F1 Japanese GP 2026, Race: Antonelli starts poorly but takes advantage of the Safety Car wildcard and then dominates – LIVE

F1 Suzuka, race hub: all useful links

To best follow the live coverage of the race, the climax of the F1 Japanese GP, here are all the useful links for the race weekend in Suzuka, the third round of the 2026 World Championship:

Read more 2026 Japanese GP, race results: Kimi repeats and flies to the top of the World Championship! Piastri 2nd, Leclerc beats Russell and takes the podium

• TV times – The weekend schedule
• Weather – What the weather is like in Suzuka
• Preview – The weekend’s themes
• LIVE – The race report
• Starting grid – The lineup at the start
• Results – The race standings
• Last year – How it went in 2025
• Calendar – All F1 2026 rounds
• Drivers’ Standings – After Suzuka
• Constructors’ Standings – After Suzuka

F1, the live report of the Japanese GP race

08.50 – While waiting to hear the Mameli anthem on the Suzuka podium, it’s time to say goodbye, dear readers of FormulaPassion.it. So, thank you for following us in such large numbers throughout the weekend despite the prohibitive hours, and we’ll see you live with us in just over a month, with the coverage of the Miami weekend on May 3rd. F1 is indeed stopping for all of April due to the cancellation of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but our information certainly doesn’t go on holiday.

So our invitation to you is to stay with us, today and beyond: for all the coming weeks we will still have plenty of news, statements, comments, and in-depth analysis, as well as videos and podcasts, starting with Pino Allievi’s Caffè which will be released this afternoon, followed by new episodes of WarmUp (from tomorrow, every day at 9:00 AM) and I Doppiati (Monday evening live at 21:30). Thanks again, and have a great Sunday, bye!

08.48 – It hasn’t happened since 1953 that an Italian driver won two races in a row, and we have to go back to Alberto Ascari. The last time one of our compatriots led the F1 championship was 21 years ago when Giancarlo Fisichella, in 2005, won the season-opening GP in Melbourne.

08.45 – The final standings of the 2026 Japanese GP:

08.43 – The disappointment of the day is all for George Russell, fourth, ahead of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. Behind them, Pierre Gasly continues the celebration for Mercedes-powered cars, with seventh place, managing to fend off the attacks of a certain Max Verstappen until the final corner. Also in the points are Liam Lawson and Esteban Ocon.

08.42 – Checkered flag for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who takes his second consecutive career victory, becoming the leader of the Formula 1 championship! Second place for Oscar Piastri, with Charles Leclerc in third position.

08.41 – Andrea Kimi Antonelli, practically never shown on camera again after the Safety Car restart, begins the final lap of the race. Russell is behind Leclerc and is studying the possibility of taking the podium with an attack at the next Triangle chicane.

08.40 – While Russell and Leclerc battle, Norris and Hamilton have also passed each other a couple of times: now, however, Lando seems to have pulled away, with a margin of 1.3 seconds over Lewis.

08.38 – Attention! Russell realized there was nothing to be done on the pit straight and attacked Leclerc at the Triangle chicane, the point where Charles recharges his battery. But then, indeed, the Ferrari driver had a charged battery and responded on the pit straight, taking the outside at Turn 1 in a maneuver entirely similar to the one seen shortly before against Hamilton!

08.37 – Another fastest lap for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who drops to 1:32.432 despite Bono telling him over the radio that it’s time to “think about bringing the car home“. The standings at lap 50/53, four laps to the checkered flag.

08.36 – A slide in the first sector for Charles Leclerc: the Monegasque was gradually catching up to Piastri, but now this mistake allows Russell to close back in.

08.34 – Lando Norris overtakes Lewis Hamilton under braking before the Triangle chicane, swerving right after the exit of 130R. Meanwhile, Race Control had recently clarified that there would be no further investigations against Hamilton for that corner-cutting we mentioned a few minutes ago.

08.33 – The broadcast shows that Bearman is in the Haas garage, quite calm and chatting with his mechanics. Ollie is walking a bit painfully, but without great difficulty.

08.32 – Now Russell is glued to Charles Leclerc’s third place, but for the moment the Ferrari Monegasque manages to defend. Despite the high top speed on the straight, the Mercedes gains but not enough to attack on the pit straight.

08.31 – The standings as we are on lap 45/53:

08.30 – There was a mistake by Lewis Hamilton, who went deep under braking, locking the front right and cutting the Triangle chicane completely. The maneuver was noted by FIA Race Control, prompted by Lando Norris who complained over the radio: “But now he has to give me the position“.

08.28 – The fight for the podium is far from over, because while Leclerc’s nice overtake on Hamilton was good, now the Monegasque must watch his back for Russell, who after all isn’t that far from a Mercedes 1-2, although he never gave the impression of having the pace to trouble Piastri as well.

08.27 – 1:32.538 for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who extends his lead over Piastri to 11 seconds and stays focused, pushing flat out. Or, rather, what we think might be his “flat out”.

08.26 – Hamilton now seems to be struggling a bit, so much so that it’s now Russell who, again on the outside towards Turn 1, takes fourth place. And now Lewis must also watch his back for Lando Norris, who is there within a second of fifth place.

08.24 – Beautiful overtake by Charles Leclerc on teammate Lewis Hamilton! Once again, the two Ferraris are lighting up the Formula 1 show, with a wonderful overtake by the Monegasque who took third position, on the outside, under braking into Turn 1! One to watch again and again!