Andrea Kimi Antonelli makes history again by taking his second consecutive victory at Suzuka..
After his first Formula 1 career win in Shanghai, Andrea Kimi Antonelli repeated his feat, again in Asia, finishing first at the Japanese Grand Prix. At Suzuka, the Italian Mercedes driver took pole position and the win, setting a pace unmatchable for anyone, taking advantage of a virtually perfect second half of the race. This victory, therefore, allows the 2006-born driver to take the lead in the drivers’ standings, a feat no one has ever achieved before.
And there’s more, since, thanks to his success in Japan, Antonelli becomes the first Italian to take two consecutive Formula 1 victories since Alberto Ascari, way back in 1953. A nearly infinite time gap with the then-F1 giant, who triumphed in nine consecutive Grands Prix, putting together a spectacular string of victories. 73 years later, however, an Italian returns to win two GPs in a row, rewriting a story that is only just beginning.
We mentioned it earlier, but thanks to this success, Antonelli becomes the youngest leader of a driver’s championship in 76 years: an incredible record that propels the Italian ace into the Olympus of the greatest (in this particular ranking), beating Lewis Hamilton, who had reached the top of the drivers’ championship at the age of 22, in his first season in F1.
Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
