The starting grid of the F1 Japanese GP
Here is the complete standings at the end of qualifying and the starting grid of the 2026 F1 Japanese GP:
Qualifying Report from Suzuka
He already broke the records for precocity in China, but even if there are no more (for now) records to break, Andrea Kimi Antonelli seems to have developed the habit of putting himself ahead of everyone in qualifying. The Mercedes driver, aided by a stratospheric car that seems to be racing in a league of its own, set the fastest time in Q3, taking home his second career pole position with a time of 1:28.778. Trailing and disappointed is teammate George Russell, who took a 3-tenth gap, risking losing the front row rather than getting close to fighting with the young talent from Bologna for pole.
Ferrari-McLaren battle for the second row, Leclerc 4th
As expected after the three free practice sessions, the real battle is all behind the two Silver Arrows, with McLaren and Ferrari challenging each other for the second row: Oscar Piastri came out on top, even managing to get close to Russell’s time, distancing by three tenths a Charles Leclerc who, in his final attempt in Q3, still tried to do something extraordinary, but lost time due to oversteer (and a great save) at the Spoon curve. Despite the mistake, the Monegasque still managed to secure a spot on the second row, just 4 thousandths ahead of Lando Norris, while Lewis Hamilton is sixth, just under 8 tenths off pole (and one and a half from his teammate).
Max Verstappen shock, eliminated in Q2
The first of the “non-bigs” is instead Pierre Gasly, seventh with Alpine ahead of the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar, the Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto, and the Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad. Missing from the count is Max Verstappen, who appeared to be struggling at the wheel of an unbalanced and nervous RB22, and was even eliminated in Q2 at the hands of his two young and dangerous teammates Hadjar and Lindblad. Disappointment also for one of the most anticipated protagonists, Oliver Bearman, excluded in Q1 and only 18th.
At the back, the Cadillac offensive seems to be consolidating at the expense of Aston Martin: Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas take the penultimate row of the grid, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll dead last and detached from the rest of the pack, confirming the difficult moment for Adrian Newey‘s team at Honda‘s home track.
F1 Japanese GP 2026, live, standings and starting grid
You can relive the excitement of the qualifying session in Japan, which gave us the third starting grid of the 2026 Formula 1 season, with our live report.
The weekend schedule
F1 returns to the track on the morning of Sunday, March 29, for what will be – at least for now – the last early wake-up call of this phase of the 2026 championship. The Japanese Grand Prix, the third round of the 2026 F1 World Championship, starts at 7:00 AM Italian time, but watch out for the pitfalls of the time change, as on the night between Saturday and Sunday, we switch to daylight saving time. Here are all the weekend times with details of the television coverage.
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