Formula 1 in Japan
Young star grabs pole position
Updated March 28, 2026 – 10:12 amReading time: 2 minutes
At qualifying in Japan, the fight for pole position will once again be a duel between the Mercedes. In the end, the young star prevails.
Kimi Antonelli has secured pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver set the fastest lap in qualifying on the Suzuka circuit with a time of 1:28.778 minutes, relegating team-mate George Russell to second place. For a long time it seemed as if Ferrari and McLaren could be involved in the fight for the top, but in the end they had no chance. Oscar Piastri in the McLaren won the battle for third place. Charles Leclerc finished fourth in the Ferrari. World champion Lando Norris achieved fifth place in the second McLaren, putting him ahead of record champion Lewis Hamilton in sixth place.
Qualifying was disappointing for Max Verstappen. He was eliminated with his Red Bull in the second qualifying phase, only started the race from eleventh place and was beaten by his teammate Isack Hadjar, who finished in eighth place. “There’s something wrong with the car. It’s suddenly undriveable,” complained the 28-year-old on the pit radio. His record streak of four Japan victories in a row is likely to break this time. The only German, Nico Hülkenberg, ended up in 13th place in the Audi.
Before the third race of the season on Sunday (7 a.m. in the live ticker on t-online), the Brit Russell leads the overall standings with a four-point lead over Antonelli. Russell won the opener in Australia and the sprint in China, while his Italian teammate took his first Grand Prix victory in the main race in Shanghai.
After the Grand Prix on Sunday, Formula 1 will take a longer break. Due to the cancellation of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the war, the races in Miami will not continue until the beginning of May.
