the youngster is even more excited for the event to come, as he believes that it will allow him to achieve a better result.
“Well, definitely, I will go into the weekend with a different kind of confidence because I know the track already. We’ve done testing. So I will be more comfortable with the car and the track. Of course, the conditions will be much different than testing because it’s going to be much, much hotter.”
Kimi Antonelli also had kind words for his more experienced Mercedes teammate, George Russell, and the strong performance the Brit has delivered in the 2025 F1 season so far.
“So, another good learning. But, also, I feel quite lucky to have someone like George [Russell] because he’s really been pushing me to do even better. So, definitely, really looking forward to see what we can do next weekend.”
