Formula One Gradebook: Japanese Grand Prix
- Maham Mir
- 3 hours ago
- 14 min read
Written by Maham Mir, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
The third round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship took place at the incredibly popular Suzuka circuit in Japan.
The track, loved by drivers and fans alike, saw Kimi Antonelli only add more records to his name, and he also took the lead in the World Drivers’ Championship standings. As a result of this, Antonelli has become the youngest driver to ever lead the standings.
Other front-runners such as Ferrari had a bit more of a difficult weekend as McLaren were able to bring the fight to the prancing horses for the runner-up spot.
McLaren’s first podium finish of the season with Oscar Piastri in P2 was a welcome result after both cars failed to start the race in Shanghai.
However, one of the biggest headlines of the weekend was Ollie Bearman’s 50G crash which saw him emerge unhurt but not entirely unscathed, prompting serious discussions about additional safety measures that could and should be put in place to protect the drivers in these new cars.
Here’s how all 22 drivers performed on race day:
Mercedes
George Russell: A-
The British driver unfortunately had his first non-podium finish of the season, being forced to come home in a still respectable fourth. Having appeared to be on the back foot compared to his teammate all weekend, Russell’s race was further hampered by the safety car that was called after Bearman’s crash.
Given that Russell had emerged from the pit lane only moments before the safety car was called, his strategy left him out of sync with the rest of the pack.
Despite being on older tyres than Charles Leclerc in the closing stages of the race, Russell seemed intent on chasing down the Monégasque driver for the final podium position. Ultimately, however, Russell was unable to make it past Leclerc and had to settle for a non-podium finish. With this result, Russell relinquished the lead of the WDC standings, slotting into second with 63 points.
Kimi Antonelli - A
Fresh off the back of his maiden Grand Prix victory, Antonelli perhaps had one of his best weekends in F1 with another win. The Italian’s charge in Japan kicked off by qualifying on pole with a margin of three-tenths to P2.
However, despite his speed across the sessions in Suzuka, Antonelli fell victim to another bad start when the lights went out on Sunday. In contrast to his teammate’s fortunes, the safety car could not have come at a better time for Antonelli, and it was smooth sailing from then until the chequered flag.
Miami, where Antonelli became the youngest ever pole sitter for the sprint race format, will be the young Italian’s next target. If he continues on this trajectory and manages to record a third consecutive win, there's no doubt that discussion about the potential for a championship bid will intensify.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc - A-
Ferrari had a more subdued weekend in Japan compared to the first two races of the season, with Charles Leclerc emerging as the leading Ferrari in Suzuka this time out.
The Prancing Horses, who have established themselves as second in the pecking order for the moment, were beaten by McLaren in qualifying as Piastri jumped ahead of Leclerc, who started fourth.
Whilst Ferrari didn’t shoot off into the distance at the race start as they had done in the previous two rounds, Leclerc did capitalise on the opportunity presented and was running in second at the end of the first lap.
Much like Russell, Leclerc was at a disadvantage when the safety car was called, as his teammate gained track position over him. However, the Monégasque driver put on a phenomenal recovery drive to get past his teammate and Russell to take the final podium place.
Lewis Hamilton - B+
Compared to his teammate, Hamilton had a much more difficult time in Suzuka. Having qualified sixth behind the McLaren of Lando Norris, the former seven-time world champion impressed with his pace and racecraft during his first stint on the medium tyres.
With the timing of the safety car benefitting him, he was also able to get the jump on his teammate for track position, an advantage that cannot be understated at a circuit like Suzuka, where overtaking has been known to be difficult in the past.
However, despite the pace of his first stint and the well-timed safety car, things soon got away from Hamilton as he dealt with a reported deployment issue. Having been passed by Norris and Russell in quick succession, Hamilton had to accept P6.
While Ferrari have netted three podiums in three races so far in 2026, Hamilton will be hoping that their fourth podium will mean his return to the top three next time out in Miami.
McLaren
Lando Norris - B+
It was another difficult weekend for the reigning world champion as a variety of issues stopped him from having three straightforward practice sessions in Suzuka. Despite being the more consistent of the two McLaren drivers, Norris has not had a straightforward weekend so far this season.
An incredibly impressive start off the line saw Norris move up into third. However, his pace quickly dropped off, and he seemed to be running his own race till the end of his first stint.
After being one of the first cars to pit, Norris was immediately on the pace again with the new hard tyres and eventually was able to fight against Hamilton’s Ferrari for position.
Although the battle went on for longer than either driver would have hoped, the pace of the McLaren certainly seemed improved in Suzuka, giving the team plenty to work with ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, where Norris took his first win in 2024.
Oscar Piastri - A
Oscar Piastri achieved a feat that’s been a long time coming, and finally completed his first racing laps of 2026. Not only did he complete the laps, but he certainly made them count.
Having qualified third for the race, Piastri had an excellent start, which saw him briefly take the lead of the race ahead of Leclerc and teammate Norris.
Like Russell, Piastri was also caught out by the timing of the safety car; however, even with the Mercedes engine in the back of the McLaren, there are questions about whether the Australian driver would have been able to hold off Antonelli for the race win.
This result has allowed Piastri to jump to sixth in the drivers’ standings; there’s no doubt that he will be hoping that the mechanical difficulties of the first two rounds of the season won’t reappear any time soon.
Piastri’s performance, alongside the performance of Norris as well, will allow McLaren to be cautiously optimistic ahead of the rest of the season.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen - B
On a track like Suzuka, where Verstappen has reigned supreme in the last few years, his performance and the performance of his Red Bull car signal a clear fall from grace in 2026.
After a shock Q2 elimination where Verstappen was knocked into the drop zone by 2026’s only rookie, the former four time world champion seemed set to only be able to contend with the likes of Alpine in the midfield.
Starting 11th, Verstappen made quick work of the cars ahead, including his teammate. Although the Dutchman’s battle with Pierre Gasly’s Alpine would come to define his race.
Speaking after the race, he noted that “when trying to overtake, there was no battery on the main straight; I was waiting to see if he [Gasly] might make a small mistake, but he did everything well”.
Bringing his car up to eighth for some points, Verstappen will no doubt be hoping that more upgrades to his Red Bull will bring him out of the midfield.
Isack Hadjar - B
Things were equally as difficult on the other side of the Red Bull garage, where Hadjar recorded his second non-points finish of the season. Despite running close to his teammate early on, Hadjar’s race, like the race of so many others, was determined by the timing of the safety car.
Ultimately, with a lack of pace and a reported issue with the deployment on his Red Bull, Hadjar crossed the line in 12th.
Echoing the sentiment of his teammate and Team Principal Laurent Mekies, Hadjar said: “Everyone is working hard to understand the issues, and we now have until Miami to put ourselves in a better position”.
Haas
Oliver Bearman - DNF
This weekend was a stark contrast to the previous two races of the season for Bearman. The sophomore driver, who had scored points in both Melbourne and Shanghai, seemed to be on the back foot compared to his teammate.
His shock Q1 elimination was one of the biggest headlines on Saturday, being the first time since the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix that Bearman has been outqualified by his teammate.
Starting towards the back of the grid, there was no doubt that there was little likelihood of Bearman progressing into the points, especially considering how difficult the Suzuka circuit is to overtake on.
However, Bearman’s chances of making a success out of this weekend were cut short after a 50G crash during the race, as he collided with the barriers.
The British driver, who took avoiding action after driving near Franco Colapinto, was cleared of any fractures by the medical team after he walked away from his car, although he required some assistance from the nearby marshalls.
Using the break to recover from such a high-impact crash, there can be no doubt that Bearman will be back to continue his otherwise excellent run of performances from Miami onwards.
Esteban Ocon - A-
Ocon made his first contribution to Haas’ points tally in the World Constructors’ Championship in 2026. Having outqualified his teammate for the first time this season, the Frenchman was in a better place for the race.
The timing of the safety car no doubt caught Ocon out, and after already struggling in his battle with the Audi pair, it perhaps seemed as though his race was going to be over without points.
However, the pace of the Haas with its Ferrari engine meant that he was able to make his way back up through the field. Although he was eventually stuck behind Lawson’s Racing Bulls, the speed of the car will no doubt be optimistic for the team going into the next part of the season.
As a result of the points, Haas remain in fourth in the constructors’ championship, crucially ahead of Alpine and Red Bull, who sit level on points.
The American outfit have been noted as favourites by some to contend for the midfield title of ‘best of the rest’, and there’s no doubt both cars will need to continue to score points if they hope to match their best finish of fourth in the standings.
Racing Bulls
Arvid Lindblad - C
Driving at another new track for the first time, Arvid Lindblad did not have the smoothest of weekends as he missed out on crucial practice time ahead of Saturday’s qualifying.
Despite making it into Q3 at the expense of Verstappen, Lindblad’s difficult start to the race meant that he was in a position to be caught out by the safety car.
Dropping down to 14th from 10th after coming in for his stop, the Racing Bulls looked to be lacking in their pace advantage around Suzuka, hampering Lindblad’s charge through the field.
Contending with the faster Audis ahead, there was little more that the rookie could have done to turn things around this weekend.
Liam Lawson - A
Another weekend, another points finish for Liam Lawson who has slowly but surely been finding his footing again in comparison to his rookie teammate.
Unlike Lindblad, who was caught out with the timing of the safety car, Lawson’s well-timed trip to the pitlane meant that he was able to capitalise on the opportunity and gain some on-track advantage with his new tyres.
After swapping onto newer tyres, Lawson’s pace was good enough to keep a hold of the track position he managed to gain, an especially impressive feat considering the pace of the cars behind.
In the latter stages of the race, the battle for P9 between Lawson and Ocon was one of the more tense fights on track, with the RB man emerging victorious on this occasion.
It’s been a turbulent year for Lawson, as the Suzuka Grand Prix marked almost a year since his demotion from the senior Red Bull team. However, there’s no doubt that the New Zealander is capable of more excellent performances.
Audi
Gabriel Bortoleto - C+
Both Audi drivers had a relatively quiet weekend; after the difficulties of China, where both cars failed to finish the race, being able to see the lights was a good change in fortune.
Gabriel Bortoleto qualified in the top 10, outqualifying his teammate yet again. However, the hard work to make it into the top 10 was soon undone.
A bad race start saw him drop down the order, and on a track like Suzuka, where overtaking is known to be difficult, this practically determined his finishing position even before the halfway distance.
The timing of the safety car meant that Bortoleto was able to make his way back into the points-scoring positions. However, the Audi engine, alongside dealing with its reliability issues, was unable to produce the pace required to fight the cars ahead.
Nico Hülkenberg - C
Hülkenberg, although not the lead Audi when the cars took to the grid, finished the race ahead of Bortoleto in 11th. However, this result did not come without its challenges as the German driver dropped down to 19th as a result of a poor race start.
When the safety car was called, Hülkenberg chose to delay his pitstop by an extra lap on track, which gave him fresher tyres compared to the other cars.
The extra life in his tyres meant he was able to pass his teammate with little fight between the two Audi drivers. However, the time spent in traffic meant that Hulkenberg was unable to make any progress towards chasing down Ocon for the final points position, leaving him to make do with a finish just outside the points in 11th.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly - A
Perhaps one of the most underrated drivers of the season so far, Gasly recorded another decent haul of points. The odds fell in his favour after the safety car and his chosen strategy, gaining track position and newer tyres.
Once he emerged back onto track, the battle between himself and former teammate Verstappen kept both drivers occupied until the end of the race.
Lasting until the chequered flag, the French driver was able to keep Verstappen at bay, dictated by the speed of the Mercedes engine as well as the depleting battery on Verstappen’s Red Bull. In the end, Gasly came home in seventh, bringing them level with Red Bull in the constructors’ standings.
Franco Colapinto - C+
Unable to repeat his point-scoring from the previous round, Colapinto had a quieter but by no means uneventful race compared to last time out in Shanghai. Having qualified in a less-than-ideal 15th, the Argentine driver faced an uphill battle to make it into the top 10.
Unlike his teammate ahead, who was battling with cars from the senior Red Bull team, Colapinto’s race was with the Racing Bulls of Lawson and Lindblad.
Making up a place on the opening lap after a good getaway, the Argentine driver found himself stuck in a train of traffic. An early stop brought him out near Bearman, which meant, after a couple of laps of fighting for position, Colapinto saw the British driver crash in Spoon.
With the subsequent safety car, the rest of the Alpine driver’s race was compromised.
Williams
Carlos Sainz - C
The woes for Williams continue as they deal with their overweight car; according to both of their drivers, this is the main source of their lack of performance and pace at the moment, exemplified in Suzuka.
Carlos Sainz, who has scored Williams’ only points so far this season, was able to progress into Q2; however ended the second part of qualifying as the slowest car on track in 16th.
From the start of the race, it became clear that Williams didn’t have the pace to compete for a result of contention, but also that they were destined to run in their own part of the field until their car issues are solved.
The four-time race winner was able to pit under safety car conditions, eventually paving the way for 15th on the road, despite not losing position to his rivals.
Alex Albon - C
The British-born Thai driver did not fare much better compared to his teammate. Albon, who missed out on Q2 by almost two-tenths, expressed his difficulties with the car on his radio after qualifying and things weren’t going to get much better during the race.
With his starting position towards the back of the grid, he was forced to contend with lots of traffic. Paired with the lack of pace in the Williams, there was little opportunity for him to move forwards.
Ultimately, Albon used the final part of the race as an opportunity to try out different things on the front wing, eventually finishing two laps down on race leader Antonelli.
He summed up Williams’ F1 experience in 2026 aptly, stating: “Realistically, we are achieving what we can achieve and executing our races as best as we can, but we just need to get on top of some issues and get a bit more speed in the car”.
Cadillac
Sergio Pérez - C
Both Cadillac cars were able to finish the race in Suzuka, an admirable feat considering some of their difficulties in the 2026 season so far. Struggling with deployment issues during qualifying, Pérez only managed 19th, but crucially was ahead of both Aston Martin cars.
In the end, benefitting from the DNFs of Bearman and Stroll, Pérez finished P17 and ahead of his teammate.
As evidenced by the tyre choices at the start of the race, Pérez was on an entirely different strategy to his teammate. After the chequered flag, the Mexican driver was quick to highlight Suzuka as the team’s “strongest race so far this year”.
Valtteri Bottas - C
Bottas, as the only driver to start on the hard tyres, was entirely out of sync with the rest of the field, most likely an attempt by Cadillac to see how their cars would run in different conditions, and in clean air as well.
Ultimately, the gamble did not pay off for the American outfit, as Bottas came in before the safety car, not being able to take full advantage of the longer-lasting hard tyres.
Ultimately, the Finn brought his car back in P19 after a relatively uneventful race, given the lack of performance in his car, leaving him unable to challenge for position.
After the race, Bottas noted, “We’ve learned a lot that we can use to improve for the next race,” and that no doubt will help the team over the course of the rest of the season.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso - C+
Although it took three rounds, Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso finally completed a full race in 2026. After a difficult start to the season, Alonso stepped into the AMR26 on Friday afternoon, having missed the morning session to make way for Jak Crawford.
Qualifying for the two-time former world champion only resulted in 21st; however, there’s no doubt the Spaniard is capable of racing hard and fair when given the right car.
Finishing a lap down on the leader, it was far from the ideal race for Alonso, but being able to see the chequered flag is certainly an achievement compared to their position in Melbourne.
As it currently stands, Cadillac and Aston Martin appear to be locked in a battle for the last spot in the constructors’ standings, unless Aston Martin can introduce upgrades capable of tackling the vibration issues, amongst others.
Lance Stroll - DNF
The Canadian driver is yet to finish a race in 2026; however, this is the longest he has driven the AMR26 on track so far this season. It can be safely concluded that the data collection project is still running.
Having qualified 22nd, there was little doubt that the Aston Martin would not be fighting for points in front of Honda’s home crowd. However, the all-important focus on data collection was achieved before Stroll was forced to call time due to a suspected water pressure issue.
Looking ahead
F1 now has a five-week break after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were cancelled due to unrest in the Middle East. There’s no doubt that all teams, front-runners and backmarkers alike, will take this opportunity to understand more about their cars and engines.
F1 will return next for the Miami Grand Prix, the first of three American races on the 2026 calendar.
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