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Motorsport

What international media are saying about Kimi Antonelli’s Japan victory

Kimi Antonelli Andrea Kimi Antonelli George Russell Japan Mercedes Charles Leclerc Oscar Piastri BILD Marca (Organization) Lewis Hamilton

The 19-year-old Italian claimed his second consecutive grand prix win at Suzuka, took over the championship lead and, according to global media, immediately wrote a new chapter in F1 history. Coverage also highlighted the role of the safety car, a strong race from Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc’s recovery drive, and frustration for George Russell.

Gazzetta dello Sport: “A bit lucky, but above all brilliant”

La Gazzetta dello Sport pulls out all the stops and sums it up in one exclamation: "Kimissimo!" The Italian newspaper describes it as "the magical moment of Kimi Antonelli" and above all emphasises that Italy once again has a championship leader in the pinnacle of motorsport. According to the paper, that is made even more remarkable by the fact he is "only 19 years old" and "rewriting some of the many records this young man can still rewrite."

La Gazzetta is full of praise, but not blind. The newspaper calls Antonelli "very good, a little lucky, but above all the championship leader". In doing so, it acknowledges that the safety car played into his hands. Still, the outlet is particularly impressed by what followed: from the restart onwards, Antonelli was "churning out fast laps one after another", leaving Piastri to watch "through binoculars".

George Russell verloor niet alleen het podium, maar ook de WK-leiding. (Foto door: Artur Widak / NurPhoto via Getty Images)

La Gazzetta dello Sport also points to the wider implications. Russell lost not only the podium but also the championship lead. Ferrari earns praise for Leclerc’s response, with the Monegasque taking third place "like a lion", while Pierre Gasly is commended for finishing seventh. The verdict on Max Verstappen is more severe: he came home in eighth, with Red Bull delivering "the bare minimum" in the current circumstances.

BBC: "Luck helped him into the lead, pace was incredible"

The BBC places the emphasis on the historic nature of Antonelli’s afternoon in Suzuka. The British outlet writes that he became "the youngest championship leader ever" and calls him "the first teenager to lead the F1 championship". At the same time, it puts his victory into context: the safety car clearly worked in his favour.

According to the BBC, Antonelli was "helped to victory" by the neutralisation following Oliver Bearman’s heavy crash. It allowed the Mercedes driver to make his pitstop with significantly less time loss than his rivals. Still, the broadcaster remains nuanced, noting that Mercedes believed Antonelli would have had a chance to rejoin at the front even without the safety car.

De BBC ziet daarnaast een andere grote lijn in de race: een McLaren die weer meedoet. Piastri had volgens het medium zonder safety car misschien zelfs kunnen winnen. (Foto door: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images)

L’Équipe: "Completely botched his start, safety car the key moment"

L’Équipe opts for a historical angle and immediately presents Antonelli as a record-breaker. The French newspaper writes that he is now "the youngest multiple grand prix winner and youngest championship leader", at the age of 19 years and 7 months.

At the same time, L’Équipe stresses that his race was far from straightforward at the start. Antonelli "completely botched his start" and dropped back to sixth place in the opening phase. That is precisely why the paper finds the outcome so remarkable: what ultimately looks like a dominant result was, in reality, not inevitable at all.

Like other media, the French outlet points to the safety car intervention as the key moment. George Russell was "trapped" after pitting under green-flag conditions, while Antonelli – along with Lewis Hamilton and others – was able to benefit from a "free stop". From that point on, the Italian pulled away unchallenged. L’Équipe also notes that Pierre Gasly delivered a strong race in seventh, having kept Max Verstappen behind him.

De Duitse krant opent met: "Horrorcrash zorgt voor Mercedes-zege" en ziet Antonelli's overwinning als een combinatie van pech in de openingsfase en geluk op het juiste moment. (Foto door: Kym Illman / Getty Images)

Bild: "Horror crash leads to Mercedes victory"

Bild casts the story in dramatic terms and directly links the Mercedes win to the race’s turning point. The German newspaper leads with "Horror crash leads to Mercedes victory" and sees Antonelli’s triumph as a combination of misfortune in the opening phase and luck at the right moment.

According to Bild, the race initially began as a nightmare for the Italian. Starting from pole position, he made a "completely botched start", with wheelspin dropping him from first to sixth within seconds. Antonelli himself admitted afterwards: "I had a terrible race start, we need to look at what went wrong. Maybe I need to practise my starts a bit more."

The key moment, Bild writes, came shortly after George Russell’s pitstop, when Oliver Bearman crashed heavily and brought out the safety car. The paper describes how Bearman hit the barriers with 50G, allowing Antonelli and Hamilton to pit at exactly the right time. "Suddenly, the Italian was back in the lead”, Bild writes, neatly summing up the turnaround.

From that point on, the outlet saw no doubt about the winner. Antonelli "made no more mistakes", immediately pulled a gap after the restart and left the competition with no chance. Bild also notes that Russell dropped further back, first behind Hamilton and later behind Leclerc. Ultimately, the newspaper highlights the historic outcome: Antonelli secured his second win of the season and is now, with a nine-point lead over Russell, "younger than any driver ever before" to lead the championship.

Marca: "The best thing that could happen to the championship"

Spanish newspaper Marca sees Japan primarily as confirmation of a new phenomenon: Andrea Kimi Antonelli. "Antonelli tiene ángel y liderato" ("Antonelli has the magic and the lead"), headlines the outlet, pointing to the combination of talent and fortune that brought the young Italian his second consecutive victory.

Marca notes that a safety car played into his hands, but does so without taking anything away from his performance: once in the lead, "he never let it go". The paper also underlines the historical dimension, stating that Antonelli is the youngest championship leader ever and the first Italian to top the standings since 2005.

De strijd tussen McLaren, Ferrari en Mercedes stemt Marca hoopvol: "Dit is het beste wat het kampioenschap kan overkomen." (Foto door: Clive Rose / Formula 1 via Getty Images)

At the same time, Marca sees a broader trend emerging in the sport. The battle between McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes is seen as encouraging: "This is the best thing that could happen to the championship." According to the newspaper, Oscar Piastri might have won without the neutralisation, while Charles Leclerc is praised for his current form – "on another level" compared to his team-mate. The conclusion is clear: multiple teams and six cars appear capable of winning races this season, breathing new life into the championship.

Conclusion

The international media are strikingly aligned on the core storyline from Suzuka. Antonelli benefited from the timing of the safety car, but no outlet dismisses his victory as mere fortune. On the contrary, it is precisely the combination of a poor start, smart race execution, strong pace in the second half of the race and his new position as championship leader that makes this win so significant in the eyes of the press.

Where the BBC mainly highlights the context and strategic turning point, L’Équipe focuses on the historical significance, while La Gazzetta dello Sport sees the rise of a new Italian phenomenon. Together, those reactions paint the same picture: Suzuka was not just Antonelli’s second consecutive win, but above all his true breakthrough as a title contender.