Antonelli storms to pole in Japan as Verstappen suffers early exit
08:03, 28 Mar
Updated: 09:42, 28 Mar
5 Comments
Kimi Antonelli claimed his second pole position of the season at the Suzuka Circuit, while Max Verstappen failed to reach Q3.
Antonelli was quicker during their first attempt in the final session, and it was enough for the Italian to defeat Russell.
Oscar Piastri completed the top three ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton made a mistake on his final lap, and finished sixth.
The biggest surprise of the day was Verstappen failing to reach Q3. His teammate, Isack Hadjar finished in eighth place, behind Pierre Gasly, and ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad.
Make GPblog your preferred source on Google and see our content first in Google Discover and Google News.
ADVERTISEMENT
Japanese Grand Prix Results
Qualification
Qualification
ALL
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | - | 1:28.778 | |
2 | MercedesMER | - | 1:29.076 | |
3 | McLarenMCL | - | 1:29.132 | |
4 | FerrariFER | - | 1:29.303 | |
5 | McLarenMCL | - | 1:29.409 | |
6 | FerrariFER | - | 1:29.567 | |
7 | AlpineALP | - | 1:29.691 | |
8 | Red Bull RacingRBR | - | 1:29.978 | |
9 | AudiAUD | - | 1:29.990 | |
10 | Racing BullsRCB | - | 1:30.109 | |
11 | Red Bull RacingRBR | - | 1:30.262 | |
12 | HaasHAA | - | 1:30.309 | |
13 | AudiAUD | - | 1:30.358 | |
14 | Racing BullsRCB | - | 1:30.495 | |
15 | AlpineALP | - | 1:30.627 | |
16 | WilliamsWIL | - | 1:30.927 | |
17 | WilliamsWIL | - | 1:31.088 | |
18 | HaasHAA | - | 1:31.090 | |
19 | CadillacCAD | - | 1:32.206 | |
20 | CadillacCAD | - | 1:32.330 | |
21 | Aston MartinAST | - | 1:32.646 | |
22 | Aston MartinAST | - | 1:32.920 |
Q2
Unlike his teammate, Verstappen was unable to make it through to Q3. The Dutchman was in tenth place after his final lap, and in the end, he was eliminated by Racing Bulls rookie Lindblad. The Briton was around a tenth and a half quicker.
OUT: Verstappen, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Lawson, Colapinto, Sainz
ADVERTISEMENT
Q1
The frontrunners had no trouble progressing to Q2, with Leclerc topping the first session of qualifying ahead of the Mercedes.
Colapinto and Sainz advanced to Q2, while Alex Albon and Oliver Bearman were knocked out alongside the Cadillac and Aston Martin drivers.
OUT: Albon, Bearman, Perez, Bottas, Alonso, Stroll
Listen to or watch the GPblog.com video podcast. In the F1 Paddock Update, Jim Kimberley and Ben Hunt discuss the latest Formula 1 news. New episodes are available every Monday and Thursday on YouTube, Spotify, or your favourite podcast app.
ADVERTISEMENT
Read more about:
latest news
Japanese Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 27.03.26
Practice 1
02:30 AM
Practice 2
06:00 AM
Saturday 28.03.26
Practice 3
02:30 AM
Qualification
06:00 AM
Sunday 29.03.26
Race
05:00 AM
Friday 27.03.26
Practice 1
Fri 02:30 AM
Practice 2
Fri 06:00 AM
Saturday 28.03.26
Practice 3
Sat 02:30 AM
Qualification
Sat 06:00 AM
Sunday 29.03.26
Race
Sun 05:00 AM
Times are in your local timezone
Rumors
Popular on GPBlog
1
Jos Verstappen sees his son Max slowly losing motivation for Formula 1
1708 times read
2
McLaren's Piastri tops FP2, while Ferrari and Red Bull struggle: Follow reactions to FP2 here!
1693 times read
3
Was Verstappen ‘summoned’ by Red Bull? This is what really happened
1221 times read
4
FIA reveal why Mercedes escaped action over W17 front wing concerns
1060 times read
F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 51 | |
2 | MercedesMER | 47 | |
3 | FerrariFER | 34 | |
4 | FerrariFER | 33 | |
5 | HaasHAA | 17 | |
6 | McLarenMCL | 15 | |
7 | AlpineALP | 9 | |
8 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 8 | |
9 | Racing BullsRCB | 8 | |
10 | Racing BullsRCB | 4 |
Loading
