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Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix 2026 - Race Weekend Discussion
Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka Circuit
March 26-29, 2026
Qualifying Results -- SPOILER
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:30.035 | 1:29.048 | 1:28.778 | 15 |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:29.967 | 1:29.686 | 1:29.076 | 21 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:30.200 | 1:29.451 | 1:29.132 | 20 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:29.915 | 1:29.303 | 1:29.405 | 18 |
| 5 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:30.401 | 1:29.795 | 1:29.409 | 20 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:30.309 | 1:29.589 | 1:29.567 | 20 |
| 7 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:30.584 | 1:29.874 | 1:29.691 | 18 |
| 8 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull Racing | 1:30.662 | 1:30.104 | 1:29.978 | 17 |
| 9 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:30.359 | 1:29.990 | 1:30.274 | 20 |
| 10 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:30.781 | 1:30.109 | 1:30.319 | 21 |
| 11 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:30.519 | 1:30.262 | 12 | |
| 12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 1:30.915 | 1:30.309 | 15 | |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1:30.358 | 1:30.387 | 14 | |
| 14 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:30.657 | 1:30.495 | 15 | |
| 15 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:30.931 | 1:30.627 | 12 | |
| 16 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:30.927 | 1:31.033 | 15 | |
| 17 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:31.088 | 9 | ||
| 18 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 1:31.090 | 9 | ||
| 19 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 1:32.206 | 6 | ||
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1:32.330 | 9 | ||
| 21 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:32.646 | 9 | ||
| 22 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:32.920 | 9 |
Source: F1.com
Grand Prix Results -- SPOILER
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 53 | 1:28:03.403 | 25 |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 53 | +13.722s | 18 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 53 | +15.270s | 15 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 53 | +15.754s | 12 |
| 5 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 53 | +23.479s | 10 |
| 6 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 53 | +25.037s | 8 |
| 7 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 53 | +32.340s | 6 |
| 8 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 53 | +32.677s | 4 |
| 9 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 53 | +50.180s | 2 |
| 10 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 53 | +51.216s | 1 |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 53 | +52.280s | 0 |
| 12 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull Racing | 53 | +56.154s | 0 |
| 13 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 53 | +59.078s | 0 |
| 14 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 53 | +59.848s | 0 |
| 15 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 53 | +65.008s | 0 |
| 16 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 53 | +65.773s | 0 |
| 17 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 53 | +92.453s | 0 |
| 18 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 52 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 19 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 52 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 20 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 51 | +2 laps | 0 |
| NC | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 30 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 20 | DNF | 0 |
Fastest Lap: Kimi Antonelli // 1:32.432 on lap 49
DOTD: Oscar Piastri
Source: F1.com
Next race:
Miami Grand Prix
Suzuka Circuit
May 1-3, 2026
Sorry for the lateness in posting. Anyway, not the most exciting race, IMO. Though Suzuka is usually like that anyway.
A poor start for both Mercedes, but in the end, didn't seem to matter. At least for Kimi! George kinda got screwed, especially when Bearman went into the wall. George pitted right before that happened.
Bearman's crash was reported as 50G, but even though he was seen limping away from the car, with help by track marshals, supposedly he has no fractures.
Some of the reports I saw was that the delta between Colapinto, who Bearman was trying to avoid, was like 50kmh. It was interesting seeing the responses from other drivers about all this. They're clearly not happy.
So we'll see what happens over the next month. If any changes are actually made. I personally haven't really formed an opinion on the battery shenanigans. As a spectator, the overtake yo-yos are interesting and exciting. You don't know who's going to maintain the overtake. And I do think driver skill and racecraft is important still, as it's still possible to defend.
But seeing cars run out of juice on straights or flat-out sections is weird. And it can lead to situations like this.
When I watch a race on F1TV this stuff is not really mentioned and from the way the race is covered I can't really tell that the cars drivers are having so much trouble with the energy management. So the racing looks deceptively good if you don't look too closely. I guess if I switched to the in-car views for a few laps I would notice this more and probably ruin the fun for myself.
On F1TV, you'll hear Jolyon Palmer kinda mention some of the issues. Sam Collins on the pre-show maybe, too. But yeah, from the rest, you don't hear so much. And I suspect F1TV, or rather FOM, has some incentive to pamper over some of the issues in the name of keeping people excited and entertained. Maintaining the spectacle. And there's nothing wrong with that. Like I said, the yo-yoing, even if it due to energy deployment, is fun to watch, even if there is a bit of artifice to it. DRS was the same thing, after all. Motorsports is mostly artifice, compared to other sports.
And for sure, the driver views, either through the direct views on F1TV or even during commentary is where you can actually hear the "super clipping" going on. I noticed it the first time during the Chinese GP. Max was on a long straight, and even before he was at the braking point for the upcoming turn, I could hear the car revving down. A lot. He still should've been flat out for a little bit longer.
But I, too, don't watch the driver feeds that much. And truth be told, I wasn't paying that much attention to this past race, so I didn't notice it much either.
I do think some fans were being slightly disingenuous about 130R this past weekend, to be honest. It's not been a really on-the-limit corner for a long time now, with the incredible grip the cars have been producing. Nevertheless, it is absolutely true that watching the cars slow, and hearing the revs creep down, is sapping the excitement. I really do wonder what will happen along the Kemmel straight, or along the long straight in Baku - will they really just be trundling along by the end?!
I didn't mind the "yo-yoing" as long as I thought it did actually relate to the drivers' skill, in some way. I thought that they were able to choose where to deploy extra boost (which obviously came at a cost somewhere else, as the system that decides where would have been optimal is now starved), but it sounds as if they don't entirely exercise that discretion. I don't know whether it's a thing that differs between teams and is something that will eventually flatten out as the software is tweaked and converges, perhaps? There was a moment where Russell appeared to be absolutely crawling, but it was just that he was low on battery - was that his own rash decision(s) coming back to haunt him or not, that's what I want to know.
I have been a bit of a George apologist... but the way he stormed off and didn't even show for the team photo is super fucking lame of him. I absolutely hope he has a terrible season. Kimi was such a treasure, downplaying his win.
I get that you're frustrated and all that, but no matter what happens on the track, you should celebrate with your team when they get a victory.
Pool-wise, I've got a second win -- three of us tied for first
Not great, but I'd rather have shit picks and a surprising race. I really hope Charles can keep this up. I think we'll see Lewis get a top spot this year, which is long overdue.
Wild that we've got five weeks off, Miami, three more weeks, Montreal. I feel for the podcasts who have to sort out even more content.
Re George storming off: I'm pretty forgiving of drivers when they are emotional during and after a race. I've had the experience of going "on tilt" when playing sports and feeling bad about it soon afterward. I'm less forgiving of the way Max acts where he holds a grudge for months or years afterward.
Two things about Kimi Antonelli.
One, is that he really reminds me of Spiderman. At least he reminds me of Tom Holland and how he is kind of young and innocent when he is being Peter Parker. He is very wholesome so far and I hope his success doesn't give him arrogance.
Second, I haven't looked at r/formuladank for a while, but I expect someone to post a picture of the race leaderboard graphic that shows ANT, PIA, LEC with a comment like "What is this? A race for ANTs?"
no matter what happens, you should always be there for the team photo, shake hands, etc etc.
I like Kimi as Italian Spiderman :) If you aren't familiar with that, you'll definitely know this meme --- this might be NSFW, its been a while. Its the same group that made Danger 5, which is outstanding and the source of the Sensible Chuckle magazine meme.
Anyway, everybody should still maintain the basic sportsmanship --- do it for the kids.
Spoilers for the race ahead!
Honestly, I really enjoyed the race, more than usual for an F1 GP at Suzuka. The slow start for the Mercedes plus the safety car did help jumble things up in the beginning. I hope Bearman is alright after that crash, which was apparently 50G. Seems like Colapinto was potentially slowing down to recharge the battery? at the same time that Bearman was coming in hot from behind.
I do think people are being overly dramatic when it comes to their reactions for this new era of regulations. While I do think the drop-off in speed as the battery runs out at the end of the straights does suck, I do think the overall racing is better. The battery deployment adds another layer of strategy that I think really livens things up. I think if they could sort out the superclipping, either by allowing more lift-and-coast or changing battery specs to last a whole straight, things could be great.
Finally we saw McLarens on the track, and podium already! Didn't expect that. It seems that we will rarely see them finishing top 3 this season. 15 seconds from P1 - that's a lot.
Happy for Kimi! I think he is my second favourite Kimi in F1 :)