Andrea Kimi Antonelli became the youngest Formula 1 Championship leader ever at the age of 18 years and 224 days, when he won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, 13 seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri, 15 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc and his Mercedes teammate George Russell. This victory, second in the championship, came two weeks after his maiden win in China, where he also became the first Italian to win a race since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2006, and now leads the championship with 72 points nine points ahead of Russell (63 points).
His victory, however, came at the cost of Oliver Bearman, who suffered a big crash, driving in the grass and losing control of his Godzilla-themed Haas, crashing it with the barrier on lap 22. Bearman left the car limping and was taken to the medical centre, where he was released uninjured.
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The car caused a safety car interruption that drastically changed the race, which up until that point seemed a two-way contest between Russell and Piastri. Because Antonelli had not made a pit stop when the crash happened, unlike Piastri and Russell, he lost less time than others when the safety car appeared.
Antonelli was helped by luck to win the Japanese Grand Prix, and left Russell frustrated, claiming it was "unbelievable" as he finished in fourth place, according to BBC.
FIA reassures that safety is a core element of their mission
Bearman's crash, while thankfully left nobody injured beyond the initial shock, once again opened the debate about the dangers of the new energy regulations in Formula 1.
Hours after the race, FIA released a statement saying that they will "safety will always remain a core element of their mission, and that speculation regarding potential changes would be premature. They did confirm, however, that "a number of meetings are therefore scheduled in April to assess the operation of the new regulations and to determine whether any refinements are required."