Aussie Oscar Piastri starts in third with Mercedes teen prodigy on pole again
Much of the focus at Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix will be on Mercedes’ 19-year-old driver Kimi Antonelli, who took pole position, and Ferrari’s 41-year-old Lewis Hamilton, the most decorated racer in Formula 1 history.
Antonelli won the first F1 race of his career in China two weeks ago, becoming the second youngest race winner in history. The youngest name was Max Verstappen, who was only 18 years old in 2016. The young Italian also became the youngest person to win pole position in China.
It was a rare sighting on Sunday when Hamilton and Antonelli were seen walking together to the paddock area at the Suzuka circuit in central Japan. They know each of them from Hamilton’s days at Mercedes.
Consider this. Antonelli was just 9.5 months old when Hamilton won his first Formula 1 race in Canada in 2007. Of course, this points to the change of generations in sports.
Hamilton tops the F1 record books in almost every category: most races won (105), most pole positions (104) and most podiums (207). And British drivers are tied with Michael Schumacher for the most world championship wins (7).
