Antonelli becomes the first driver to record his first two poles at successive races since Hamilton, the former Sauber team reaches Q3 at Suzuka for the first time since 2013 and Verstappen misses Q3 for the second time in 2026. Here are the facts and statistics from qualifying at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix!
ANTONELLI ON POLE AT THE 2026 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
Kimi Antonelli secured the second pole position of his career at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix.
Antonelli is the first driver to take the first two Grand Prix pole positions of his career at consecutive races since Lewis Hamilton at the 2007 Canadian and United States Grands Prix.
This was the 50th pole for an Italian driver in Formula 1. Italy is the sixth nation to record as many as 50 pole positions.
With George Russell qualifying second, this was Mercedes’ first front row lockout at Suzuka since 2018.
This was Russell’s first front row qualification at the Japanese Grand Prix.
IN THE TOP TEN
Qualifying third for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri out-qualified Lando Norris for the third race in a row. Piastri is one of only three drivers – along with Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso – who’ve out-qualified their team-mate at all three Grands Prix so far this year.
With both Piastri and Norris reaching Q3, McLaren saw both cars reach Q3 for the 31st race in a row. It is a new personal best for most consecutive double Q3 appearances for McLaren, bettering their previous best of 30 successive races between the 2007 Australian Grand Prix and the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix. McLaren equalled Ferrari for the second-longest-ever streak of successive double Q3 appearances.
Norris recorded his best qualifying result of the year to date, with fifth place. It’s the first time since 2022 that he did not qualify in the top three at Suzuka.
Charles Leclerc qualified fourth for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, He has qualified fourth for all three Grands Prix so far this season.
Lewis Hamilton qualified sixth – his best qualifying result at Suzuka since qualifying sixth in 2022.
Both Mercedes and Ferrari reached Q3 with both cars at the Japanese Grand Prix for the 12th Suzuka race weekend in a row.
Pierre Gasly became the first Alpine driver to reach Q3 at Suzuka since 2022.
Gasly qualified seventh for the second race weekend in a row. He equalled his best-ever qualifying result at Suzuka, having last qualified seventh here in 2018.
Gabriel Bortoleto became the first driver for the former Sauber team to reach Q3 at the Japanese Grand Prix since Nico Hulkenberg in 2013.
Arvid Lindblad made this the fourth season in a row that a driver for the Red Bull junior team reached Q3 at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Qualifying tenth, Lindblad out-qualified his team-mate for the first time in his career.
ELIMINATED IN Q2
Max Verstappen was eliminated in Q2 at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, qualifying in 11th place. It ended a streak of four consecutive pole positions at Suzuka.
This was Verstappen’s first Q2 exit at the Japanese Grand Prix since his maiden season in 2015.
2026 is the second year in a row that a Red Bull driver has been eliminated in Q2 at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Verstappen was out-qualified by Isack Hadjar for the second time in the last three races, having been out-qualified by his team-mate only twice at the previous 68 Grands Prix weekends.
Carlos Sainz qualified 16th for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, which is his worst-ever qualifying result at Suzuka. His previous worst was 15th, recorded at the 2017 Japanese Grand Prix. Williams team-mate Alex Albon also recorded his worst-ever Suzuka qualifying result with 17th place.
OUT IN Q1
The two Aston Martins and the two Cadillacs were eliminated in Q1 for the third race in a row at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix.
Lance Stroll recorded his sixth Q1 exit at Suzuka, overtaking Marcus Ericsson for the most Q1 eliminations at the Japanese Grand Prix. It was his fifth successive Q1 exit at the track.
Fernando Alonso recorded only his second Q1 exit at Suzuka. It was his first at the track since 2018.
Alonso qualified outside of the top 20 for the first time since qualifying 22nd at the 2016 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Alonso exited in Q1 at three races in a row for the first time since the 2018 Russian, Japanese and United States Grands Prix.
This was the Silverstone-based team’s first double Q1 exit at Suzuka since 2008, when they competed as Force India. It’s the first time since the 2022 Canadian, British and Austrian Grands Prix that the team has recorded three double Q1 exits in a row.
Ollie Bearman recorded his first Q1 exit of the season at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, his first since the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix.
This was the sixth consecutive Japanese Grand Prix weekend in a row that Haas have recorded a Q1 elimination at Suzuka.
Alex Albon exited in Q1 for the second race in a row. These were his first double Q1 exits since the 2025 United States and Mexico City Grands Prix.
This was Albon’s first Q1 exit at Suzuka since 2022 and the first time he has been out-qualified by his team-mate here since his first appearance in 2019.
At Cadillac, Valtteri Bottas recorded his second Q1 exit in Japan – his first since 2023. Sergio Perez also recorded his second Q1 exit at Suzuka, his first since 2019.