Apr 8

Apr 8 Suzuka Showdown: Who Conquered the Japanese Grand Prix?

Aanya Ranasaria

The third round of the 2026 Formula 1 season took place in Suzuka, and it brought exactly what you'd expect. We had a scary crash, a chaotic Safety Car, and another telling weekend. Kimi Antonelli took his second consecutive win to lead the Drivers' Championship, while Oscar Piastri finally made it to the grid and made that count in a big way for McLaren.

Race Results

Antonelli started from pole but got a poor launch and dropped to sixth while Piastri stormed into the lead from third on the grid. He spent the first half of the race working back through the field. As the pit stop window opened, Antonelli stayed out while others around him came in, putting him provisionally in the lead. A heavy crash from Haas' Ollie Bearman at Turn 13 on Lap 22 — a 50G impact at 308 kph (192 mph) — brought out the Safety Car, handing Antonelli a free stop and the lead for good. From the restart, he drove away cleanly and finished 13.7 seconds clear. While Bearman was seen limping away from the crash, reports say he walked away with a knee contusion and was cleared from the Medical Centre. The win moves Antonelli to the top of the Drivers' Championship — and at 19, he becomes the youngest driver in Formula 1 history to lead the standings.

For Oscar Piastri, it had been a rough start to the season. He crashed on the warm-up lap in Australia before the race began, then an electrical fault ruled him out of China entirely. Japan was his first actual race start of 2026, and he made the most of it. A brilliant launch put him in the lead by Turn 1, and he held Russell off comfortably in the early stages. He pitted four laps before the Safety Car came out, which cost him the lead, and he couldn't reclaim it on the restart. "Turns out when we start these things we’re pretty good," he said afterward. At least one of us can laugh about it — as his avid fan, I've been considerably less composed. He was left wondering what would have happened without the Safety Car, which is a fair question. But second place is McLaren's first podium of the year, and the team hadn't spent a single lap in the top four all season before Suzuka.

Leclerc had a quietly excellent race. He had a great start, battled his own teammate Hamilton for position, and then held off Russell's late charge in the closing laps, including one move where Russell got past only for Leclerc to take it back immediately around the outside for third place and Ferrari's third consecutive podium. Hamilton ended up sixth after losing pace in the second half, admitting afterward he couldn't fully explain why. Russell finished fourth after the Safety Car timing effectively ended his shot at the win — he had pitted the lap before it came out and lost ground he never recovered.

Gasly was a solid seventh for Alpine, holding Verstappen at bay for the better part of 25 laps. Verstappen, who won at Suzuka four years in a row, didn't make it out of Q2 on Saturday and could only manage eighth from P11. He admitted after the race that Red Bull are more in the midfield battle right now than anywhere near the front. His teammate Hadjar finished twelfth. Lawson got ninth for Racing Bulls with some help from the Safety Car timing, and Ocon scored Haas' first championship point of the season in tenth, which was a silver lining on a tough day for the team after Bearman's crash.

Future Plans

The season now breaks until the Miami Grand Prix on May 1-3, giving every team five weeks to develop. Mercedes have won all three races so far — two with Antonelli, one with Russell — and Antonelli now leads the championship on 72 points, nine ahead of Russell. Ferrari have been on the podium every race. McLaren showed enough in Japan to suggest they're closer than the first two rounds implied. Red Bull have a lot of work to do. Williams and Aston Martin are still searching for answers on basic pace. Three races down, 21 to go!