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Formula

Lambiase set for McLaren switch in F1 2028

Max Verstappen's long-time Red Bull race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is set for a switch to McLaren, Autosport understands. Lambiase has long been the subject of intense interest across the paddock, as the 45-year-old weighed up his options last winter. Amid links with Aston Martin and Williams, Lambiase ultimately chose to remain in place at Red Bull, where he not only performs the job of ... Keep reading

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Formula

Stroll: Aston Martin F1 struggles a factor in surprise GT outing

Lance Stroll says Aston Martin’s ongoing woes in Formula 1 played a role in his decision to enter this weekend’s GT World Challenge Europe event at Paul Ricard. The Canadian will take advantage of an unexpected gap on the F1 calendar to contest the opening GTWCE Endurance Cup event of 2026, driving Comtoyou Racing’s Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo with Roberto Merhi and Mari Boya. It ... Keep reading

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Formula

The pros and cons of F1's enforced break and cancelled races

If normal service were to resume, most Formula 1 staff would be on a flight to Bahrain today in preparation for a desert double-header. Instead, the war in Iran and the subsequent cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds has offered F1's circus a 'spring break' to reflect on the opening three rounds of the 2026 campaign before returning to action in Miami at the start of ... Keep reading

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Formula

Hill's standout memories from his 1996 F1 title-clinching race, 30 years on

On 13 October 1996, Damon Hill clinched the Formula 1 world championship at Suzuka by nine points over team-mate Jacques Villeneuve after a dominant campaign for Williams. The Briton therefore avenged his near-miss in 1994 to take what would be his only F1 title and 30 years on, Hill has returned to his old stable as an ambassador. So, at March’s Japanese Grand Prix, Williams took the ... Keep reading

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Formula

What did Verstappen actually say in 2023 about the 2026 F1 cars?

There has been no bigger critic of the 2026 Formula 1 regulations than Max Verstappen. The four-time world champion first caused a stir during pre-season testing when he labelled the new ruleset as "anti-racing" and like "Formula E on steroids" due to the increased reliance on electrical energy. His fears were that the new power units would create a kind of racing that has been witnessed ... Keep reading

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Formula

The new F1 rule which makes Antonelli expect Ferrari to close in on Mercedes

Formula 1’s 2026 regulations have largely met expectations as Mercedes has been the dominant team with Ferrari and McLaren being its closest challengers. The Silver Arrows has won every grand prix from pole and Kimi Antonelli leads George Russell at the top of the drivers’ standings after three rounds, with Mercedes also 45 clear of second-placed Ferrari in the constructors’ ... Keep reading

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Multi-series

2026 FIA World Rally Championship – Croatia Rally– FIA Event Preview

Sport newsPlease click <a target="_blank" href="https://che01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmcusercontent.com%2Fd2e7b24d2c1e6cecc65ebe300%2Ffiles%2Fad084d6d-88ed-a8a6-0ba7-87529484e3cc%2FFIA_WRC_Preview_Croatia_Rally.pdf&amp;data=05%7C02%7Csgood%40fia.com%7Cd43a3d4c0b144660f4d308de94a10859%7Ce57a211012214928b0de09ad811ad193%7C0%7C0%7C639111616561650480%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=%2FkB4VBk4azCi8eaNzBBs6Rb7SxrlXbaeYOiXbmyrUwE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">here</a> to view the PDF version. <img class="media-element file-fia-image-full content-details" data-delta="2" src="https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/styles/content_details/public/fia_wrc_preview_croatia_rally_page-0001_2_1.jpg?itok=Kf61VKWB" alt=""><div class='category-icon news'></div><a href="/tags/wrc">WRC</a><img src="https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/news/main_image/dppi_01124008_367.jpg" width="5000" height="3333" alt="" /><a href="/taxonomy/term/12">Sport</a>1SportWRC00Tuesday, April 7, 2026 - 2:29pmTuesday, April 7, 2026 - 2:29pm

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The Search is on for the World's Smartest, Safest, and most Sustainable Driver

FIA newsThe Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the global governing body for motor sport and the federation for mobility organisations worldwide, today announced that entries are now open for the 2026 season of the FIA Smart Driving Challenge (FIA SDC). Starting today (1 April), all drivers can get involved in the challenge, regardless of where they’re based or what kind of vehicle they drive. Participants can visit the <a href="https://www.fiasmartdrivingchallenge.com/" target="_blank">FIA SDC website</a> or download the app to find out more. Now in its eighth year, the FIA SDC is the world’s first challenge that rewards smart, safe and eco-friendly driving, with everyday drivers competing to help make roads safer and reduce environmental impact worldwide. Led by the FIA and powered by Greater Than’s AI technology, drivers simply download the FIA SDC app, connect to their car via Bluetooth, and the app does the rest, measuring safety and sustainability performance and providing drivers with scores and feedback to support lasting behaviour change. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “Smart driving isn’t just reserved for professional drivers when they’re racing or rallying, it’s a mindset we can all adopt every time we get behind the wheel. “The FIA Smart Driving Challenge brings together a global community of drivers, united to inspire, motivate and challenge one another to bring safer and more sustainable mobility to our roads.” Running from April to December, the FIA SDC features seven heats. The top 20 drivers qualify for the Playoffs, where they will compete for two places in the live head-to-head Grande Finale this December. The winner will be crowned the World’s Smartest Driver. Since its first season in 2019, the FIA SDC has welcomed a growing number of participants from around the world. Last season saw drivers from 97 countries take part, with an average reduction in battery usage or CO2 emissions of 9%, increasing to almost 30% for winner Alexandre Stricher. Throughout the season, participants also drove with a 37.5% lower risk level than the average driver.* Willem Groenewald, Secretary General for Automobile Mobility &amp; Sustainability at the FIA said: “The FIA Smart Driving Challenge gives everyone a simple way to make a difference with every journey, just by downloading an app. That’s the beauty of this Challenge, every journey to work, to the shops or to the school gates is a chance to climb the leaderboard and become a smarter driver.” Johanna Forseke, Incoming CEO at Greater Than said: “We’re very proud that our AI powers the FIA Smart Driving Challenge, an initiative that has grown significantly in reach and impact over the years. “Now, as we enter the eighth season, the need to focus on safe, sustainable driving has never been greater. The strong engagement shows that drivers are keen to learn from AI-driven insights and highlights the real-world value of the Challenge.”<div class='category-icon news'></div><a href="/tags/mobility">Mobility</a><img src="https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/news/main_image/fia.gt_.fiasdc.season26.jpg" width="960" height="541" alt="" /><a href="/taxonomy/term/11">FIA</a>1FIAMobility00Wednesday, April 1, 2026 - 8:48amWednesday, April 1, 2026 - 8:48am

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F1 – Antonelli wins in Japan to become youngest championship leader in F1 history

Sport newsMercedes’ Kimi Antonelli recovered from a poor start and profited from a fortunate Safety Car to jump his rivals and take a convincing Japanese Grand Prix win that makes the Italian teenager the youngest Drivers’ Championship leader in the history of the sport. When the lights went out at the start, polesitter Antonelli and front-row starting team-mate George Russell got away badly and the pair were quickly swamped by rivals. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was quickest off the line and he roared between the two to take the lead ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and hard-charging world champion Lando Norris. Russell dropped to fourth and Antonelli fell to sixth as the field swarmed through the opening corners. Antonelli was soon past Ferrari’s Lewis Hamillton to take P5 and Russell was quickly into third ahead of Norris. The Briton then muscled his way past Leclerc on lap four to take second place. The Australian Grand Prix winner soon began to put pressure on Piastri but after passing the Australian driver into the final chicane on lap 15, the McLaren man immediately responded and stole back the lead as they powered towards Turn 1. Norris was the first of the frontrunners to make a pit stop, on lap 15, and he was followed in by Piastri and then Russell. However, within moments of Russell returning to the action, the Safety Car was deployed. Haas’ Oliver Bearman closed rapidly on Alpine’s Franco Colapinto into Spoon but the slower Argentine driver was on the racing line and Bearman was forced to leave the track at high speed to avoid a collision. As soon as went onto the grass he lost control, speared back across the track and slammed sideways into the barriers. The British driver was able to climb out of his damaged car but he limped to a halt with a badly bruised knee. The Safety Car handed a group of drivers a ‘free’ stop and it was Antonelli who benefited most. The Mercedes driver was able to jump ahead of Piastri and Russell to take the lead. Hamilton also profited, taking P4 ahead of Leclerc and Norris with Pierre Gasly in P8 ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who was slogging through a frustrating race/.When the track went green again, Antonelli held the lead ahead of Piastri and gradually began to pull away from the McLaren. Behind them, Hamilton stole third from Russell, and then on lap 37 the Mercedes driver was also passed by Leclerc. He was able to stay with the battling Ferraris, however, and when Leclerc finally got past Hamilton, Russell also closed in and dismissed the seven-time champion. That set up a fascinating deployment battle to the flag between Leclerc and Russell and though the Mercedes driver almost got past in the closing stages, the Ferrari driver was able to hold on for this second podium finish of the season. Ahead Antonelli was in total control, however, and after 53 laps he crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of Piastri to take his second consecutive win and the championship lead. Piastri took his first podium of the season in his first race start of the campaign after two successive DNSs. Behind Russell, Norris passed Hamilton to claim fifth, while Gasly held off Verstappen to take a well-deserved seventh place for Alpine. Verstappen cut a dejected figure in parc fermé after finishing eight and the final points paying places went to Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson in P9 and Haas’ Esteban Ocon. Antonelli now leads the 2026 FIA Formula One World Drivers' Championship on 72 points, nine ahead of Russell and 23 clear of third-placed Leclerc. Mercedes lead the Constructors' Championship with 135 points. Ferrari are second with 90 points, 44 ahead of third-placed McLaren. 2026 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix – Race 1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 53 1:28'03.403 2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 53 1:28'17.125 13.722 3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 53 1:28'18.673 15.270 4 George Russell Mercedes 53 1:28'19.157 15.754 5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 53 1:28'26.882 23.479 6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 53 1:28'28.440 25.037 7 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 53 1:28'35.743 32.340 8 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 53 1:28'36.080 32.677 9 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 53 1:28'53.583 50.180 10 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 53 1:28'54.619 51.216 11 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 53 1:28'55.683 52.280 12 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 53 1:28'59.557 56.154 13 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 53 1:29'02.481 59.078 14 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 53 1:29'03.251 59.848 15 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 53 1:29'08.411 1'05.008 16 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 53 1:29'09.176 1'05.773 17 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 53 1:29'35.856 1'32.453 18 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 52 1:28'29.951 1 lap /26.548 19 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 52 1:28'46.024 1 lap /42.621 20 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 51 1:28'08.470 2 laps /5.067 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 30 52'49.430 Retirement Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 20 32'44.370 Accident <a href="/championship/fia-formula-one-world-championship">FIA Formula One World Championship</a><div class='category-icon news'></div><a href="/tags/f1">F1</a><img src="https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/news/main_image/dppi_00126006_2398.jpg" width="6000" height="4000" alt="" /><a href="/taxonomy/term/2072">SEASON 2026</a><a href="/taxonomy/term/12">Sport</a><a href="/family/circuit">Circuit</a>1SportFIA Formula One World ChampionshipCircuitSEASON 2026F101Sunday, March 29, 2026 - 10:54amSunday, March 29, 2026 - 10:54am

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F1 - 2026 Japanese Grand Prix Post-Race Press Conference Transcript

Sport newsDRIVERS 1 – Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes) 2 – Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren) 3 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari) TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Damon Hill) Q: Kimi Antonelli, congratulations. You are officially the youngest ever person to lead a Formula 1 World Championship. Do you have anything to say? Kimi ANTONELLI: It feels pretty good. Of course, it’s too early to think about the championship, but we’re on the good way. I mean, in the race, I had a terrible start. Just need to check what happened. But then I was lucky with the Safety Car to be in the lead. But then the pace was just incredible and, you know, it was a really nice second stint. I felt very good with the car and very pleased with that. Q: Yeah, because the man next to you, Oscar, there, he swamped you at the start. You made a bad start, you said to Toto, apparently, you’re going to practice your clutches. KA: Yeah, I mean, luckily, I’ve got three weeks, so now I can practice some clutch drops just to get a better feel with it, because definitely it’s been a weak point so far this year and you need to improve that because you can easily win or lose races with that. Q: But you were working way back up through the field anyway, weren’t you? And then the Safety Car came out, which really handed you the lead, but after that you looked absolutely masterful, totally in control. KA: Yeah, I think obviously we were very lucky with Safety Car, but on the Medium, we were really strong once I got some free air, and then on the Hard the pace was just incredible. I don’t know what would have happened, how the outcome would have been, without the Safety Car, but yeah, it definitely made my life a lot easier. Q: We’ll come back to you in a second. Oscar, you finally got a race in. Oscar PIASTRI: Yeah, we do alright when we get to start! Q: And at one time you were saying that you thought you were comfortable, and you could possibly hang on to the position, but then the Safety Car arrived. OP: Yeah, it would have been really interesting to see what would have happened without that. I think, yeah, you know, I could keep George behind and just before the stops we’re actually pulling away a little bit again. So yeah, a shame that we never got to see what would have happened. But I think for us at this point to be disappointed about finishing second is a pretty good place to be. So yeah, massive thanks to the team. I think we did a really good job of executing with what we had. I think, you know, we clearly still need to find a bit of performance, but yeah, we took every opportunity we had today. Q: Well, it was closer anyway, wasn’t it, than not even getting a race, but well done for that. And Charles, a fighting third place. You know, you had to do everything you could to hang on to it. You got a bit of pressure there from George at the end. Charles LECLERC: Yeah, it was a bit of a sweaty one, this one. Obviously, the Safety Car, we got a little bit unlucky. So, from that moment onwards I knew I was a little bit on the back foot, especially compared to Kimi and Lewis. But then I was like, okay, let’s keep pushing, let’s try to keep those tyres and bring them to the end. And actually, it wasn’t as much of a disadvantage as I thought. The tyres were pretty good. The few laps that I had done wasn’t so bad. It’s just that we lost few positions. And then yeah, it was quite a fun race, just not quite enough to get Oscar. But yeah, it was a cool race. Q: Well done. Kimi, we’ve a little bit of a gap and you’re going to practise your clutches, but this is it, you won in Suzuka, one of the great tracks on the—have you got a few words to say for the Japanese fans? KA: Yeah, I mean, really happy to have won such a special track in front of these amazing fans. I think, you know, driving and racing here is a unique experience and yeah, really, really looking forward to come back next year. Arigato. PRESS CONFERENCE Q: Kimi, race win number two for you, and at one of the great racetracks in the world as well. Just how sweet was this one for you? KA: Yeah, it was nice to be back on the top step. Obviously, a very special win and a very special track. But, you know, on one side I’m very happy, but on the other side I’m a bit disappointed with how the start went. It’s an area where I need to work a lot, because it’s definitely not good enough and I’m just making my life a lot harder. So, definitely a lot of work to do still. But I was very lucky, of course, with the timing of the Safety Car, but yeah, then pace was very, very strong and really happy with that. Q: What were your issues getting away from the line? KA: Just, I think I dropped the clutch a bit too deep, deeper than what I should have, and obviously the tyres were also a bit colder, so obviously I went beyond the grip that was available and just lost a lot of places. Q: You knew you had a quick car, so what were you thinking at the end of lap one when you were P6? KA: I cannot say, but I was very mad. Q: Did you think the win was still on at that point? KA: Probably. I think it was a bit difficult to get by when I was behind Charles because we obviously had two completely different deployments and it was just hard to find the right place to overtake. Then he went back in the pit and then we improved a lot with the pace. And then obviously I was lucky with the Safety Car. But without the Safety Car, I don’t know how the outcome would have been. Definitely would have been a lot more difficult, but you never know. Q: Now you’re the youngest ever leader of the Formula 1 World Championship and the first Italian to win back-to-back races since Alberto Ascari. How do you imagine this news will go down back home in Italy? KA: I don’t know. I think we’ll find out pretty soon. But yeah, I’m not thinking too much about the championship. Of course it’s great, but it’s still a long way to go and need to keep raising the bar because, you know, George is very quick and for sure he’s going to be back at his usual level, and also competitors eventually they will get closer. I think we need to keep our head down and keep raising the bar. Q: Final one from me. We’ve got five weeks until the next race. Mercedes has won every race so far this year. Is there one area of car performance that you’d like to see the team work on between now and Miami? KA: Difficult. I think our car is very good. For sure, maybe with the start, but I think… I mean, today was completely my fault. But together, me and George, we’ve been struggling a bit more than what we would have anticipated since the start of the season, and today the McLaren got a really good start, so they’re clearly doing something better, for sure also on driver input. In this case Oscar did much better than me because… I cannot say, but I ‘effed’ it up pretty badly. But yeah, I just need to keep working on that area. Q: Very well done to you. Thank you, Kimi. Oscar, let’s come to you. Why don’t we start with the starts that Kimi’s just been referring to? Not a bad first Grand Prix start for you of 2026, was it exceptional? OP: I thought it was good, but I didn’t think it was super special. I think, you know, I saw Kimi go into wheelspin straight away and I didn’t really see what George was doing, and then obviously having to go around Kimi meant that the rest of my start was a little bit compromised. But yeah, it was good enough to get into the lead, which was great. So yes, clearly that was a good strength of ours today. Q: That was a strength. This is your third podium in three years here at Suzuka. Just what aspect of the car’s performance pleased you the most? OP: I’m not sure there was one that I was massively pleased with, but I think, clearly, we did a good job at the start today. I think this weekend we just did a really good job of optimising what we had, and I think from practice we were in a good window with the car in FP2 and we managed to get it back in that window for qualifying. We had a really good understanding of what we wanted from the power unit and how we had to kind of dial it in for the qualifying grip level. And then even today, I know that we did a lot of work on the starts. I think our starts through the practice sessions were really strong, and then yeah, I think the pace was probably a positive surprise. I think having clean air probably helped quite a lot at the start, but we did a good job, and I could pull away from George a little bit right before the stops. And yes, I think the strategy was good as well. So, I think we just nailed everything. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough for the win, but I think at the moment a result like today is as good as a win for us at the moment. Q: Do you think the timing of the Safety Car cost you the win? OP: I would have loved to have seen how it would have panned out. I think I need to look back and see whether Kimi was quicker than George or similar pace. I think if he was the same pace as George then it would have been a pretty stressful afternoon because I probably would have had both of them right on my gearbox. But yeah, I mean, I think once Kimi had clean air, clearly, he was a lot faster than me. So, I’m not sure we would have won the race, but I certainly would have loved to have found out. Q: That would have been intriguing. But have you come away from today thinking Mercedes are beatable? OP: Yes. I think we knew from last year, or we know from last year, that even when you have the best car you still need to operate it at an incredibly high level. And I think today on our side we did a really good job of that. But I think it’s interesting to see when someone else has the fastest car that it’s not that straightforward. And yeah, I think the fact that I could keep George behind for so long was really encouraging. But we’re under no illusion. We did everything right this weekend and we still got beaten by 15 seconds, so we’ve got a pretty big gap to fill. I’m confident that we can get there, but yes, we’ve still got some work to do. Q: Oscar, thank you for that. Well done to you. And well done, Charles, on the P3. A lot of pressure from George at the end. What was the key to keeping him behind? CL: I don’t know. I mean, it was quite tight at some points, and they were also being quite cheeky because I think his engineer was telling him things on the radio. My engineer was telling me what his engineer was telling on the radio, but he was doing then the opposite and that put me under quite a bit of pressure. At one point I think they told me, “Oh, he’s being told to use everything in the back straight,” or vice versa, or maybe in the main straight, and then for four laps in a row he was doing exactly the opposite of that. So, I understood it pretty quickly and I could defend. But at one point I got surprised in the last corner and yes, but it was quite a fun race. Unfortunately, a little bit unlucky for us because of the Safety Car at the wrong moment. I don’t think it would have changed significantly our race, but it made it a little bit more difficult for our second stint for sure. Q: Okay, that’s the Safety Car, but what were you thinking at the end of the opening lap when you were P2? CL: I mean, I was happy. Then I was obviously focusing on Oscar, but Oscar was very strong actually, especially in the first lap. In the first lap I was very surprised at how much he pulled away, and yes, after that I was just trying to be as close as possible to him, but he had a bit more pace and I thought also that free air was making a big difference. But I was just trying to wait for later on in the race, but it didn’t happen. Q: Final one from me. Something I asked Kimi earlier was, in the break before Miami, is there one aspect of Ferrari’s performance you’d like the team to focus on? CL: Well, I think doing a step back on those first three races, there’s a clear thing that we need to improve and this is surely the power unit. But we obviously cannot bring anything to Miami. But there’s not only that, and in a year like this one everything is very new. I think the rate of improvements of every team is massive, so there’s a lot more than just the power unit. There’s putting the tyres in the right window, there’s the aero, there’s the chassis, and on that we’ll work flat out in order to try and close the gap as much as possible to the Mercedes and to hopefully keep behind the McLaren, and then we’ll see. But yes, I think the power unit is maybe our main weakness at the moment, but there are many other things that can definitely influence and help us to close the gap in the meantime. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Q: (Laurence Edmondson – ESPN) Question to all three drivers. We saw a very nasty accident today, Ollie Bearman, and I don’t know if you’ve seen it on replays, but it was basically due to the closing speed between the two cars. We know the drivers have raised this concern already. How important is it that something does change ahead of Miami? Does it matter if it’s at the cost of this racing that we’re seeing? KA: I didn’t properly see what happened. I don’t know also if the guy in front… Did he move quite aggressively as well? I mean, yeah, this is a big thing for sure, but the FIA is already looking into how to improve for Miami, both in qualifying and race. So, let’s see what’s going to happen. But yeah, it’s very tricky, to be fair. CL: Yeah, I mean, I think that with these cars, surely we need to race differently and there’s no doubt about that. And one of the points actually was moving or changing direction whenever you are super clipping, and that’s what creates some quite dangerous scenarios. Whether we need to change absolutely everything for the race, I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m the only one… I don’t think I’m the only one speaking with other drivers, but it might be half-half, but I actually enjoy these cars for the racing bit. I think for qualifying there are definitely tweaks that we need to make in order for us to push those cars to the limit and not having to think too much about the energy. For the race, I think it also comes from just adjustments on our side in racing, in defending, and taking into account that the speed differences can be more important, and on that, I mean, probably more the defending cars than the attacking car. I mean, on my side as well in Australia there were some pretty tricky moments with George. So yes, I think it will also get better with time, but surely it’s tricky. OP: I mean, we’ve spoken about that being a possibility since these cars were conceptualised. Yeah, it’s what we’re stuck with, with the power units. There’s no easy way of getting around it. From what I saw there was no flashing light from Colapinto, so I don’t even think he was super clipping either, which is obviously a bit of a concern. I had a pretty close call in free practice with Nico because he caught me about three times as quick as I expected on the straight, and we were both at full throttle. So, I think there’s clearly an element of learning for us as drivers, and where the accident happened it’s not a place where you expect someone to come from so far behind and have such a big speed difference. And whilst we’re learning that, unfortunately things like this are probably going to happen, which is a shame. But, you know, I think we understand as a sport there’s a lot of things we need to tweak, a lot of things we need to change, and especially on safety grounds, yes, there’s some things that need to be looked into pretty quickly. Q: (Ben Waterworth – Speedcafe) Question for Oscar. Charles mentioned a bit about how he was surprised at McLaren and how you were able to pull away at that point. Were you surprised that you were able to stay ahead of him towards the end there and that you were able to stay ahead of Ferrari in the race? OP: I think we felt like we could maybe stay ahead of Ferrari. I think looking back at qualifying, clearly something wrong happened with the deployment for both Charles and Lewis, so I think the gap I had in qualifying flattered us a bit. And yeah, we thought that would be a challenge. And to be honest, I think Charles and I had very similar pace through most of the race. That was about what we expected. I think being able to keep George behind was a big surprise. Once he got back into second, I thought that he was going to come past in about half a lap and I was going to settle in for second and wait for Kimi to do the same. But the fact that we could be so close to Mercedes and beat one of them, I think that was a much more pleasant surprise. Q: (Michael Lamonato – Fox Sports Australia) Question for Oscar. We’ve talked a lot this season about how laps are really important to get under your belt with these new rules. This was your first Grand Prix distance. Andrea talked about how this was the best of you, or certainly that he’s seen all year. How do you feel like you performed today, and in terms of getting the most from your car package, how far away, if at all, do you feel like you were from getting the absolute maximum from the McLaren today? OP: I think this weekend was probably one of my best weekends in F1. I think I felt like I hit the ground running in practice, qualifying. I think we did a really good job of getting the car into the window I was happy with on Friday. I felt like I drove well in qualifying. In the race, yeah, there wasn’t anything more we could have done. We got a good start, the pace was good. I felt like I was strategic or smart with how I used the boost and how I managed that side of racing. Our strategy was good, you know, we didn’t blink too early. Obviously, the Safety Car was a shame, but I think as race weekends go we couldn’t have done any better than that. So yeah, for me I’m very happy with the performance that I put in, very happy with the performance from the whole team. Clearly, we’ve still got some, firstly, performance to find, but also on Lando’s side of the garage was a pretty interrupted weekend with all the issues, and clearly the start of the season has not been easy for us with reliability, so we’ve got a long way to go. But yeah, I think we showed that if we get everything as good as we can get it, then we can cause a few headaches. Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Kimi, I know earlier on you were saying that the championship is early days, but obviously Mercedes have won the first three races and you’ve got two, George has got one, so there’s a chance obviously that the winner of the championship could come from Mercedes. Are you ready for that rivalry with George, and are you worried at all that it could become a bit tense between the two of you? KA: No, I’m not worrying about that, to be fair. I’m just going to focus on myself, on what I need to do, trying to get everything right in terms of procedure, starts, driving. I know how strong George is and for sure it’s going to be very hard. Plus, I think Ferrari and McLaren, they will get closer, so it’s going to be important to stay on top of the game, as I said before, keep raising the bar. But I’m not focusing on or worrying about this at the moment. Just obviously happy with how things went today, and yeah, just going to try to make the best out of the break and trying to see how I can improve those areas in order to be back stronger. Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) Kimi, picking up on wanting to raise the bar there, through your rookie season you went through some ups and downs and bounced back stronger for it. Just how much do you feel you’ve levelled up in terms of your performances this season? Obviously, the car does help, but how much have you taken that step in year two? KA: Big step. Experience does a lot. Obviously last year I’ve gone through a lot and it taught me massively more than what I anticipated, and for sure it’s helping so far this year. Of course there’s still a lot of work to do, but I definitely feel much more in control of the situation. Of course, as you said, the car helps, and I’m going to try to be ready and everything because it’s one of those opportunities that don’t happen every day. So obviously, yeah, really, really grateful with the car that the team has provided us so far, and yeah, I just need to keep my head down. Q: (Laurence Edmondson – ESPN) To follow up on that, Kimi, how do you feel like you’ve closed the gap to George? Is that what you feel? Because you said you thought he’s going to get back to his usual level soon, but do you feel like you have closed in? And how much of that is you both starting from scratch with this new regulation set rather than getting into a car that you’ve been essentially driving, that type of car, for three or four years? KA: Yeah, for sure it helps that everyone started from zero. For sure it still helps, you know. But definitely I’ve been closing the gap with him. I think still in qualifying he has the upper hand, especially when it comes to Q3. He’s always able to find that little bit of extra, which I’m working on. But in terms of race pace, I think we have a really strong base. So yeah, I feel he’s obviously a super, super strong, very complete driver. I think he showed many times last year, and that’s why it’s not going to be easy, and that’s why I need to do everything as perfect as possible. ENDS <a href="/championship/fia-formula-one-world-championship">FIA Formula One World Championship</a><div class='category-icon news'></div><a href="/taxonomy/term/1041">Formula 1</a><img src="https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/news/main_image/e162a27e-439e-499f-9467-8412929c005f.jpeg" width="1280" height="853" alt="" /><a href="/taxonomy/term/2072">SEASON 2026</a><a href="/taxonomy/term/12">Sport</a><a href="/family/circuit">Circuit</a>1SportFIA Formula One World ChampionshipCircuitSEASON 2026Formula 100Sunday, March 29, 2026 - 10:38amSunday, March 29, 2026 - 10:38am

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F1 – Antonelli takes second pole of 2026 ahead of Russell and Piastri in Japan

Sport newsKimi Antonelli powered to his second successive pole of the new season, beating team-mate George Russell by almost three tenths of a second in qualifying for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri got closest to the pacesetting Mercedes pair, taking third place just three tenths off pole. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led the way in the opening segment of qualifying but as the session evolved, the Italian squad’s hopes faded and it was Mercedes’ Italian driver, Antonelli, who got on the front foot with the teenage sensation clearing Leclerc by two tenths in Q2 to to0p the timesheet and then stretching further ahead with his opening run in Q3. Antonelli went to the ragged edge as he posted a lap of 1:28.778 and with Russell struggling for rear end grip following a late set-up change, the young Italian, who took his first F1 win last time out in China, claimed provisional pole. Russell posed a brief threat in the final run as went quicker than his team-mate through the first sector, but both Mercedes drivers lost time over the rest of the lap and Antonelli his second pole in a row with 0.298s to spare over Russell. Oscar Piastri, who has failed to turn a racing lap in 2026 after registering DNSs in Melbourne and Shanghai, got his season back on track in qualifying at Suzuka, with the Australian claiming P3 just 0.354s off pole and 0.273s clear of Leclerc who suffered a wild snap through 130R on his final lap and had to settle for fourth place. The top five was completed the second McLaren of Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton took sixth place for Ferrari ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar in P8 ahead of Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad. There was no place in Q3, however, for Max Verstappen. The four-time champion had complained of both understeer and oversteer throughout the build-up to qualifying and his woes continued in the session. It looked like he had scraped through thanks to a final Q2 flyer of 1:30.262, but teenage rookie Lindblad popped up at the last moment to deny the Dutchman with a lap of 1:30.109. Behind Verstappen, Haas’ Esteban Ocon took P12 ahead of Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Williams’ Carlos Sainz. Sainz’s team-mate Alex Albion was the first faller in Q1 in P17 and the Thai driver was followed to the exit by Haas’ Ollie Bearman, Cadillac pair Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas and the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. 2026 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying 1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:28.778 - - 2 George Russell Mercedes 1:29.076 0.298 0.336 3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:29.132 0.354 0.399 4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:29.405 0.627 0.706 5 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:29.409 0.631 0.711 6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:29.567 0.789 0.889 7 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:29.691 0.913 1.028 8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:29.978 1.200 1.352 9 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:30.274 1.496 1.685 10 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:30.319 1.541 1.736 11 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:30.262 1.484 1.672 12 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:30.309 1.531 1.725 13 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:30.387 1.609 1.812 14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:30.495 1.717 1.934 15 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:30.627 1.849 2.083 16 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:31.033 2.255 2.540 17 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:31.088 2.310 2.602 18 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:31.090 2.312 2.604 19 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:32.206 3.428 3.861 20 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:32.330 3.552 4.001 21 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:32.646 3.868 4.357 22 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 1:32.920 4.142 4.666 <a href="/championship/fia-formula-one-world-championship">FIA Formula One World Championship</a><div class='category-icon news'></div><a href="/tags/f1">F1</a><img src="https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/news/main_image/dppi_00126006_1666.jpg" width="6000" height="4000" alt="" /><a href="/taxonomy/term/2072">SEASON 2026</a><a href="/taxonomy/term/12">Sport</a><a href="/family/circuit">Circuit</a>1SportFIA Formula One World ChampionshipCircuitSEASON 2026F101Saturday, March 28, 2026 - 9:25amSaturday, March 28, 2026 - 9:25am

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F1 - 2026 Japanese Grand Prix Post-Qualifying Press Conference Transcript

Sport news DRIVERS 1 – Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes) 2 – George RUSSELL (Mercedes) 3 – Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren) PARC FERMÉ INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Jean Alesi) Q: Kimi, what a pole position. Tell us from the inside. Kimi ANTONELLI: Yeah, I’m super happy with the session. It was a good one. It was a clean one and I felt very good in the car. Every run I was just improving and improving. It was a shame for the last lap because I locked up in Turn 11, but it was a good one as well. I’m really happy with the session and now we’ll focus on tomorrow. Q: We enjoy it a lot from outside. George, you have a hard time now in the team! George RUSSELL: Yeah, he did a great job again. Really strange session for us. I mean, we were both very fast all weekend. We made some adjustments after FP3 and then the beginning of qualifying we were nowhere, so we need to kind of understand that. Very lucky again to be in P2. Over the last two weekends it’s both gone wrong come qualifying, but race is tomorrow and still a lot to play for. Q: Oscar, finally a good start to the weekend. Oscar PIASTRI: Yeah, I mean, I think qualifying has been okay this year, but nice to get into the top three. I think this weekend we’ve looked good, and I think we’ve executed well. We clearly don’t have the pace or the grip to match Mercedes still, but we’re getting closer, which is the most important point. Q: Kimi, you will wake up everyone in Italy tomorrow morning. Everybody will watch you. But we are in Japan, and you see the fans. Say something to them. KA: Yeah, I mean, the fans here in Japan are pretty incredible. There’s so much passion and racing at such a historic track is an incredible feeling. The track is unbelievable to drive with these kinds of car, plus the fans give us a little bit more of a boost when we’re on track, so thank you so much for coming and yeah, arigato. PRESS CONFERENCE Q: Kimi, many congratulations. A tremendous lap in Q3 and you secured pole by nearly three tenths of a second. Just how good was that lap? KA: I had a really clean session, it felt good. I had a strong Run 1 and then from there on I just built the momentum. Obviously, it was a bit trickier than FP3, especially at the start of qualifying. I think the wind increased a little bit and it felt a little bit more difficult, the car, overall. But then we just tried to adapt and we made some tweaks with aero balance and found a good compromise. Then the lap in Q3 was good. It was a shame for the last one, but I think it was, overall, a very strong session. Q: Are you surprised by the gap to George? KA: Yeah, I am, but with this regulation it’s very easy to gain or lose three tenths, whatever the gap was. It’s really easy to gain and lose time, so it was the same for me in Melbourne. But, you know, he’s super quick, he’s been super quick around here and we’ll see tomorrow in the race how we’re going to do. Q: There’s been a lot of talk during the build-up to qualifying about how a lap would feel around Suzuka with these 2026 regulations. Tell us, how did you feel inside the car? KA: I mean, I think obviously there are parts of the track where you’re a little bit limited, a bit handcuffed on driving because of energy, but I think still the Esses are pretty good fun because at the end of the day the car on the chassis side is very good fun. The Esses in qualifying were getting pretty quick, so it was good fun. Of course, there’s still work to do and work around, on these big tracks with the energy, trying to find a solution that allows us to push even more and drive without thinking too much, especially in certain places. But overall, I think it was good fun, the qualifying, because at the end also you look at the lap times and they’re not so far off from last year, so I think qualifying today has been good fun. Q: Let’s throw it forward to tomorrow now. First of all, traditionally it’s been difficult to overtake at Suzuka. Do you think that’ll be different tomorrow with these cars? KA: Probably. I mean, we’ve seen obviously how much easier it is to follow and obviously when you get the overtake mode, how much more battery you can harvest and then deploy on the straights, so you never know, it can give good racing. But still, I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as China and Melbourne because obviously the track, first of all, is quite a bit tighter and you don’t have as many straights where you can overtake, or straights and then big braking, where you can make the move. You have a lot of fast entries, so it’s not going to be easy, but that’s why it’s crucial to have a good start and then we’ll see from there how the pace is going to be. Q: And the long-run pace of the car looks good, right? KA: Yeah, I mean, the long run has been good. Of course, let’s see tomorrow how the weather is going to be, how the wind is going to be, because you never know, it can shift. Let’s see also with temperatures, how hot it’s going to be, and then I’ll try to be ready, try to cover as many scenarios in order to be ready for tomorrow. Q: Alright, good luck with that. George, let’s come to you now. It looked like you were chasing the car throughout qualifying. Was that the case? GR: It was really odd, to be honest. We made a set-up adjustment just going into qualifying and the car just did not feel the same as it has been the whole weekend. You saw my first laps in Q1, I was down in P7, P8, and we had to make a massive adjustment during qualifying with the front wing to adapt. The team have already had a look. We don’t know whether something incorrect was done or what happened, but I’m kind of glad again to be in this position because after Q1, I was like, ‘I’m not sure where we’ll end up’. Q: George, what were the main issues with the car and at what bit of the racetrack as well? GR: We made a mechanical issue to the car on the rear end and it was just mainly through the Esses. I couldn’t attack any of the corners. The rear was trying to step out on me throughout. I’m sure we’ll try and see what happened. There’s not really anything we can do now, but as I said, it’s a good place to start for tomorrow and it’s going to be a long race. Q: Good place to start, but what does this mean for the race tomorrow? GR: Yeah, it’s not ideal. I think, as I said, I’ve felt really comfortable with the car this whole weekend and in qualifying something didn’t quite feel right. So, let’s see tonight, maybe we’ll get some answers, maybe I can adjust my driving style to compensate, but definitely not the session we would have wanted. Two weeks in a row qualifying has been a bit tricky. Q: And George, what do you make of the gap to your pursuers? The whole grid has closed up a bit here at Suzuka, but are you surprised that, for example, Oscar is as close as he is? GR: Yeah, to be honest, qualifying was very close between the Ferraris and McLaren throughout, so that was probably a bit of a surprise to us. We both had a very strong FP3 session, we thought we had a bit of a margin to the competitors. Obviously, we’re still P1 and P2, so that’s great, but clearly the others are closing in. Q: Alright, George, well done. Thank you for that. And Oscar, let’s come to you now. Great performance by you. Just how clean was the session for you? OP: I think it was pretty well executed. I think the final lap of Q3 was a bit of a mess, but apart from that I think we built into things well. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted from the car after FP3 and I think we did a good job of achieving that, and then also how you have to drive. Yeah, you’ve got to do some interesting things, so I think just staying disciplined on that worked well and I’m happy to end up where we are. I think everyone seemed to chop and change a bit through qualifying. We didn’t look great in Q1 and then Q2 we came alive and managed to hold that pace. I thought the Ferraris were going to be on a par at one point, so it was all a bit of a mixed bag, but happy to end up third. Q: You say the final lap of Q3 didn’t go well. Was there more time on the table? Could you be even closer to the Mercedes today? OP: Maybe a tiny bit, but it’s always impossible to know. I think especially with these cars, like Kimi said, it’s very easy to think you’re going faster and doing the right thing, and you end up going slower because the engine doesn’t like it. So, it’s a tricky balance, but I think it was pretty close to what we could have done. Q: It’s been a pretty bumpy road for McLaren so far this year. How encouraged are you by your pace relative to these guys next to you? OP: I mean, it’s nice to be closer, obviously. I think we’re learning more and more about the car and about the power unit every weekend. I think this weekend in Suzuka, let’s say being slower in the Esses than Mercedes is not necessarily a bad thing, which is weird to say. But yeah, I think we were saved a little bit by that. So, I think we’ve been more competitive in general, but we’re under no illusion, we’ve still got a pretty big gap to fill. Q: Looking ahead to tomorrow, you’re lacking racing laps this year. Do you feel on the back foot compared to these guys, lack of knowledge of these new regs in a race situation? OP: I mean, not necessarily, but you don’t know what you don’t know until you’re in the situation. So yeah, I’ve tried to learn as much as I can from watching the races and even through practice. There have been some interesting moments with cars at different speeds in different parts of the track. I overtook someone into Degner 1 yesterday, which was different. But yeah, you’re learning all the time and I think just the level of awareness you need is very high. But I think ultimately pace is going to be the thing that decides your result, and the start as well. Well, maybe not the start if it’s these guys around you, but yeah, we’ll see what we can do. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Q: (Jake Boxall-Legge – Autosport) Question for all three, if I could ask. Over the final runs of Q3, we didn’t see that much in the way of improvements. I don’t think any of the top six improved. Kimi, you’ve already said the reasons why, but was it kind of track-specific? Was there perhaps changing conditions or was it just sort of coincidence that nobody was able to put the lap together on their second runs? KA: Well, I think for sure the track was not evolving as much. It probably stopped evolving from Q2 onwards. It was getting cooler, so getting the tyres in the right window was not as easy. And I think also sometimes, at some point, you start to be limited by what the power unit can do. Obviously corner speed can start to get higher, but then the PU can start to be a limiting factor. So I think, yeah, that could be a reason. But overall, with the wind as well, it was not easy to put the lap together. It was a bit gusty, so sometimes from corner to corner it was changing. GR: Yeah, I think the track temp dropping and the tyres are quite hard, there’s new track surface here, it probably just got a bit too cold and that was probably a factor. OP: I think I just tried too hard, tried to push a bit much and the rear end said no a few times. But it is difficult to know because sometimes you feel like you do a better lap and, like Kimi said, you go faster through the corners and you run into some problems with deployment. So, it’s not always that easy to understand why you make jumps in lap time and stuff like that. But yes, in my case, just trying too hard. Q: How much grip did the new track surface on the second half of the lap have? GR: I think a lot. When we resurfaced the first half of the track last year, it was like driving on two completely different circuits. This year obviously the first sector has degraded a little bit, but the second half of the lap has the grip that the first half had last year. So, I think that also explains a little bit of why we’re close to last year’s times, because I think we’ve gained a lot of grip in the second half of the lap. But yeah, it’s good fun when you’ve got more grip. Q: (Kenichi Tanaka – Motorsport.com Japan) A question for George. This weekend is the home Grand Prix for your engineer, Mr Katsuhide Kuwahara, so could you share your thoughts on him for Japanese fans who are hoping to see Japanese people standing on the podium in the Japanese Grand Prix, since 2012, because you seem to have a great chance to get on the podium with him? GR: Yeah, I mean, Katsu is one of the most talented engineers we have in the whole team and definitely one of the most hard-working individuals also in the team. I feel very fortunate to have him as one of my engineers. He stood on the podium with me in Canada last year, which was a very proud moment for everybody. So obviously, great for him to have his own race in Japan and great for him to be part of the team. ENDS <a href="/championship/fia-formula-one-world-championship">FIA Formula One World Championship</a><div class='category-icon news'></div><a href="/taxonomy/term/1041">Formula 1</a><img src="https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/news/main_image/dppiproduction_00004244_0249.jpg" width="5144" height="3429" alt="" /><a href="/taxonomy/term/2072">SEASON 2026</a><a href="/taxonomy/term/12">Sport</a><a href="/family/circuit">Circuit</a>1SportFIA Formula One World ChampionshipCircuitSEASON 2026Formula 100Saturday, March 28, 2026 - 9:22amSaturday, March 28, 2026 - 9:22am

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