The race for the 2026 F1 Japanese Grand Prix was held at Suzuka Circuit.
The winner was Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli lost positions at the start, but he recovered through the race and made full use of the situation after the Safety Car to take the chequered flag in first place.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished second, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took third.
With this victory, Antonelli became the youngest driver in F1 history to lead the Drivers’ Championship.
■Key Points
- Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix, claimed a second straight victory, and moved to the top of the standings
- Piastri finished second in his first race finish of the season, while Leclerc held on for third
- A Safety Car caused by Bearman’s crash changed the race
│ Result
| Pos | Team | Driver |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Kimi Antonelli |
| 2 |  | Oscar Piastri |
| 3 |  | Charles Leclerc |
| 4 | | George Russell |
| 5 | | Lando Norris |
| 6 | | Lewis Hamilton |
| 7 |  | Pierre Gasly |
| 8 |  | Max Verstappen |
| 9 |  | Liam Lawson |
| 10 |  | Esteban Ocon |
| 11 |  | Nico Hülkenberg |
| 12 | | Isack Hadjar |
| 13 | | Gabriel Bortoleto |
| 14 | | Arvid Lindblad |
| 15 |  | Carlos Sainz |
| 16 | | Franco Colapinto |
| 17 |  | Sergio Pérez |
| 18 |  | Fernando Alonso |
| 19 | | Valtteri Bottas |
| 20 | | Alex Albon |
| RET | | Lance Stroll |
| RET | | Oliver Bearman |
│Race Review
The race changed immediately after the start.
Pole-sitter Antonelli made a poor launch, and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri moved into the lead.
Charles Leclerc climbed to second for Ferrari, followed by George Russell, Lando Norris, Antonelli, and Lewis Hamilton.
Piastri held the lead in the opening phase, but Mercedes showed stronger race pace, and Russell began to close in on the cars ahead.
Up to the middle phase of the race, the battle involved Piastri, Russell, Leclerc, Norris, and Antonelli.
Antonelli briefly dropped to sixth, but he passed Norris and then closed in on Leclerc.
The turning point came on Lap 22.
Haas driver Oliver Bearman crashed at Turn 13, and the Safety Car was deployed.
At that moment, the leading teams split their strategies.
Russell pitted first, but because the Safety Car was called almost immediately afterwards, the situation worked against him compared with Antonelli and Hamilton.
As a result, Antonelli moved into the lead, followed by Piastri, Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc, and Norris when the race restarted.
After the restart, Antonelli quickly pulled away from the cars behind.
Piastri held on to second, while the fight between Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, and Norris continued.
In the closing stages, the battle for third between Leclerc and Russell became one of the key stories, as did the fight for fifth between Norris and Hamilton.
Russell passed Leclerc once, but Leclerc fought back at Turn 1 and held on to the final podium place.
Norris then passed Hamilton late in the race to move up to fifth.
Antonelli maintained strong pace to the finish and won by a clear margin over Piastri in second.
It was his second victory in a row, and it also moved him to the top of the championship standings.
Piastri completed his first full race distance of the season and finished second.
Leclerc survived intense pressure to secure third place on the podium.
Russell finished fourth, Norris was fifth, and Hamilton took sixth.
Pierre Gasly finished seventh and spent the closing laps holding off Max Verstappen.
Verstappen took eighth, Liam Lawson finished ninth, and Esteban Ocon completed the top 10 in tenth.