Mercedes eyes Suzuka hat-trick

Formula One leaders Mercedes go into Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix chasing a season-opening hat-trick of one-two wins, with Kimi Antonelli fired up after a maiden victory and George Russell seeking to cement his status as title favourite. The pair have won one ‌Sunday race each but Russell, winner of the season-opener in Australia and the Saturday sprint in China, leads his Chinese Grand Prix-winning teammate by four points. Mercedes last kicked off with a hat-trick of wins in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic-hit season in which Austria's Red Bull Ring hosted the first two races. The last time they started with three one-two finishes was in 2019. Having made a similarly dominant start to the sport's new era this season, including locking out the front row in every qualifying session, they could tick off both milestones on Sunday. "We have made a positive start to the season ⁠but it is only that," said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. "We know that the moment you think you've got this sport figured out, you are usually proven wrong." Hamilton has a record 105 career ⁠victories from 382 starts. Verstappen has won 71 grands prix and is third on the all-time list after Schumacher on 91. Mercedes last won the first three races of a season in 2020. They last won ⁠the first three with one-two finishes in 2019. Ferrari chasing win since 2004 Despite Wolff's caution, either Russell or Antonelli should be celebrating a first win at Suzuka, a 5.8-km figure-of-eight layout widely hailed as a drivers' track that hosts the 40th running of the Japanese round. Ferrari, who last won at Suzuka with Michael Schumacher in 2004 and have been second-best to Mercedes in the opening two races, will hope to rise to the challenge. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, thanks to their fast starts and intra-team duels, have served up plenty of wheel-to-wheel entertainment. Seven-time world champion Hamilton, in particular, has shown plenty of fight and ended his podium drought in China with a third-place finish. A four-time Suzuka winner, the Briton will be hoping that run continues. Circuit owners Honda will be hoping for a happier homecoming as power unit suppliers to Aston Martin after ‌a ⁠dismal start to their year. Neither Fernando Alonso nor Lance Stroll have finished the opening two races, with vibrations from the Japanese manufacturer's power unit severely limiting running. Just getting to the chequered flag would be big progress for the Japanese manufacturer that powered Max Verstappen to four successive wins on the circuit from 2022 to 2025 when they were partners to Red Bull.