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At the tender age of 18 years and 224 days, Antonelli’s quickest lap timing of a minute and 30.965 seconds on raceday in Japan put him past Max Verstappen’s record of setting the fastest lap at the Brazilian GP back in 2016 aged 19 years and 44 days.
Andrea Antonelli. (X)
Mercedes rookie, Andrea Antonelli, who finished sixth in the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, impressed onlookers en route to checking off a couple of landmarks as he became the youngest driver to set the fastest lap at a race and also the youngest to lead a race as he remained a frontrunner for 10 laps in Suzuka.
At the tender age of 18 years and 224 days, Antonelli’s lap timing of a minute and 30.965 seconds on raceday in Japan put him past Max Verstappen’s record of setting the fastest lap at the Brazilian GP back in 2016 aged 19 years and 44 days.
The young Italian, who was brought in by Mercedes to replace the legendary Lewis Hamilton following the Brit’s switch to Ferrari this year, put his struggles on Friday and Saturday behind him to produce a brilliant showing on the day of the race.
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“It was not bad. What I’m most happy about today is the confidence I had in the car and the confidence to push, which I didn’t have on Friday and the start of Saturday,” Antonelli said.
“It was quite surprising to get fastest lap but definitely the feeling I had in the car is the most important,” the teen said.
“I was able to explore the limit and to push and to play with the car as well,” he continued.
“It’s good learning and good experience for next time,” the Italian added.
Antonelli opined that he would take the performance at Suzuka as a motivator in pursuit of his first race win.
“It was a nice feeling to lead the race for a few laps and become the youngest driver in F1 history to have done so,” he said.
“The next goal is to do that on the only lap that matters: the final one,” the 18-year-old added.
“Every time I get in the car, I am building my learning and feeling more comfortable,” he stated.
“Hopefully we can keep improving and begin to fight for some of the positions further forward than we managed today,” Antonelli signed off.
Verstappen picked up his first race win of the year as he led fom pole to the chequered flag for his fourth straight title in Suzuka in a dominant showing as he hed off McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who followed the Dutchman to the finish line.