Coming off the back of his maiden Grand Prix win in China, Kimi Antonelli impressed again by securing pole position ahead of George Russell and Oscar Piastri. Below are the full highlights of qualifying in Japan.
Q1 Report:
Leclerc was the one setting the benchmark time in the first round of qualifying, with George Russell slotting into second. The shock of the round was perhaps Ollie Bearman failing to make Q2 in his Haas, as the team has seemed to be solidly in the midfield fight. However, Bearman has not been having the best weekend so far, and hopefully he’ll be able to make up places during the race. On the other side, Carlos Sainz was able to make it out of Q3 for the first time this season, and the Williams has not been a very competitive car in 2026.
The drivers eliminated in Q1 were Albon, Bearman, Perez, Bottas, Alonso, and Stroll.
Q2 Report
Antonelli returned to the top of the timesheets by the end of Q2. The second round of qualifying didn’t bring much surprise, however the shock was Arvid Lindblad displacing Max Verstappen, causing the four-time World Champion to be eliminated from Q2. Bortoleto, on the other hand, managed to get his Audi through to the top ten shootout, while his teammate Nico Hulkenberg ended the session 13th.
The drivers eliminated were Verstappen, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Lawson, Colapinto, and Sainz.
Q3 Report:
It was Kimi Antonelli who took pole position, well ahead of George Russell, who seemed to be slightly off the pace compared to his Italian teammate. Oscar Piastri, who had been looking fast all weekend, slotted into third and will be hoping to have a good result in his first Grand Prix of the season. Leclerc landed in fourth, ahead of Lando Norris who got minimal track time throughout the practice session, while Hamilton was back in sixth. Gasly continued to look strong for Alpine as he secured seventh, and Hadjar, Bortoleto, and Lindblad rounded out the top ten.
