What just happened into the chicane?! Russell gets past Leclerc, only for Leclerc to snatch the position straight back, what a move! Meanwhile, Norris pulls off a similar overtake on Hamilton for P5, but the Ferrari driver uses his overtaking boost and retakes the place again.
If anyone looks catchable right now, it’s Leclerc — just 0.7 seconds ahead of George Russell in the battle for P3.
He’s running in P8, just six-tenths behind Gasly, who himself is seven seconds clear of Norris in P6. Arvid Lindblad has dropped out of the points to P14, while Esteban Ocon moves up into P10.
Woah! didn’t even see that coming! Leclerc overtakes Hamilton on P3. And the Monegasque is now chasing Piastri.
Antonelli continues to control the race, holding a seven-second lead at the front. Behind him, a battle for P2 is brewing between Hamilton and Piastri, separated by just a second. The seven-time world champion is chasing his first P2 finish with Ferrari. He secured his first podium with the Itaian manufacturers in Shanghai (P3).
Russell, who leads the drivers’ standings, has been passed by Leclerc on Lap 38, losing over a second to the Ferrari driver. Something just isn’t aligning today for the Mercedes ace.
At the moment the top five are – Antonelli, Piastri, Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc.
Leclerc is chasing Russell but he is one second behind the Mercedes ace.
Lap 30/53 – Lewis Hamilton has taken the third place, running just seven tenths behind second placed Piastri. Antonelli leads.
Antonelli and Hamilton went to the pits during the SCR. Meanwhile, Ollie’s Godzilla inspired Haas remains the first retirement of the Japanese Grand Prix 2026.
Ollie Bearman goes into the barrier at turn 13! And safety car is deployed. He is limping. The medical car comes. Hope he is okay.
Russell just changed his tyres. Now Antonelli takes the lead ahead of Lewis Hamilton, both running on mediums.
As Piastri and Leclerc bolt on the hard tyres, Mercedes reclaim a 1–2 with Russell leading, but they’ve yet to make their pit stops.
At the moment, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar is struggling on P11. The sole rookie of the season Arvind Lindblad is running 10th, from where he started. The slowest right now is Bottas on 22nd.
Time for pits already. McLarens staff are out there waiting for Piastri! Norris is in the pits, and bolts Hard tyres. The Papayas are the only one who did not use the Hards this week so far until now.
At the moment the top five are:
Italian team vs Italian Driver! Kimi Antonelli is chasing Charles Leclerc for P3. The Young Mercedes driver is 0.5s behind the Monegasque right now.
Russell is trying to close the gap, he is currently six tenths behind the leader Piastri, who is racing for the first time in the F1 2026 season today. The McLaren driver was out in Melbourne and Shanghai even before the race started.
Piastri, you beauty! He was briefly overtaken by Russell, but takes the lead back through Suzuka’s fastest corner using the battery boost mode. The Australian, who started P3, is now leading the pack. The last time someone won from P3 here was Valtteri Bottas in 2019.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen overtakes Arvind Lindblad to go 8th from P11. He is holding a 4-win streak at Suzuka.
It’s now a battle between Oscar Piastri and George Russell for the lead. Charles Leclerc runs third, just ahead of Lando Norris. And Lewis Hamilton? He started sixth and has held onto that position so far.
Kimi has dropped four places and is now down to P5, just behind his teammate George Russell. Everyone started on medium tyres, except Valtteri Bottas, who went for the hards.
And those good luck wishes seem to be working for Oscar Piastri, he’s taken the lead ahead of Kimi Antonelli and is leading on Lap 1. Wow!
That’s actually been a pretty calm start compared to the chaos we saw at the Australian GP.
Are you ready? Only 4 minutes to go! Once again have a look at the starting grid:
Starting Grid (Top 10)
1 . Antonelli | 2. Russell
3. Piastri | 4. Leclerc
5. Norris | 6. Hamilton
7. Gasly | 8. Hadjar
9. Bortoleto | 10. Lindblad
Rest of the Grid
11. Verstappen | 12. Ocon
13. Hulkenberg | 14. Lawson
15. Colapinto | 16. Sainz
17. Albon | 18. Bearman
19. Perez | 20. Bottas
21. Alonso | 22. Stroll
The race will start with a 10-minute delay at Suzuka Circuit due to barrier repairs required at Turn 12 following a major crash in a support category.
Max Verstappen’s struggles in this new F1 era continue. He was knocked out in Q2 on Saturday and will start from P11, which also ends his four-year pole streak at Suzuka. Now, there’s even more at stake. If he doesn’t win today, his four-race winning run in Japan will come to an end as well. But this won’t be easy. Suzuka is not a track where you usually come from outside of top 10 and win. In fact, since 1991, it’s only happened once, when Kimi Raikkonen pulled off that incredible victory from P17.
It’s been a rough start to the season for the McLaren star. First, there was that crash on the formation lap at his home race in Australia, and then in China, the car didn’t even make it to the grid because of a mechanical issue in the garage. Right now, he’s down in 12th in the drivers’ standings, with just three points to his name, all coming from the sprint race in Shanghai. So, yeah, wish good luck to Oscar Piastri.
The F1 Japanese Grand Prix will be live streamed on FanCode app and website in India. Fans worldwide can watch the race live on the F1 TV Pro.
Starting Grid (Top 10)
1 . Antonelli | 2. Russell
3. Piastri | 4. Leclerc
5. Norris | 6. Hamilton
7. Gasly | 8. Hadjar
9. Bortoleto | 10. Lindblad
Rest of the Grid
11. Verstappen | 12. Ocon
13. Hulkenberg | 14. Lawson
15. Colapinto | 16. Sainz
17. Albon | 18. Bearman
19. Perez | 20. Bottas
21. Alonso | 22. Stroll
Hello! Good morning! It’s an early start for fans in India, in Japan it’s 12:25 PM at the moment! but a thrilling race awaits as the third round of the 2026 F1 season gets underway. Grab your cup of tea or coffee, or finish up your breakfast if you haven’t already, and settle in. We’ll bring you all the live, real-time updates from the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
