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2026 Japanese Grand Prix qualifying: Kimi Antonelli took pole

Kimi Antonelli took pole for Mercedes ahead of George Russell and Oscar Piastri at Suzuka.

Explore the race weekend, results, standings, drivers, teams, and related Formula 1 history.

Race recap

Pole
Kimi Antonelli
Pole team
Mercedes
Front row
Kimi Antonelli and George Russell
Classified
Top 22
Round
3
Circuit
Suzuka
Qualifying date
March 28, 2026

The front of the grid

Kimi Antonelli qualified first for Mercedes. George Russell secured the other front-row place for Mercedes, with Oscar Piastri third for McLaren.

How the classification lined up

The first three positions were Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri. P4 through P22 were Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoleto, Arvid Lindblad, Max Verstappen, Esteban Ocon, Nico Hülkenberg, Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto, Carlos Sainz Jr., Alexander Albon, Oliver Bearman, Sergio Pérez, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso, and Lance Stroll.

Team representation

Alpine placed 2 cars, Aston Martin placed 2 cars, Audi placed 2 cars, Cadillac placed 2 cars, Ferrari placed 2 cars, Haas placed 2 cars, McLaren placed 2 cars, Mercedes placed 2 cars, Racing Bulls placed 2 cars, Red Bull placed 2 cars, and Williams placed 2 cars in the published classification. This summary reports only the supplied order and driver identities.

This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Mar 29, 2026.

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