Kimi Antonelli takes pole as Max Verstappen falls in Q2: 2026 Japanese GP Qualifying results

Here are the complete F1 qualifying results from the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Mercedes has clinched another 1-2 finish in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, with Kimi Antonelli coming out on top of the intra-team battle against Russell.

Q3:

Antonelli clocked a 1:28.778 on his first run, as the two Mercedes drivers traded fastest sector times, with the Italian going almost three-tenths of a second quicker than the British driver.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri slotted in behind, three-and-a-half tenths down on Antonelli’s time, while Norris went fourth in the second MCL40.

The opening minutes of Q3 suggested it would be McLaren, not Ferrari, who would be the closest rivals to Mercedes’ pace, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton only managing fifth and sixth after the first laps.

Isack Hadjar was seventh, over half a second off the back of Hamilton, as the Red Bull driver was well off the pace of the leading three teams, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in eighth ahead of Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, while Lindblad had his first timed lap deleted for exceeding track limits in his Racing Bulls car.

The final runs saw no improvements from the two Mercedes drivers, with a slightly scruffy lap from Antonelli only seeing progress in the third sector, with the Italian going four-tenths quicker than Russell on those laps.

Piastri was the closest rival to the two Mercedes drivers, just over half a tenth down on Russell, while Leclerc climbed to fourth on his second qualifying run.

Norris claimed fifth ahead of Hamilton, who ended the session with a black and white flag hanging over him after the stewards took an interest in his overly-slow exit from the pitlane.

Gasly finished the day in seventh in another strong showing from the French driver, while Hadjar outqualified Verstappen with eighth place.

Bortoleto claimed ninth for Audi, with Lindblad’s final lap clinching 10th.

1. 1. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:28.778
2. 2. George Russell Mercedes +0.298
3. 3. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.354
4. 4. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.627
5. 5. Lando Norris McLaren +0.631
6. 6. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.789
7. 7. Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.913
8. 8. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing +1.200
9. 9. Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +1.496
10. 10. Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +1.541

FULL REPORT: Kimi Antonelli storms to Japanese GP pole as Max Verstappen exits in Q2 shock

Q2:

The first runs immediately set up the usual top four with Antonelli going quickest ahead of Leclerc by 0.011, with Russell and Hamilton three-tenths of a second back.

Bortoleto then became the interloper near the front, using fresh soft tyres to go third, before dropping to fourth as Piastri took over at the front with a 1:29.451.

Norris then went fourth-quickest to displace Bortoleto, while the Red Bulls teetered right on the edge of elimination as Hadjar and Verstappen placed ninth and 10th.

Using new tyres, Russell climbed up to second behind Piastri, who remained three-tenths of a second up the road from the rest.

Leclerc then went quickest on a 1:29.303, a tenth clear of Piastri, while Russell radioed in to say he believed something was amiss as “we shouldn’t be losing so much pace”.

Verstappen’s final effort only placed him in ninth place, dropping to 10th as Hadjar improved to eighth.

It wasn’t Hulkenberg’s final lap that knocked Verstappen out, but stablemate Lindblad, as the Racing Bulls driver climbed into 10th.

With Verstappen knocked out, the four-time F1 World Champion radioed in to say he felt there was something fundamentally wrong with the car in Q2 as he reported jumping and “undriveable” behaviour.

Along with Verstappen, Haas’ Esteban Ocon, Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, and Williams’ Carlos Sainz were knocked out.

The session ended with Antonelli on top, with the Mercedes driver snatching back the fastest time from Leclerc as the Italian did a 1:29.048.

1. 1. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:29.048
2. 2. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.255
3. 3. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.403
4. 4. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.541
5. 5. George Russell Mercedes +0.638
6. 6. Lando Norris McLaren +0.747
7. 7. Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.826
8. 8. Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +0.942
9. 9. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing +1.056
10. 10. Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +1.061
11. 11. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +1.214
12. 12. Esteban Ocon Haas +1.261
13. 13. Nico Hulkenberg Audi +1.339
14. 14. Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.447
15. 15. Franco Colapinto Alpine +1.579
16. 16. Carlos Sainz Williams +1.985

Q1:

The McLarens were the first of the usual front-running teams to put in times, with Piastri going quickest ahead of Norris, before Hamilton slotted between them.

But it was Leclerc who put down the first proper marker with a 1:30.078 to go almost four-tenths clear of the rest, as the Mercedes drivers came out to do their first laps.

Antonelli went 0.043 quicker than Leclerc, while Russell slotted into fifth, as Verstappen placed eighth.

Hulkenberg underlined Audi’s potential with a time good enough for fifth, going quicker than Hamilton and Russell and the two Red Bulls, while Russell radioed in to express his dissatisfaction with the handling of his W17.

The British driver said he could feel understeer from his car, with his engineer suggesting that it might be down to tyre temperature.

Towards the back with five minutes remaining, it was the two Williams, two Cadillacs, and two Aston Martins.

Leclerc went quickest of all, improving to a 1:29.915 as the cars started to re-emerge for their second runs of Q1. Verstappen also improved up to sixth, before dropping to seventh as Hamilton jumped up to fourth.

Russell also rebuilt his confidence by vaulting up to second behind Leclerc, making it Ferrari-Mercedes-Mercedes-Ferrari in the top four ahead of the two McLarens.

The two Williams drivers escaped the drop zone by moving into the top 16, dropping Bearman and Colapinto down into the bottom six – Bearman’s final lap wasn’t enough to climb back, with the British driver eliminated.

Colapinto’s final effort moved him back into 16th, dropping Albon back to 17th as the Williams driver was also eliminated, along with the two Cadillacs and the two Aston Martins.

Last-gasp improvements saw Piastri climb into fourth, while the Audis finished in sixth and seventh.

Having lost out to Sainz, Albon took to team radio to enquire as to where he’d lost out to the Spaniard, stating that he believed his driving style might be the reason for missing out on Q2.

1. 1. Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:29.915
2. 2. George Russell Mercedes +0.052
3. 3. Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.120
4. 4. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.285
5. 5. Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.394
6. 6. Nico Hulkenberg Audi +0.443
7. 7. Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +0.444
8. 8. Lando Norris McLaren +0.486
9. 9. Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.604
10. 10. Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.669
11. 11. Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +0.742
12. 12. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing +0.747
13. 13. Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +0.866
14. 14. Esteban Ocon Haas +1.000
15. 15. Carlos Sainz Williams +1.012
16. 16. Franco Colapinto Alpine +1.016
17. 17. Alex Albon Williams +1.173
18. 18. Oliver Bearman Haas +1.175
19. 19. Sergio Perez Cadillac +2.291
20. 20. Valtteri Bottas Cadillac +2.415
21. 21. Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +2.731
22. 22. Lance Stroll Aston Martin +3.004

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: Lando Norris on cusp of grid penalty after fresh reliability blow in Japan