F1 Japan Gran Prix - don't read if you haven't watched

[WillyDaP]

I have to admit to being a fan from the beginning of Kimi Antonelli as my rheumy old racing eyes saw flashes of brilliance from him day one. I will predict we will see another special carbon based life form in Formula 1 similar to the dominance of Max or Lewis as they vaulted forward in their early years of racing in the World's Premier Racing Series. It is hard to believe is has been since 1953 that an Italian Race Driver ( Albert Ascari ) nailed two back to back races and one has to wonder if Kimi 2.0 will be in a Mercedes for years to come. Mr. Hamilton is likely to retire in a few years and will the Tifosi sit around calmly eating spaghetti or will the clamor of church bells ringing throughout the boot of Europe be so constant from his wins that his move becomes a foregone conclusion. I hope he stays with Mercedes for awhile and I am excited to see another Star coming forward in the Circus of Formula 1. There is a strong group of very talented pilots in the top 10 and I am more excited about the coming years than at any time in the past decades. The change in the cars has made things exciting and the potential for the teams to trade places having the strongest car looks like it could vary with time or with track configuration. 2026 is going to be a banner year imho!

PS- Mr. Antonelli is already the youngest driver ever to lead the Championship!

[RDMcG]

He is very talented and was spotted very early by Toto Wolff; Hugely impressive performance at this stage of his career. I think the unexpected break for the next month with the cancelations of the next two races will give some of the teams a chanced to rebalance and possibly start to equal the performance of the Mercedes, but nice to see some new faces.

I am also interested to see Max in the Nürburgring 24 hour race if that happens. Good times!

Incidentally there was a a spectacular Porsche crash in the support race in Japan ( no injuries)....https://x.com/jmthompson95/status/2038120761882485084

[996C438]

If Mercedes can figure out their launch difficulties they will be very tough to beat . It was nice to see McLaren competitive . Ferrari need to find some pace . Red Bull needs to find pace and downforce . Williams cars are pigs , just too much weight . It will be interesting to see who makes the best upgrades during the 1 month off because of the cancelled races .