Japanese Grand Prix 2026: Antonelli takes pole
Andrea Kimi Antonelli took Japanese Grand Prix 2026 pole for Mercedes at Suzuka by 0.298s from George Russell, with Oscar Piastri third on the grid.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli took pole position for Mercedes at the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March 2026 with a Q3 lap of 1:28.778. George Russell secured second for Mercedes at Suzuka Circuit and finished 0.298 seconds behind Antonelli for a front-row lockout.
Qualifying
Oscar Piastri qualified third for McLaren with a 1:29.132 in Q3, placing him behind the two Mercedes drivers. Charles Leclerc took fourth for Ferrari on 1:29.405, while Lando Norris put the second McLaren fifth with a 1:29.409.
Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth for Ferrari with a 1:29.567 in Q3. Pierre Gasly took seventh for Alpine F1 Team on 1:29.691, and Isack Hadjar placed eighth for Red Bull with a 1:29.978.
Top 10 at Suzuka
Gabriel Bortoleto secured ninth for Audi after posting 1:30.274 in Q3. Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10 for RB F1 Team with a 1:30.319, with both drivers reaching the final segment at Suzuka.
Front-row battle
Antonelli led every Mercedes time that counted in Q3 after improving from 1:29.048 in Q2 to 1:28.778 on his final pole lap. Russell also improved from 1:29.686 in Q2 to 1:29.076 in Q3, but the gap on the front row remained 0.298 seconds.