Kimi Antonelli took victory at Suzuka despite a nightmare start. The Mercedes driver started from the front, but was so slow off the line when the red lights went out that he was passed by five cars straight away and was only sixth after the first lap.
But a quick pit stop to change tyres while the rest of the field was forced to slow down after a crash on lap 22 saw the Italian regain the lead. And the Mercedes driver maintained his lead to win.
"It was a terrible start, then I was lucky with the safety car coming out. But we were incredibly fast. I'm very happy with the car," he said in the post-race interview.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri came second at Suzuka, 13.7 seconds behind Antonelli.
It was Antonelli's second consecutive victory after taking his first career win in China two weeks ago. The 19-year-old now becomes the youngest ever to lead the Formula 1 World Championship.
Mercedes has won all three races of the season so far, and Antonelli leads the standings by nine points over teammate George Russell.
Briton Arvid Lindblad, who has a Swedish father, finished in 14th place in his Racing Bulls car.
Now an involuntary break of five weeks awaits. The semi-finals in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia on April 12 and 19 respectively have been cancelled due to the war in the Middle East. The next competition will instead be in Miami, USA, on May 3.
