Japanese GP 2026 driver ratings: Piastri surge, Bearman crash, and Alonso’s quiet performance

Another win for Kimi Antonelli masked a resurgent performance from Oscar Piastri in the Japanese Grand Prix, though the headline moment was Oliver Bearman’s terrifying crash at the Spoon Curve.

With action up and down the field, and plenty of hidden performances in the mid-field, here’s how PlanetF1.com rates each driver’s performance at Suzuka

Japanese Grand Prix 2026: Full Driver Ratings and Analysis

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google for news you can trust.

Kimi Antonelli – 7/10

A second race win, and a comfortable one at that, suggests an impressive performance. And in many senses it was, but he benefited significantly from the Safety Car for Oliver Bearman’s hefty smash. Prior to that, he fluffed the start and dropped into the pack. He managed to race his way forward and remained in contention such that he was in position to benefit should there be a Safety Car, but he also benefited from the best car on the grid. His performance there was less impressive this time around than it was in China. But hey, a win is a win, and he’s now the youngest championship leader in the history of the competition.

Oscar Piastri – 8/10

Oscar Piastri has led 100 percent of the races he’s started this year. He’s led into Turn 1 in every race he’s started. And were it not for a mid-race Safety Car, there’s a good chance he’d have won in Japan, too. A strong start meant he leapt into the lead and then looked comfortable in the run into the pit window. He had George Russell in second seemingly covered (even repassing the Mercedes when he briefly lost the lead into the Casio Triangle) and, in the apparently less competitive McLaren, looked in a strong position. Until the Safety Car. From there, he did everything he reasonably could have, he just didn’t have the pace of the Mercedes. But an opportunist drive, without an error in 53 laps, earns a strong 8/10.

Charles Leclerc – 8/10

Having found the path to the race lead blocked by Oscar Piastri into Turn 1, the Ferrari driver then put up a strong fight against George Russell. The Mercedes was ultimately too quick and it came as no surprise that Leclerc slipped behind the Australian GP race winner. The Safety Car didn’t especially help Leclerc, but nor did it overly hinder him. He then got the most out of the car, battling with Russell for a second time, and with teammate Lewis Hamilton (the pair made contact in the latter stages). A strong race in which he left nothing on the table; he was simply out-gunned by those ahead of him.

George Russell – 7/10

George Russell’s performance can largely be traced back to decisions made earlier in the weekend, forcing him to nurse a car not entirely to his liking through the race. A poor getaway, though not as bad as Antonelli’s, saw him drop to fourth before climbing back to second in the early stages, but he never quite seemed to have an answer for early leader Piastri. The timing of the Safety Car meant he lost out, just as Piastri did, but fourth is a below-par result for Mercedes. That’s not entirely a product of Russell, there’s a strong element of setup and plain bad luck involved, but it’s still a weekend from which he would have expected to walk away with more.

Lando Norris – 6/10

Third into the first corner was a promising start for Norris, but given his buildup to the race, he was perhaps always likely to slip backwards. A battery issue and hydraulics leak during practice cost him vital track time and meant he was learning on the fly during the race when it came to deployment in attack and defence. Objectively it was a fine performance, and a healthy haul of points from a compromised weekend (which was out of his control). But with Piastri demonstrating that a potential win was possible for the team, fifth must mark a disappointment. Valuable laps and track time, but a missed opportunity for the 2025 world champion.

Lewis Hamilton – 7/10

Punchy in the opening exchanges and aggressive in battle with Charles Leclerc, Hamilton complained post-race of a lack of power. He mentioned it over the radio during the race, for that matter. Post-race, he suggested it cost him a podium. And perhaps it might have done, he was in the mix with Leclerc for much of the race before sliding backwards in the latter stages. With McLaren showing stronger form, that lack of power – if that’s what it was – was pounced on as Hamilton slid to sixth at the flag. Outside of that, Hamilton was the reason for many of the race’s most exciting moments, especially his battle with Leclerc.

Pierre Gasly – 9/10

Almost lost behind the race at the front, Pierre Gasly put in perhaps the drive of the day as he brought his Alpine home as best of the rest. What’s more, he did so having seen off a challenge from Max Verstappen. The Safety Car had little influence on Gasly’s race; though he stopped under it, he’d been running seventh before the pit stop cycle began and remained there afterwards. In the closing stages, he briefly lost position to Verstappen but was able to reclaim that and top off a fine performance in Suzuka – one that was buried away beneath an enthralling race at the very front.

Max Verstappen – 6/10

Starting in 11th, and with little in the way of car pace through practice, Max Verstappen was never expected to feature at the front of the Japanese Grand Prix. To move forward to eighth is a positive result, and one that perhaps meets expectations for the Red Bull package at the moment. That’s evidenced by his inability to overhaul Pierre Gasly’s Alpine – the Frenchman was able to repass after losing seventh to Verstappen in the latter laps. A points finish was therefore a handy result, but some way short of what the team has grown accustomed to.

Liam Lawson – 6/10

The Safety Car came at a near-perfect time for Liam Lawson, who ran 12th in the opening stint, only to find himself ninth after the interruption. One of those he benefited over was his own teammate, Arvid Lindblad, who had slipped out of the top 10 after he stopped just prior to the Safety Car. Following the restart, Lawson held on to see the flag in the points in an unspectacular drive, but a positive performance after starting 14th.

Esteban Ocon – 6/10

After a dismal outing in China, Esteban Ocon bounced back into the points in Japan. He qualified in the midfield and so laid the foundations for his performance on Saturday, but still had to finish the job. Running ninth when the Safety Car was deployed for his Haas teammate, Ocon was able to regain his position despite many around him having not stopped yet. Though not able to recover ninth, he did get the better of Gabriel Bortoleto while Nico Hulkenber’s later stop under the Safety Car also handed him a position.

Nico Hulkenberg – 5/10

To climb back to 11th having run 19th at the end of the opening lap is, on paper, a good performance. The problem is, Nico Hulkenberg ran 19th because he made a poor start. His rise through the field was therefore a recovery more than an impressive performance, the by-product of an earlier mistake. And that he reached 11th begs the question: how high could have have finished if he’d got away better? A 5/10 is a tough mark, and it’s not for his drive through the field, but because his start robbed him of a potentially greater result.

Isack Hadjar – 5/10

There was little of note from Isack Hadjar beyond a brief early scuffle with his teammate, Max Verstappen. Red Bull is clearly not the force it was, as both Hadjar and Verstappen failed to impress in Japan, pointing to a limiting factor in the car. Hadjar intimated as much post-race, suggesting the power unit is fine, but he just doesn’t know how to make the RB21 rapid. Having started eighth, finishing 12th will be a disappointment.

Gabriel Bortoleto – 5/10

Like Nico Hulkenberg in the other Audi, Gabriel Bortoleto also slipped backwards at the race start. His fall was not as significant and there was an early scrap with Oliver Bearman over 14th before the Haas driver crashed out. Under the resultant Safety Car, Bortoleto pitted and initially ran as high as 10th. Ultimately he couldn’t fend off Esteban Ocon, Isack Hadjar, or Hulkenberg, losing places to them all in a 10 lap period that left him 13th at the flag.

Arvid Lindblad – 7/10

Caught out by the Safety Car, much of Arvid Lindblad’s promising early efforts were undone as those around him got a cheaper stop. Starting 10th, he ran eighth for a time but settled into 10th through the first stint. He stopped on Lap 18 which dropped him down the order, and left him exposed as those ahead of him got a cheap stop under the Bearman crash. From there, he never recovered with the race being a story of what might have been for the impressive youngster.

Carlos Sainz – 6/10

At the wheel of an uncompetitive Williams in Japan, it was always going to be difficult for Carlos Sainz to impress. Even allowing for the retirement of Oliver Bearman, he started in 15th and finished 16th, suggesting a lack of underlying pace in the car. Which we know is an issue, both Sainz and Alex Albon have called it out. For now, it is what it is for the team, and that means an underwhelming 15th in Suzuka, and 6/10 for Sainz.

Franco Colapinto – 4/10

Important to point out is that, while it was Franco Colapinto who was ahead of Oliver Bearman when the Haas driver crashed, it was through no fault of the Argentinian. He carried much the same speed on the run up to Spoon as the previous lap; it was Bearman’s use of the overtake mode that gave him the run and led to the frightening closing speeds that prompted the crash. That aside, Colapinto never looked a threat for points. He was outside the Top 10 prior to the Safety Car and, though he lost spots through that process, he never looked to have the pace to remain in the points-paying places even if the Safety Car had fallen in his favour. A significant gap to Gasly is also a concern, and heavily influences his low rating.

Sergio Perez – 6/10

The appearance of an upgrade package for Cadillac in Japan is an encouraging sign, but the all-new team remains off the pace. Still, Sergio Perez saw the chequered flag and banked useful data. Expectations for the squad, and therefore Perez, are different to the bulk of the field and for that reason his 17th place finish merits more than a mere pass mark. He delivered everything the team needed from him, even if that isn’t especially spectacular at this point.

Fernando Alonso – 7/10

Fernando Alonso became the first Aston Martin driver to see the end of a race in F1 2026, and for that he deserves to be applauded. For a team that is working through a painful period, it’s the sort of boost that can go a long way. It’s also gratifying on Honda’s home soil, and just one race on from having to park a healthy car before the vibrations were too much to endure. Alonso’s race is, in reality, of little consequence but the simple fact is he saw the flag, banked critical data, and put in a performance that, with any luck, marks a turning point for the team. Inspiration comes from unlikely places, and 18th in Japan might just be it.

Valtteri Bottas – 5/10

If Sergio Perez was rated a 6, Bottas must by default score less than that given he was bested by his teammate. But the same rationale remains true. Right now, performance and results are not the primary focus for Cadillac, and seeing the flag is what the team needs more than anything else. Bottas delivered on that, which is all he can really be asked to do right now. The time will come for more objective, performance-based ratings, but that’s not right now.

Alex Albon – 0/10

Alex Albon didn’t race in the Japanese Grand Prix. Sure, he was on the grid and took part in the race, but he was never really racing. Instead, Williams used it as a test session. It’s F1 2026 car is a handful and so it made the call to gather information ahead of the April break. To rate Albon on that performance is therefore wholly unfair; his task in Japan was not to achieve a result. It wasn’t even to race. For that, we rate him a 0/10 – not because he performed poorly but because the task given to him by the team meant he wasn’t racing at all.

Lance Stroll – 4/10

A suspected water pressure issue curtailed Lance Stroll’s day. He was one of only two drivers not classified at the finish, with just 30 laps to his name. It was a tough weekend for Aston Martin, and while there were some positive signs on Fernando Alonso’s side of the garage, the Spaniard saw the chequered flag for the first time in F1 2026, there were no such shining lights on Stroll’s side. The only way is up at Aston Martin and, until then, Stroll and Alonso are largely passengers.

Oliver Bearman – 4/10

More than anything, that Oliver Bearman is comparatively unharmed following his terrifying crash is the most important thing. There will be much debate around the lead up to the crash, and perhaps it has shone some important light on that topic. Bearman’s woes started after he under-delivered in qualifying, hence he started further back than he perhaps should have. His ultimately crash carries no bearing on his final rating, which stems from the fact he was out of position at the start, and his teammate – who has been comprehensively bested by Bearman in recent events, even back to 2025 – finished inside the points. A tough weekend for the young Brit.
Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read Next: Antonelli wins in Japan after huge crash for Bearman brings out Safety Car