F1 Japan, the report cards of the promoted
1. Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc. National pride is all well and good, but those who have had an uphill road for time immemorial should be rewarded. And few are climbing as well as Gasly and Leclerc. Pierre keeps Verstappen behind once again and confirms he is a driver of great caliber, who deserves a larger dimension than Alpine: yes, but which one? The problem, for this victim of Red Bull, is always the same. Leclerc: the only one on track who gives different emotions (actually, the only one who gives emotions), among the few who bridge the gap between the cars, ask Russell for details.
Read more Suzuka is a verdict: between truth and illusions for the teams and for Formula 1
2. Kimi Antonelli. Here the road is more downhill, very downhill if the lucky star helps this little star. But what talent. In his second year in F1, he is keeping pace with those who have been on the grid since before Covid, he studied to become a champion, and believed that in 2026 he would only have to defend his thesis to graduate with honors. Instead, he has to sweat for it because of this kid from Casalecchio di Reno, who already at the end of 2025 had made him understand that he was growing wings this big. Now Kimi is flying, and we with him. It’s just a pity that we aren’t enjoying him properly, also because of an F1 that has disowned its identity.
3. Oscar Piastri. Even mom Nicole, after Australia, wavered in her defense of Oscarino. Who instead is there, and how. McLaren is picking up speed, he lights up and eclipses the world champion occupying the first position before the Safety Car (who knows how it would have gone without Bearman’s accident). And now the European tracks are coming, where last year he was relentless.
F1 Japan, the report cards of the failed
3. Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. Lando, a tourist weekend: he gets beaten for three days by Piastri, who gives him 10 clean seconds in 25 laps. Not the performance we would expect from someone who has just won the title. And speaking of titles, the one who has won seven isn’t doing any better. Of course, compared to 2025, Hamilton gives the impression of being at least more motivated, but at Suzuka he collapses in the finale: in an F1 with a locked-down top-6, he finishes sixth despite a favorable Safety Car and fresher tires. In short, still little, little, little.
Read more Colapinto: “The big difference in speed can be a characteristic of these cars”
2. George Russell. He is the biggest loser of the weekend. Of course, bad luck plays its part, and Russell has it easy complaining about the Safety Car missed by one lap. But in qualifying he takes two tenths from Antonelli, and when both have clear track it is Kimi who prevails. Delivery problems aside, there is no excuse for missing the podium with this Mercedes: Piastri first and especially Leclerc in the finale bring him back to earth.
1. The Saturday of the stroll. Qualifying is a disheartening spectacle. Leaving aside the predictability of the outcome, normal stuff at the start of a technical cycle, they are a slap in the face to F1 and to a sport that, in its eagerness to innovate, no longer knows who it was: a driver who always pushed to the limit, who now goes slower to perhaps go faster (the software told him so). The perfect lap is the one where you don’t invent anything: great stuff, I haven’t been this excited since I read the washing machine manual. Obviously, it won’t be a lasting situation: FIA and F1 have made mistakes before in the past, but they have almost always fixed them. And above all, F1 thinks in economic terms. For years it has chased (and captured, with sensational results) a generalist audience. Which, however, is volatile: just as it embraced F1, it will have no problem changing the channel if it no longer finds it interesting or if it no longer finds its favorites (Verstappen is ready to leave a pharaonic contract on the table). Therefore, out of simple survival instinct, corrective measures are needed: certainly on Saturday, but Bearman going into the barriers to avoid a Colapinto at highway speeds is an alarm for Sunday too. Maybe it will be the beginning of a virtuous process, in which they will start listening to the drivers. Because you can no longer reason with “Let’s see how the first races go“: you were lucky that Colapinto performed magic at the start in Melbourne, and that Bearman avoided the Argentine in Suzuka. And the calendar also helped you, because if the crash had happened in Jeddah, the consequences would have been serious. But, as F1 itself has had the opportunity to learn in other eras, good luck eventually runs out.
Read more Stella: “We leave Suzuka encouraged, but we must improve the performance of our chassis”
