Antonelli Claims Pole for 2026 Japanese GP

Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli topped Qualifying to claim pole position for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix.

Antonelli topped FP3 plus Q2 and Q3 to secure his third pole position in F1 and this is his first pair of consecutive pole positions in the sport, as the 19-year old headed George Russell in a Mercedes front-row lockout amidst challenges from McLaren and Ferrari.

 

FP3

Alpine’s Franco Colapinto was the sole driver straight out onto the track and the Argentinean proceeded to set 1m 33.665 as the benchmark time on the medium tyre,

His teammate, Pierre Gasly came out shortly afterwards and found 0.805 seconds to set 1m 32.860, before he briefly exchanged fastest laps with Lewis Hamilton on the soft tyre in a quiet start to the session.

Ferrari soon showed their hand as Hamilton lowered the benchmark to 1m 31.056, only for his teammate – Charles Leclerc to find a further 0.038s.

Antonelli however responded on his first flier with 1m 30.418 to lay a marker in the 19th minute, which Leclerc beat six minutes later with 1m 30.225 to head Russell and Antonelli at the halfway mark, with the trio split by 0.189s.

McLaren’s Lando Norris meanwhile missed the opening half-hour of the session due to an ERS issue.

Just past the half-hour mark, Antonelli set 1m 29.929 but Russell found 0.011s extra on his teammate as the soft-tyre qualifying simulations began.

Russell subsequently lowered his benchmark time to 1m 29.616 in the 42nd minute, yet Antonelli barely a minute later responded with 1m 29.3652 to top the session.

Haas’ Oliver Bearman was the only driver to not set his fastest lap on the soft tyre after he spun on the exit of Spoon Curve on his soft-tyre qualifying simulation, having clipped an outside kerb mid-corner.

Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Andrea Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1m 29.352
2	George Russell	Mercedes	+ 0.254
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+ 0.867
4	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+ 1.002
5	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+ 1.021
6	Lando Norris	McLaren	+ 1.238
7	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+ 1.296
8	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	+ 1.548
9	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+ 1.638
10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+ 1.720
11	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	+ 1.732
12	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+ 1.735
13	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+ 1.926
14	Esteban Ocon	Haas	+ 1.964
15	Oliver Bearman	Haas	+ 2.196
16	Alex Albon	Williams	+ 2.371
17	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+ 2.397
18	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+ 2.467
19	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+ 3.141
20	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+ 3.178
21	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+ 4.123
22	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+ 4.167

 

Qualifying

Q1

Lawson was first out on track and laid 1m 31.785 on the soft tyre as the initial benchmark time but times soon tumbled as Ocon displaced him with 1m 31.466 amongst the initial runners.

Once everyone set a lap time, Antonelli set the pace with 1m 30.035 whilst the elimination zone comprised of; Sainz, Bearman, Perez, Bottas, Alonso and Stroll, but Bearman found time on his second flier to move into the safety spots at the expense of Albon.

Leclerc meanwhile set a Q1-topping lap time of 1m 29.915 on his second run to head Russell and Antonelli.

At the checkered flag, Sainz found enough pace to escape the drop at the expense of Bearman who qualified 18th behind Albon, whilst Perez outqualified Bottas as Cadillac filled the second-last row on the grid.

Alonso meanwhile will line up 21st ahead of Stroll as Aston Martin locked out the back row.

 

Q2

Antonelli was first out on track and the Italian proceeded to set 1m 29.774 as the initial benchmark time ahead of Leclerc, Russell and Hamilton amongst the initial early runners.

Piastri however set 1m 29.451 on his first flier to top the timesheet, whilst the elimination zone comprised of; Hulkenberg, Ocon, Lindblad, Colapinto, Lawson and Sainz.

Lindblad however escaped the drop at the checkered flag at the expense of Verstappen who could only qualify 11th with what he described as an “undrivable” car on team radio.

Ocon qualified 12th ahead of Hulkenberg, Lawson, Colapinto and Sainz.

Piastri’s pace-setting time meanwhile was beaten by Leclerc until Antonelli set a session-topping 1m 29.048 to head the Monegasque by 0.255 seconds.

 

Q3 

Antonelli again was the first driver to hit the track and the 19-year old immediately laid 1m 28.778 as the provisional pole time, as Russell fell 0.298s shy of his teammate but only 0.056s clear of Piastri who put his McLaren third fastest.

Norris found himself fourth after the opening Q3 runs ahead of; Leclerc, Hamilton, Hadjar, Gasly, Bortoleto and Lindblad.

Once the checkered flag fell, none of the top three drivers improved as Antonelli claimed consecutive pole positions for the first time in F1, with Russell ensuring a Mercedes front-row lock-out.

Piastri qualified third ahead of Leclerc who pipped Norris to fourth by 0.004s after a snap of oversteer through Spoon cost him a shot at pole position, whilst Hamilton will start sixth for Ferrari.

Gasly, Hadjar, Bortoleto and Lindblad rounded out the top ten.

Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	Andrea Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1m 28.778
2	George Russell	Mercedes	+ 0.298
3	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+ 0.354
4	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+ 0.627
5	Lando Norris	McLaren	+ 0.631
6	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+ 0.789
7	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+ 0.913
8	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	+ 1.200
9	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+ 1.496
10	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+ 1.541
11	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1m 30.262
12	Esteban Ocon	Haas	+ 0.047
13	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+ 0.125
14	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+ 0.233
15	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+ 0.365
16	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+ 0.771
17	Alex Albon	Williams	1m 31.088
18	Oliver Bearman	Haas	+ 0.002
19	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+ 1.118
20	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+ 1.242
21	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+ 1.558
22	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+ 1.832