f1-agws · round 3 · Suzuka Circuit
Japanese Grand Prix 2026: Race Pace, Tyre Strategy & Results
Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix 2026 on a 1-stop strategy. ANT took pole. Full analysis: race pace, tyre strategy for every driver, pit stops, degradation and weather.
Japanese Grand Prix 2026 result
Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) won the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March 2026 from 1st on the grid, round 3 of the 2026 season at Suzuka Circuit over 53 laps, in 1:28:03.403. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) finished second, +13.722s behind, and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) completed the podium, +15.270s.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) started from pole after a 1:28.778 qualifying lap and converted it into the win.
Did not finish: STR (Retired), BEA (Retired).
Race pace
Fastest lap: Andrea Kimi Antonelli, 1:32.432 on lap 49.
Best long run: RUS on the Medium averaged 1:34.993 over 19 clean laps, losing 0.015 s per lap.
Biggest gains from the starting grid: LAW P14 → P9 (+5), VER P11 → P8 (+3), ALO P21 → P18 (+3).
Teammate race pace (median lap): the widest gap was at Cadillac, PER ahead of BOT on the road with 1.464 s per lap between them; the closest pair was HUL and BOR at Audi, 0.078 s apart.
Tyre strategy
Winning strategy: ANT made one stop — M 1-22 · H 23-53.
Compounds: S = Soft, M = Medium, H = Hard, I = Intermediate, W = Wet; numbers are the laps of each stint.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | Result | Tyres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli (ANT) | Mercedes | 1 | 1:28:03.403 | M 1-22 · H 23-53 |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri (PIA) | McLaren | 3 | +13.722s | M 1-18 · H 19-53 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc (LEC) | Ferrari | 4 | +15.270s | M 1-17 · H 18-53 |
| 4 | George Russell (RUS) | Mercedes | 2 | +15.754s | M 1-21 · H 22-53 |
| 5 | Lando Norris (NOR) | McLaren | 5 | +23.479s | M 1-16 · H 17-53 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton (HAM) | Ferrari | 6 | +25.037s | M 1-22 · H 23-53 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly (GAS) | Alpine F1 Team | 7 | +32.340s | M 1-22 · H 23-53 |
| 8 | Max Verstappen (VER) | Red Bull | 11 | +32.677s | M 1-22 · H 23-53 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson (LAW) | RB F1 Team | 14 | +50.180s | M 1-22 · H 23-53 |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon (OCO) | Haas F1 Team | 12 | +51.216s | M 1-19 · H 20-53 |
Pit stops and race control
29 pit stops in the race; the quickest trip through the pit lane was HAM's, 22.9 s on lap 22.
Race control: one Safety Car period.
Tyre degradation
Time lost per lap of tyre age, fitted on clean laps (no pit, in or neutralised laps).
Hard: 0.047 s/lap over 450 clean laps; Medium: 0.052 s/lap over 426 clean laps.
Weather
Air 17–20 °C, track 29–38 °C, dry throughout.
Explore the sessions in the race dashboard, the championship standings and the 2026 schedule.