The Kid is Serious.

Right. So. Kimi Antonelli is now the youngest championship leader in the history of Formula 1. Let that sink in for a moment.

He is 19 years old. He has won two of the three races so far. He has taken two pole positions. He is leading the championship. And after Japan, even Max Verstappen — who has won here four times in a row and knows a thing or two about teenage prodigies — admitted: "I'm not surprised. This was definitely coming and it won't be his last one."

Japan itself was a race of two very different stories. Story one: Piastri finally started a race! The McLaren man had a blinder from third on the grid — surged past both Mercedes at the start and led convincingly. He was genuinely going to win this race. He really was.

Then came Story Two: Oliver Bearman had a huge crash at the Spoon hairpin on lap 22. He's fine — walked away from what was described as a 50G impact — but the Safety Car it triggered changed everything. Piastri had already pitted. Russell had already pitted. Leclerc had already pitted. Antonelli had NOT pitted. Antonelli visited the pits under the Safety Car and emerged in P1, from where the youngster executed a smooth restart and built a 13-second gap to Piastri at the flag.

Russell, understandably, was furious on the radio. He'd led, he'd pitted at the right time, he'd done everything right — and got fourth. That's racing, George, though I understand the frustration.

Leclerc took third after a brilliant late battle with Hamilton and Russell — at one point all three were nose-to-tail through Suzuka's fast corners, which was an absolute treat. Hamilton ended up sixth behind Norris, which is his worst result of the season, and Max came eighth despite starting eleventh. Still not the Red Bull of old.

The big picture: Three races in, Mercedes have won all three. But the internal battle between Russell and Antonelli is already more interesting than any championship fight we've had in years. Russell has pace and experience. Antonelli has raw speed and, apparently, remarkable luck with Safety Cars. Miami is next — 1st to 3rd May — and it will be fascinating to see who blinks first.