19-year-old Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes wins Japanese GP for second straight victory

SUZUKA, Japan (AP) — Italian 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes has won his second consecutive Formula 1 race, taking Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Oscar Piastri of McLaren. Antonelli finished a comfortable 13.7 seconds ahead of the Australian.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was third with George Russell of Mercedes in fourth. McLaren's Lando Norris was fifth with sixth for Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari at the Suzuka circuit in central Japan on a clear, sunny spring afternoon.

Antonelli won the first F1 race of his career two weeks ago in China, the second-youngest winner in history. The youngest was Max Verstappen in 2016 at 18. Antonelli also won from pole position in China.

Antonelli has 72 points from three races and now becomes the youngest to lead the season drivers' standings.

“It's too early to think about the championship, but we’re in a good way,” Antonelli said. “I got a terrible start, I just need to check what happened.

“Definitely, it's been (the starts) a weak point this year and I need to improve that because you can easily win or lose races with that.”

Russell was second in China two weeks ago and won the season-opening race in Australia, which means Mercedes has victories in the first three races of 2026.

In Japan, Antonelli started from pole with Russell alongside him, but neither got a great start with Piastri beating both to the first turn and holding the early lead.

But Antonelli and Mercedes again showed that they have mastered the 2026 car configuration, which features a 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical-battery power.

The cars are also lighter, narrower and shorter than last season, with many drivers complaining about the new regulations, the most radical changes in a decade.

McLaren's Piastri got a great start. Antonelli didn’t and wound up in sixth after the first lap but clawed his way back. He had the lead on the 22nd lap when Hass driver Oliver Bearman lost control and hit a tire barrier, triggering the safety car.

Bearman limped out of the car but was reported later to be in good shape by medical officials.

Antonelli said he got a bit “lucky” with the deployment of the safety car.

“I don’t know what would have happened, what the outcome would have been without the safely car,” Antonelli said. “But that definitely made life a lot easier.”

Piastri also wondered what might have been, but acknowledged Mercedes probably had too much pace.

“It’s a shame we never got to see what would have happened, but for us at this point to be disappointed about finishing second — is a pretty good place to be.”

Piastri did not even start the season's first two races. He crashed on a warm-up lap prior to his home race in Australia, and both McLaren cars failed to start in China due to electrical faults.

“I think this weekend we just did a really good job of optimizing what we had,” Piastri said. "We just nailed everything. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough for the win. But at the moment a result like today is as good as a win.”

Hamilton went all last season without a podium driving for Ferrari, but managed third place in China. He was close to another podium in Japan, showing the Ferrari is much more competitive.

“I've not lost what I had,” Hamilton said this week in Japan.

Formula 1 now takes a five-week break with races scheduled for April in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia called off because of the war in Iran. The next race is May 3 in Miami.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy reacts on the podium after winning the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at Suzuka in central Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia, second left, leads the field at the start of the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at Suzuka in central Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia steers his car during the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at Suzuka in central Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy reacts after winning the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at Suzuka in central Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy waves after winning the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at Suzuka in central Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car during the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at Suzuka in central Japan, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the second practice session of the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix in Suzuka, Japan, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car during the qualifying session of the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix in Suzuka, Japan, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy, left, and Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, right, walk together prior to the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Suzuka, central Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy, walks at th paddock prior to the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Suzuka, central Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy, left, and Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, right, greet each other prior to the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Suzuka, central Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV celebrated Palm Sunday before tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square, as he opened his first Holy Week as pontiff that for many people recalled the final, suffering days of Pope Francis’ life.

The celebration began with a procession of cardinals, bishops, priests and laypeople walking into the square carrying olive branches and palm fronds, some intricately braided. They stopped at the central obelisk, where Leo delivered an opening prayer, and then processed toward the altar to begin the Mass.

Palm Sunday marks Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians observe on Good Friday, and resurrection on Easter Sunday.

When Holy Week opened last year, Francis was still recovering at the Vatican after a five-week hospital stay for double pneumonia. He had delegated the liturgical celebrations to others, but rallied on Easter Sunday to greet the faithful from the loggia of St. Peter’s Square. Most poignantly, he then made what became his final popemobile loop around the piazza.

Francis died the following morning, Easter Monday, after suffering a stroke. His nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, later told Vatican Media that Francis had told him: “Thank you for bringing me back to the square” for the final salute.

Leo is due to preside over this week’s liturgical appointments and is returning to tradition with the Holy Thursday feet-wash ceremony that commemorates Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples.

During his 12-year pontificate, Francis famously celebrated the Holy Thursday ritual by travelling to Rome-area prisons and refugee centers to wash the feet of people most on society’s margins. His aim was to drive home the ritual’s message of service and humility, and he would frequently muse during his Holy Thursday homilies “Why them and not me?”

Francis’ gesture had been praised as a tangible evidence of his belief that the church must go to the peripheries to find those most in need of God’s love and mercy. But some critics bristled at the annual outings, especially since Francis would also wash the feet of Muslims and people of other faiths.

Leo, history’s first U.S.-born pope, is returning the Holy Thursday foot-wash tradition to the basilica of St. John Lateran, where popes performed it for decades. The Vatican hasn’t yet said who will participate, though Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II normally washed the feet of 12 priests.

On Friday, Leo is due to preside over the Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum commemorating Christ’s Passion and crucifixion. Saturday brings the late night Easter Vigil, during which Leo will baptize new Catholics, followed a few hours later by Easter Sunday when Christians commemorate the resurrection of Jesus.

Leo will celebrate Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square and then deliver his Easter blessing from the loggia of the basilica.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Leo XIV presides over Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on the Catholic feast of Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV presides over Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on the Catholic feast of Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV presides over Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on the Catholic feast of Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV presides over Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on the Catholic feast of Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV presides over Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on the Catholic feast of Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)