Japanese GP 2026
Andrea Kimi Antonelli won round 3 of 23 for Mercedes at Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Japan, on 2026-03-29. This is a conventional weekend: three practice sessions, qualifying on Saturday, one race. The full classification, the standings as they stood afterwards and every session time in Finnish time are below.
This is round 3 of 23 on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar, a conventional weekend, with 20 Grand Prixs after it. 6 of the 23 rounds use the sprint format. The full F1 calendar lists every one in Finnish time and the fantasy guide explains how this weekend scores.
Japanese GP F1 Session Times In Finnish Time
All 5 sessions, converted with the Europe/Helsinki zone rather than a fixed offset — which matters this season because six rounds fall in EET and round 18 straddles the October changeover. The right-hand column is the circuit's own local clock.
| Session | Day | Finnish time | Circuit time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Fri 27 Mar | 04:30 EET | 03:30 |
| Practice 2 | Fri 27 Mar | 08:00 EET | 07:00 |
| Practice 3 | Sat 28 Mar | 04:30 EET | 03:30 |
| Qualifying | Sat 28 Mar | 08:00 EET | 07:00 |
| Race | Sun 29 Mar | 08:00 EEST | 07:00 |
How To Watch The Japanese GP In Finland
Every session of the 2026 Formula 1 season is on Viaplay in Finland, including practice. That is the only Finnish Formula 1 rights-holder, so there is no free-to-air alternative for this Grand Prix. The weekend opens with Practice 1 at 04:30 EET on Fri and closes with Race at 08:00 on Sun — the countdown at the top of this page tracks whichever comes next.
Our Formula 1 desk covers the weekend as it happens, and the F2 and F3 desk covers the support races that share the bill at most Grand Prix weekends.
If you are reading from outside Finland, the countdown adds your own local clock beside the Finnish time rather than replacing it. Every other F1 round is listed the same way on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar, and the F1 results archive carries each Grand Prix once it has run.
The Circuit: Suzuka Circuit
The Japanese GP is held at Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan, at 34.8431, 136.541. The reference record for this circuit, including its full history of Formula 1 rounds, is the circuit's own entry.
Track knowledge is why an F1 Grand Prix page is worth keeping separate from a season page: a Formula 1 lap at Suzuka Circuit is not an F1 lap anywhere else, and the pit lane, the grid slot that matters and the corner that decides this Grand Prix are specific to Suzuka.
The most recent championship round here went 53 laps, which is the distance to plan a viewing around.
Japanese GP 2026 Grand Prix Full Result
Andrea Kimi Antonelli led home Oscar Piastri by +13.722 over 53 laps from grid slot 1. The classified order below is the official one, with everyone who failed to finish named underneath it.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Time / status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1 | 1:28:03.403 | 25 |
| 2. | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 3 | +13.722 | 18 |
| 3. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 4 | +15.270 | 15 |
| 4. | George Russell | Mercedes | 2 | +15.754 | 12 |
| 5. | Lando Norris | McLaren | 5 | +23.479 | 10 |
| 6. | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 6 | +25.037 | 8 |
| 7. | Pierre Gasly | Alpine F1 Team | 7 | +32.340 | 6 |
| 8. | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 11 | +32.677 | 4 |
| 9. | Liam Lawson | RB F1 Team | 14 | +50.180 | 2 |
| 10. | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | 12 | +51.216 | 1 |
Of the 22 starters, 5 did not see the finish: Alonso (Lapped), Bottas (Lapped), Albon (Lapped), Stroll (Retired), Bearman (Retired). Retirements are given by cause rather than dropped from the table, because a retirement is usually the thing that decided the afternoon.
Japanese GP Grand Prix Qualifying
Andrea Kimi Antonelli took pole for Mercedes with a 1:28.778. The top ten below is the order that set the grid, with each driver's best time in the session they were eliminated in.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:30.035 | 1:29.048 | 1:28.778 |
| 2. | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:29.967 | 1:29.686 | 1:29.076 |
| 3. | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:30.200 | 1:29.451 | 1:29.132 |
| 4. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:29.915 | 1:29.303 | 1:29.405 |
| 5. | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:30.401 | 1:29.795 | 1:29.409 |
| 6. | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:30.309 | 1:29.589 | 1:29.567 |
F1 Championship Standings After Round 3
Andrea Kimi Antonelli led on 72 points after this round, 9 clear of George Russell. This is the table as it stood at the time, not today — the current one is in the results archive.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 72 |
| 2. | George Russell | Mercedes | 63 |
| 3. | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 49 |
| 4. | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 41 |
| 5. | Lando Norris | McLaren | 25 |
| 6. | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 21 |
| 7. | Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 17 |
| 8. | Pierre Gasly | Alpine F1 Team | 15 |
| 9. | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 12 |
| 10. | Liam Lawson | RB F1 Team | 10 |
| 19. | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac F1 Team | 0 |
Constructors After This Round
Mercedes led the constructors' table on 135 points at this point in the season. The teams' order tends to move more slowly than the drivers', which is what makes it the better read on whether an upgrade actually worked.
| Pos | Team | Wins | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mercedes | 3 | 135 |
| 2. | Ferrari | 0 | 90 |
| 3. | McLaren | 0 | 46 |
| 4. | Haas F1 Team | 0 | 18 |
| 5. | Alpine F1 Team | 0 | 16 |
| 6. | Red Bull | 0 | 16 |
| 7. | RB F1 Team | 0 | 14 |
| 8. | Audi | 0 | 2 |
| 9. | Williams | 0 | 2 |
| 10. | Cadillac F1 Team | 0 | 0 |
| 11. | Aston Martin | 0 | 0 |
The Finnish Angle On This F1 Grand Prix
Valtteri Bottas finished 19 for Cadillac F1 Team from grid slot 20 — +42.621. He is the only Finn on the 2026 grid, and this is the figure no competing preview of this round bothers to give a Finnish reader.
Away from Formula 1 the Finnish contingent is larger: 6 Finns are in the World Rally Championship, where Jari-Matti Latvala is 24th on 4 points for JML-Sports. The driver pages track all of them round by round, and the junior ladder is where the next ones come from.
Next Sessions Across The Season
| Session | Event | Finnish time |
|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Italian GP | Fri 13:30 EEST |
| Practice 2 | Italian GP | Fri 17:00 EEST |
| Practice 3 | Italian GP | Sat 13:30 EEST |
| Qualifying | Italian GP | Sat 17:00 EEST |
| Race | Italian GP | Sun 16:00 EEST |
Previous And Next F1 Round
- Round 2: Chinese GPThe round before this one, with its result and standings.
- Round 4: Miami GPWhat follows, with session times already in Finnish time.
- The full 2026 calendarAll 23 rounds and 115 sessions, downloadable as a calendar file.
- 2026 results archiveEvery completed round and the current championship table.
This page is currently showing the classification and the standings as they stood after the race. It is rebuilt as the F1 weekend progresses rather than replaced by a separate report, so this one address carries the preview beforehand and the result afterwards.
Session times are converted to Europe/Helsinki from the RacingNews365 match centre; the classification, championship positions, sprint result and previous runnings are the official record via the Jolpica Ergast mirror. Both sources agree round for round on the 2026 calendar. Checked 26 August 2026.