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Third round of the 2026 F1 season

2026 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 3 of 22 in the 2026 Formula One World Championship
← Previous raceNext race →
Layout of the Suzuka International Racing Course
Layout of the Suzuka International Racing Course
Race details[1]
Date 29 March 2026
Official name Formula 1 Aramco Japanese Grand Prix 2026
Location Suzuka International Racing Course
Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.807 km (3.608 miles)
Distance 53 laps, 307.471 km (191.054 miles)
Weather Cloudy
Attendance 315,000
Pole position
Driver
Mercedes
Time 1:28.778
Fastest lap
Driver Italy Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
Time 1:32.432 on lap 49
Podium
First
Mercedes
Second
McLaren-Mercedes
Third
Ferrari
Lap leaders
Motor car race

The 2026 Japanese Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula One Aramco Japanese Grand Prix 2026) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 29 March 2026 at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka, Japan. It was the third round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship. Kimi Antonelli converted the pole position to a win for Mercedes, ahead of Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari). Antonelli took the lead of the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career, becoming the youngest World Drivers' Championship leader at 19 years and 216 days. Doing this, he also became Italy's first Drivers' Championship leader since Giancarlo Fisichella led the 2005 championship.

Background

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The event was held at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka for the 36th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 27–29 March.[2] The Grand Prix was the third round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship and the 40th running of the Japanese Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship.[3]

Championship standings before the race

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Going into the event, George Russell (Mercedes) led the Drivers' Championship with 51 points, 4 points ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli in second, and 17 points of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) in third. Mercedes entered this round as the leaders of the Constructors' Championship with 98 points, 31 points ahead of Ferrari and 80 points ahead of McLaren, who were second and third, respectively.[4]

Entrants

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The drivers and teams were the same as published in the season entry list, with no additional stand-in drivers for the race.[5] During the first practice session Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) was replaced by Jak Crawford, a driver who had not raced in more than two Grands Prix, as required by the Formula One regulations.[6][7]

Tyre choices

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Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds (the three hardest in their range) designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively, for teams to use at the event.[8]

Practice

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Three free practice sessions were held for the event. The first free practice session was held on 27 March 2026, at 11:30 local time (UTC+9), and was topped by George Russell (Mercedes) ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris (McLaren).[9] The second free practice session was held on the same day, at 15:00 local time, and was topped by Oscar Piastri (McLaren) ahead of Antonelli and Russell.[10] The third free practice session was held on 28 March 2026, at 11:30 local time, and was topped by Antonelli ahead of Russell and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).[11][1]

Qualifying

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Qualifying was held on 28 March 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+9), and determined the starting grid order for the race.[1]

Qualifying classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 12 Italy Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:30.035 1:29.048 1:28.778 1
2 63 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1:29.967 1:29.686 1:29.076 2
3 81 Australia Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1:30.200 1:29.451 1:29.132 3
4 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:29.915 1:29.303 1:29.405 4
5 1 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1:30.401 1:29.795 1:29.409 5
6 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:30.309 1:29.589 1:29.567 6
7 10 France Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes 1:30.584 1:29.874 1:29.691 7
8 6 France Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford 1:30.662 1:30.104 1:29.978 8
9 5 Brazil Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:30.359 1:29.990 1:30.274 9
10 41 United Kingdom Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 1:30.781 1:30.109 1:30.319 10
11 3 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford 1:30.519 1:30.262 N/A 11
12 31 France Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari 1:30.915 1:30.309 N/A 12
13 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:30.358 1:30.387 N/A 13
14 30 New Zealand Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 1:30.657 1:30.495 N/A 14
15 43 Argentina Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes 1:30.931 1:30.627 N/A 15
16 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Atlassian Williams-Mercedes 1:30.927 1:31.033 N/A 16
17 23 Thailand Alexander Albon Atlassian Williams-Mercedes 1:31.088 N/A N/A 17
18 87 United Kingdom Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari 1:31.090 N/A N/A 18
19 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Cadillac-Ferrari 1:32.206 N/A N/A 19
20 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari 1:32.330 N/A N/A 20
21 14 Spain Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Honda 1:32.646 N/A N/A 21
22 18 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Honda 1:32.920 N/A N/A 22
107% time: 1:36.209
Source:[12][13]

Race

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The race was held on 29 March 2026, and was scheduled to start at 14:00 local time (UTC+9) before being delayed to 14:10 following an accident in the Porsche Carrera Cup Japan support series that resulted in repairs to the barriers at turn 12.14 The race was run for 53 laps.

Post-race

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The regulation changes surrounding the increased usage of the battery and electric power deployment modes came under scrutiny from drivers following Bearman's crash.[17][18] The FIA held a review with power unit developers on 9 April regarding potential refinements to the regulations.[19] One of the solutions was to reduce the deployment rate of electrical energy while increasing the amount that can be harvested while undergoing "super clipping", a phenomenon that occurs when the battery is being charged on full throttle against the engine. Three further meetings were held on 15, 16 and 20 April, where further options would be evaluated and agreed on by team representatives, the FIA, Formula One Management, and power unit manufacturers,[20] with the intention that these changes would be introduced for the following Miami Grand Prix.[21]

Race classification

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 12 Italy Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 53 1:28:03.403 1 25
2 81 Australia Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 53 +13.722 3 18
3 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 53 +15.270 4 15
4 63 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 53 +15.754 2 12
5 1 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 53 +23.479 5 10
6 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 53 +25.037 6 8
7 10 France Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes 53 +32.340 7 6
8 3 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford 53 +32.677 11 4
9 30 New Zealand Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 53 +50.180 14 2
10 31 France Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari 53 +51.216 12 1
11 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Audi 53 +52.280 13
12 6 France Isack Hadjar Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford 53 +56.154 8
13 5 Brazil Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 53 +59.078 9
14 41 United Kingdom Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 53 +59.848 10
15 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Atlassian Williams-Mercedes 53 +1:05.008 16
16 43 Argentina Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes 53 +1:05.773 15
17 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Cadillac-Ferrari 53 +1:32.453 19
18 14 Spain Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco-Honda 52 +1 lap 21
19 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari 52 +1 lap 20
20 23 Thailand Alexander Albon Atlassian Williams-Mercedes 51 +2 laps 17
Ret 18 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco-Honda 30 Water pressure 22
Ret 87 United Kingdom Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari 20 Accident 18
Source:[13][22][23]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 "Japanese Grand Prix 2026 – F1 Race". Formula1.com. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  2. ↑ "Suzuka". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  3. ↑ "Grands Prix Japan". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  4. ↑ "China 2026 – Championship". StatsF1.com. 15 March 2026. Retrieved 15 March 2026.
  5. ↑ Ennser, Gerd; Selley, Matthew; Zhou, Xiaoxu; Warwick, Derek; Tsuge, Kazuhiro (27 March 2026). "2026 Japanese Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  6. ↑ "Crawford to replace Alonso at Aston Martin for first practice session in Japan". formula1.com. 24 March 2026. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  7. ↑ "2026 Formula One Regulations – Section B: Sporting Regulations – Issue 5" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 27 February 2026. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  8. ↑ "The Suzuka challenge with the hardest trio in the range". Pirelli.com. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  9. ↑ "Japan FP1 Results". Formula1.com. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  10. ↑ "Japan FP2 Results". Formula1.com. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  11. ↑ "Japan FP3 Results". Formula1.com. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "Formula 1 Aramco Japanese Grand Prix 2026 – Qualifying". Formula 1. 28 March 2026. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  13. 1 2 "Formula 1 Aramco Japanese Grand Prix 2026 – Starting grid". Formula 1. 28 March 2026. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  14. ↑ Mitchell-Malm, Scott (29 March 2026). "Start of F1's Japanese GP delayed". The Race. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 "Antonelli takes championship lead after surging to victory in Japan from Piastri and Leclerc". Formula1.com. 29 March 2026. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  16. ↑ D'Alessandro, Gianluca (3 April 2026). "The alarming factors that triggered Bearman's 50G crash at F1 Japanese GP". Autosport. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  17. ↑ Suttill, Josh; Mitchell-Malm, Scott; Noble, Jon (29 March 2026). "'Listen to us' - Sainz's big F1 safety plea after Bearman crash". The Race.
  18. ↑ Codling, Stuart; Vording, Ronald (29 March 2026). "FIA responds to dramatic Bearman crash in F1 Japanese GP". Autosport.
  19. ↑ "Why Oliver Bearman was 45km/h faster than Franco Colapinto when he crashed". Motorsport.com. 29 March 2026. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  20. ↑ "FIA reports outlines decision timeline on F1 2026 tweaks". Autosport. 9 April 2026. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  21. ↑ Vording, Ronald (21 April 2026). "FIA confirms changes to 2026 F1 rules ahead of Miami GP". Autosport.
  22. ↑ "Formula 1 Aramco Japanese Grand Prix 2026 – Race result". Formula1.com. 29 March 2026. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  23. ↑ "Japan 2026 – Result". Stats F1. 29 March 2026. Retrieved 30 March 2026.
  24. 1 2 "Japan 2026 – Championship". Stats F1. 29 March 2026. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
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