Key events
Quick, can you remember the last driver not named Verstappen to salute at Suzuka?
That would be Valtteri Bottas, who claimed the 2019 race (2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to COVID) while he was partnering Hamilton at Mercedes – a win that secured them a sixth-consecutive constructors title.
These days, of course, the veteran Finn is driving for Cadillac, and will start from 20th on the grid.
Becoming one with the car ahead of FP1 😉
Shoutout to the fans on site for the support (and the gear) this weekend 🖤 pic.twitter.com/qpDsNkHlGf
— Cadillac Formula 1 Team (@Cadillac_F1) March 27, 2026
Aussies and Piastri fans would be forgiven for forming some kind of prayer circle leading into today’s race – anything to make sure their driver is actually able to complete a lap (let alone all 53 of them).
The McLaren driver will start from third on the grid in Japan, ostensibly putting him in a good position to challenge. However, still yet to experience proper race conditions under the new regulations, will that prove an impediment?
“A good Qualifying session, it was nice to be in the top three and closer to the leading team, so overall we can be pretty happy with this afternoon’s result,” Piastri said after qualifying. “All weekend, I think we’ve looked reasonably good, and the team has executed every session well, getting things right for the moment across each day, which is pleasing.
“We clearly don’t have the pace or the grip to match Mercedes still, but we’re getting closer and that’s the most important point in our on-track performance. There are plenty of positives today, and it was good to be able to qualify ahead of Ferrari too. We’ll now continue to work hard to make important further gains as a team overnight, working on power management and exploiting maximum performance in preparation for the race tomorrow.”
Alas, today’s race will be the last time that we’ll be racing for a month; the Championship next scheduled to meet for the Miami GP on the opening weekend of May.
This is because of the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia GPs due to the ongoing stability caused by the war between Israel and the United States and Iran, which, unfortunately, continues.
The Grid in Japan
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
2 George Russell Mercedes
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
5 Lando Norris McLaren
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine
8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull
9 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi
10 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls
11 Max Verstappen Red Bull
12 Esteban Ocon Haas
13 Nico Hulkenberg Audi
14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls
15 Franco Colapinto Alpine
16 Carlos Sainz Williams
18 Oliver Bearman Haas
19 Sergio Perez Cadillac
20 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac
21 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin
22 Lance Stroll Aston Martin
hopefully they don’t vibrate too much
You may have read about the exchange between Verstappen and a journalist in his press conference earlier this week, with the former refusing to commence until the latter had departed the room.
Said journalist was Giles Richards and, loathe as he is to be the story, rather than reporting on it, he’s penned this on the matter.
News has come through that there will be a ten-minute delay to the start of the race due to damage to the barriers in one of the support races.
New start time: 2.10pm local/6.10am GMT/4.10pm AEDT
Preseason expectations that the Mercedes would be the class of the field in 2026 and been pretty soundly validated across the opening two rounds, with Russell leading the championship standings from Antonelli by four points thanks to his sprint victory in China.
And Russell he told Giles Richards this week, the lumps he took when he first arrived in F1, finishing up near the back in a troublesome Williams, have helped turn him into the title favourite he is today.
Here’s Giles Richards’ full report on qualifying from Suzuka.
Preamble
Joey Lynch
Howdy all, it’s ya boi Joey Lynch, and welcome to the Guardian’s continued coverage of the 2026 Formula One world championship – today bringing you all the action from the Japanese Grand Prix, under the cherry blossoms at the legendary Suzuka Circuit.
For the third-race in a row in 2026, we’ll have an all-Mercedes front row for today’s race and, also for the second-race in a row, it’ll be phenom Kimi Antonelli starting from pole position: the young Italian pushing teammate George Russell into second on the grid by 0.298 seconds in qualifying yesterday.
The last four races at Suzuka have all been won by the pole-sitter, which will serve as a strong omen for the 19-year-old as he looks to back up his maiden F1 win in China a fortnight ago – one in which he didn’t quite go coast-to-coast from pole but in which he rarely looked troubled as he cruised to victory.
The man that claimed those previous four wins, however, didn’t have as good a day of things yesterday: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen failing to qualify for Q3 and set to start from P11 today.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri will start from third – the Australian still yet to complete a race lap this season after crashing during a recon lap at Albert Park and being sunk by mechanical issues in Shanghai – while the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc will join him on the second-row.
It’ll be papaya and red on the third row, too, with defending world champion Lando Norris in fifth and Lewis Hamilton – fresh off claiming his first podium for the prancing pony in China – in sixth.
Lights go out at 2pm local/6am GMT/4pm AEDT