2026 Japanese Grand Prix Live Updates
Welcome to ’s ongoing coverage of the 2026 Formula One World Championship. Today, we bring you live updates from the Japanese Grand Prix, held under the cherry blossoms at the iconic Suzuka Circuit.
For the third consecutive race in 2026, the front row is occupied entirely by Mercedes drivers. Additionally, for the second race in a row, the young Italian sensation Kimi Antonelli secured pole position, edging out his teammate George Russell by 0.298 seconds.
The last four races at Suzuka have all been won by the pole-sitter, a promising sign for the 19-year-old Antonelli as he aims to build on his maiden Formula One victory achieved two weeks ago in China. Although he did not lead every lap from pole in that race, he maintained a commanding performance throughout.
ANTONELLI TAKES POLE AT SUZUKA!!That’s back-to-back poles for Kimi 💪#F1 #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/JpuJTI37yZ
However, the driver responsible for those previous four Suzuka wins, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, faced a challenging qualifying session yesterday. Verstappen failed to advance to Q3 and will start the race from 11th position.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri will begin the race from third on the grid. The Australian has yet to complete a race lap this season due to a crash during a reconnaissance lap at Albert Park and subsequent mechanical issues in Shanghai. Joining him on the second row is Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
The third row will feature defending world champion Lando Norris in fifth place and Lewis Hamilton in sixth. Hamilton recently secured his first podium finish for Ferrari in China.
The race is scheduled to start at 2pm local time, which corresponds to 6am GMT and 4pm AEDT.
