Having displayed encouraging pace in qualifying to secure P6 on the grid, Andrea Kimi Antonelli managed his tyres brilliantly to finished just a second behind his much more experienced team-mate George Russell.
The Bologna-born driver started on the mediums which has been the standard approach among the first 16 drivers on the grid – bar Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who elected to line up on a set of hards on the grid.
Antonelli elected to extend his first stint, and as his rivals pitted earlier, he wound up leading the race for a handful of laps. He rejoined the track eight seconds behind Russell, but he complately closed in on his British team-mate to finish just a second behind Russell in a race what turned out to be his best F1 round so far.
On his way to P6 in Japan, the 18-year-old Italian set two new records, knocking reigning champion Max Verstappen off the top of the tables for the youngest driver to ever lead a Grand Prix and to set the race fastest lap.
Reflecting on his first ever race in Suzuka, Antonelli said that he enjoyed his car in free air which enabled him to extend his opening stint.
“Today was a good race from my side. I am happy with how it went and the speed we were able to show. Once I got in free air, the pace really improved, and I was able to extend my stint on the Medium tyre. That was a good feeling. Once we switched to the Hard tyre, the car still felt positive.
“I was able to put in some consistent lap times. I was catching the cars ahead but ran out of time in the end to get on the back of them. It was also a nice feeling to lead the race for a few laps and become the youngest driver in F1 history to have done so. The next goal is to do that on the only lap that matters: the final one!
“It has been a good weekend overall. It’s a great track and one that I felt that I was getting on top of by the end of the weekend. Every time I get in the car, I am building my learning and feeling more comfortable with the W16. I am looking forward to heading to Bahrain. Hopefully we can keep improving and begin to fight for some of the positions further forward than we managed today,” concluded Antonelli.
