The stewards already announced that they were going to watch a moment between Charles Leclerc and George Russell in the sprint shootout, and it has now been decided to actually call both men out. In the stewards' office, the two drivers were allowed to give their side of the story.
In doing so, it is Russell who has to fear a three-place grid penalty. The Mercedes driver appeared to want to dive into the pit lane, but did not see that Leclerc was on a fast lap behind him.
Incidentally, Russell's action had no consequences. The Ferrari driver eventually qualified easily for the next qualifying section and ended up missing out on the pole by half a tenth in SQ3.
Russell himself finished eighth in sprint qualifying. With a grid penalty, he will have to start from P11.
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Russell to stewards
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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
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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 |
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