2026 Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying Review

Linus O'Howell
3 days ago
3 min read

With a 1MJ reduction heading into this session, would Qualifying in 2026 finally feel a little bit better around a track as iconic as Suzuka!

Q1

In Qualifying 1, Alex Albon, Oliver Bearman, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso, and Lance Stroll were the six slowest drivers! Alex Albon wasn’t at all pleased with his Williams, claiming that there’s an issue with the car that’s been going on for weeks, whilst Oliver Bearman came crashing back down to earth with a disappointing Q1 elimination! On a more positive note, Cadillac are no longer the slowest car, with both Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas outqualifying the Aston Martin duo of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll! Aston aren’t getting any better; in fact, they’re getting worse! Charles Leclerc managed to top Q1 for Ferrari, about half a tenth clear of George Russell’s Mercedes!

Q2

In Qualifying 2, Max Verstappen, Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg, Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto, and Carlos Sainz all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout! Max Verstappen’s woes show no signs of slowing down, with the 4-time World Champion being outqualified by his Red Bull teammate for the first time in 2 years (on pure pace)! Esteban Ocon will be pleased to finally be Haas’ leading man, with Nico Hulkenberg dropping two places from his usual P11 spot! Liam Lawson will be very disappointed to be starting only P14, ahead of the Alpine of Franco Colapinto (who was once again lightyears off his teammate), whilst Carlos Sainz finally managed to make it into Q2 for the first time this season! Mercedes were back on top in Q2, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli heading Leclerc!

Q3

In Qualifying 3, a rapid 1:28.778 was enough for Andrea Kimi Antonelli to take his second consecutive Pole Position! Unlike last time out in China, there was no disputing the fact that Kimi was the quickest man on track today, taking Pole by basically 3 tenths of a second! It was another Mercedes 1-2, with George Russell having to once again settle for second, whilst Oscar Piastri did a pretty damn good job to qualify 3rd! A mistake on his final run meant Charles Leclerc had to settle for P4, ahead of the reigning World Champion Lando Norris, whilst Lewis Hamilton could only manage 6th after lagging behind his teammate all afternoon! Another Pierre Gasly masterclass resulted in the Frenchman putting his Alpine in 7th (once again), ahead of Isack Hadjar, who I suppose did a pretty good job in comparison to his teammate! Gabriel Bortoleto recorded Audi’s best-ever Qualifying performance in P9, whilst Arvid Lindblad rounded out the Top 10 in his first Suzuka Qualifying session!