Kimi Antonelli powered to his second successive pole of the new season, beating team-mate George Russell by almost three tenths of a second in qualifying for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri got closest to the pacesetting Mercedes pair, taking third place just three tenths off pole.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led the way in the opening segment of qualifying but as the session evolved, the Italian squad’s hopes faded and it was Mercedes’ Italian driver, Antonelli, who got on the front foot with the teenage sensation clearing Leclerc by two tenths in Q2 to to0p the timesheet and then stretching further ahead with his opening run in Q3.
Antonelli went to the ragged edge as he posted a lap of 1:28.778 and with Russell struggling for rear end grip following a late set-up change, the young Italian, who took his first F1 win last time out in China, claimed provisional pole.
Russell posed a brief threat in the final run as went quicker than his team-mate through the first sector, but both Mercedes drivers lost time over the rest of the lap and Antonelli his second pole in a row with 0.298s to spare over Russell.
Oscar Piastri, who has failed to turn a racing lap in 2026 after registering DNSs in Melbourne and Shanghai, got his season back on track in qualifying at Suzuka, with the Australian claiming P3 just 0.354s off pole and 0.273s clear of Leclerc who suffered a wild snap through 130R on his final lap and had to settle for fourth place. The top five was completed the second McLaren of Lando Norris.
Lewis Hamilton took sixth place for Ferrari ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar in P8 ahead of Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad.
There was no place in Q3, however, for Max Verstappen. The four-time champion had complained of both understeer and oversteer throughout the build-up to qualifying and his woes continued in the session.
It looked like he had scraped through thanks to a final Q2 flyer of 1:30.262, but teenage rookie Lindblad popped up at the last moment to deny the Dutchman with a lap of 1:30.109.
Behind Verstappen, Haas’ Esteban Ocon took P12 ahead of Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Williams’ Carlos Sainz.
Sainz’s team-mate Alex Albion was the first faller in Q1 in P17 and the Thai driver was followed to the exit by Haas’ Ollie Bearman, Cadillac pair Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas and the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
2026 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:28.778 - -
2 George Russell Mercedes 1:29.076 0.298 0.336
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:29.132 0.354 0.399
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:29.405 0.627 0.706
5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:29.409 0.631 0.711
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:29.567 0.789 0.889
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:29.691 0.913 1.028
8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:29.978 1.200 1.352
9 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:30.274 1.496 1.685
10 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:30.319 1.541 1.736
11 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:30.262 1.484 1.672
12 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:30.309 1.531 1.725
13 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:30.387 1.609 1.812
14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:30.495 1.717 1.934
15 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:30.627 1.849 2.083
16 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:31.033 2.255 2.540
17 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:31.088 2.310 2.602
18 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:31.090 2.312 2.604
19 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:32.206 3.428 3.861
20 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:32.330 3.552 4.001
21 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:32.646 3.868 4.357
22 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 1:32.920 4.142 4.666
