Japanese GP starting grid confirmed as Mercedes target third consecutive victory
Photo: Race Pictures
Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
The official starting grid for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix has been confirmed, as Mercedes look to make it three wins in a row, while Max Verstappen targets a recovery from P11.
Following a repeat of his Shanghai heroics last time out, F1’s youngest ever pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli locks out the front row ahead of teammate George Russell.
Oscar Piastri will hope to finally get his season underway having failed to start the opening two races, he starts on the final podium space ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Lando Norris has endured a tough weekend so far in Suzuka, with limited practice time due to technical problems, but he starts P5 ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
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Alpine continue their promising start to 2026 thanks to Pierre Gasly in P7, with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar just behind him in eighth.
Speaking of Verstappen, his shock Q2 exit means he starts in P11 behind Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, respectively.
The other big shock to come out of Qualifying on Saturday was Ollie Bearman’s Q1 exit, the Haas driver finished P18 ahead of each of the two drivers from 2026’s early backmarkers, Cadillac and Aston Martin.
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Here is the full official starting grid for the Japanese Grand Prix:
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| Position | Driver (Team) |
| P1 | Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) |
| P2 | George Russell (Mercedes) |
| P3 | Oscar Piastri (McLaren) |
| P4 | Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) |
| P5 | Lando Norris (McLaren) |
| P6 | Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) |
| P7 | Pierre Gasly (Alpine) |
| P8 | Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) |
| P9 | Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) |
| P10 | Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) |
| P11 | Max Verstappen (Red Bull) |
| P12 | Esteban Ocon (Haas) |
| P13 | Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) |
| P14 | Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) |
| P15 | Franco Colapinto (Alpine) |
| P16 | Carlos Sainz (Williams) |
| P17 | Alexander Albon (Williams) |
| P18 | Ollie Bearman (Haas) |
| P19 | Sergio Perez (Cadillac) |
| P20 | Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) |
| P21 | Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) |
| P22 | Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) |
Verstappen advantage revealed as Pirelli confirm tyre strategy options
Despite his P11 start, the four-time world champion might be in luck, as Pirelli have confirmed the range of tyres still available to the drivers in Japan, with Verstappen able to rely upon an extra set of soft tyres compared to most of the grid.
Pirelli believe a one-stop strategy is the fastest strategy for Sunday’s race, and note that the medium-hard and soft-hard combinations will be very close in terms of total race time.
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