The Idiots of F1 crew returned for Suzuka with one key upgrade: Digby back in the seat. That said, Tay mysteriously disappeared and the real question has since been posed — are they the same person?
If you didn't watch Suzuka, here's the short version: a teenager just took control of Formula 1, a 50G crash nearly exposed a serious flaw in the sport, Max Verstappen is questioning his future, and somewhere in Europe there are 12 tonnes of stolen KitKats on the loose. Standard F1 weekend.
Kimi Antonelli is now officially a problem. The 19-year-old won again. Back-to-back. Championship leader. Still not old enough to legally celebrate it. He botched the start, dropped to P6, then calmly worked his way back before a perfectly timed safety car handed him the lead. From there, it was clinical. Clean air, no mistakes, gone. Meanwhile George Russell did everything right… and still lost. One lap either side of that safety car and he probably wins. Instead, he's left explaining why he's "unlucky" while his teenage teammate quietly takes over the team.
Oscar Piastri also deserves a serious mention because he probably should've won this race. Led from the front, controlled the pace, held off Russell, and only lost out to timing. Not pace. Not execution. Just timing. McLaren went from "can't even start the car" two weeks ago to "we might be the fastest team here." Ferrari? Solid but strange. Leclerc delivered again. Hamilton didn't. Same car, different speed, and even Lewis admitted he has no idea why. That's not a small problem.
Then came the moment that might define the season. Lap 22. Ollie Bearman nearly goes into the wall at 300km/h after a massive speed differential caused by energy deployment. 50G impact. Walked away. Barely. Drivers have been warning about this exact scenario all year. Suddenly it's not theoretical. It's real. And it happened on the same weekend F1 was literally promoting Mario Kart-style "boost" mechanics with a Super Mario activation in the paddock. You couldn't write worse timing if you tried.
Off-track, it somehow got even weirder. Verstappen spent the race stuck behind Pierre Gasly, then hinted he might walk away from F1 altogether. He also ejected a journalist from a press session mid-interview. Mercedes look suspiciously prepared for the new regulations after a quiet stint dominating Formula E. And yes, genuinely, a truck carrying 12 tonnes of F1-branded KitKats was stolen somewhere between Italy and Poland and has completely vanished. Traceable. Unsellable. Gone.
So where does that leave us? Three races in and nothing feels settled. Mercedes are winning, but not comfortably. McLaren are back. Ferrari are inconsistent. Red Bull are nowhere. The regulations are under fire. And the best driver on the grid might be deciding whether he even wants to keep doing this.
If you only have one takeaway from Suzuka, it's this: the season didn't just move forward this weekend. It shifted.