28 March 2026 12:20
McLaren team chief Andrea Stella has discussed the possibility of the Woking outfit challenging Ferrari for a spot on the podium at the Japanese Grand Prix.
After a disastrous start to the season, which resulted in only one grand prix start from Lando Norris at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, McLaren saw a step forward at the Suzuka circuit.
Oscar Piastri, who is yet to start a ...
28 March 2026 12:19
Max Verstappen has explained why he dismissed a British newspaper journalist from his press conference in Japan, as his Red Bull Formula 1 team is keen to clear the air over the incident.
In his Thursday session, Verstappen expelled a journalist who at the 2025 Abu Dhabi finale asked whether he regretted his red mist clash with George Russell in Barcelona last June.
It resulted in a 10s ...
28 March 2026 11:00
Lando Norris is “playing catch-up” at the Japanese Grand Prix after the Formula 1 world champion was outqualified by McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri at Suzuka.
Norris will start Sunday’s race in fifth having qualified six tenths off Mercedes polesitter Kimi Antonelli, who was around four tenths ahead of third-placed Piastri.
Piastri has been a step ahead of his team-mate all weekend ...
28 March 2026 10:42
Onboard footage from the cockpit of Charles Leclerc's Ferrari has surfaced showing the Monegasque driver fuming following qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.
While Leclerc qualified fourth for the Japanese Grand Prix, he fumed over the team radio: "I can’t understand quali, it’s a f**king joke! I go faster in corners, throttle earlier, for f**k’s sake, I'm losing everything in the ...
28 March 2026 10:30
Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso feels Suzuka's driving challenge is "gone" with the 2026 regulations as they are.
The storied Japanese Grand Prix venue is a driver favourite with its challenging first sector Esses and its high-speed Degner and Spoon sequences. However, due to the energy saving demands of F1’s 2026 regulations, drivers are approaching those corners at lower ...
28 March 2026 09:55
Lewis Hamilton is worried that Ferrari will only regress in the Formula 1 pecking order once McLaren has fully understood the Mercedes engine in the MCL40.
Ferrari has been the closest challenger to the factory Mercedes outfit in the 2026 season, sitting second in the championship and 31 points behind the dominant Silver Arrows after two rounds.
It’s been a more troubled start to ...
28 March 2026 09:45
Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Karun Chandhok has claimed that Kimi Antonelli has had the "upper hand" over his experienced team-mate George Russell throughout the Japanese Grand Prix weekend so far.
The Italian driver secured pole position for the race at the Suzuka circuit, and Russell will join him on the front row with a P2 start.
"We have seen through the practice ...
28 March 2026 09:06
1
Kimi Antonelli(Mercedes)
2
George Russell(Mercedes)
3
Oscar Piastri(McLaren)
4
Charles ...
28 March 2026 09:00
Max Verstappen is at a loss with his Red Bull Formula 1 car after his Japanese Grand Prix qualifying ended as early as Q2.
The four-time world champion was ninth-fastest in the opening segment of qualifying and set the 10th-quickest lap early in Q2, 0.024s behind team-mate Isack Hadjar and 0.049s ahead of Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Verstappen did improve by a tenth on his final run, but a ...
28 March 2026 08:55
Appearing on the Dale Jr. Download with NASCAR Hall of Fame Dale Earnhardt Jr., Scott Speed reflected on his racing career, from Formula 1 to NASCAR and later rallycross.
His F1 shot came about when Red Bull first arrived on the grid, and was searching for an American talent. 1985 Indianapolis 500 winner Danny Sullivan was a big part of the idea, with Speed saying, "They selected 16 of us ...
28 March 2026 08:54
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has warned that George Russell will face similar issues during the Japanese Grand Prix to those he battled against in qualifying.
Wolff confirmed after qualifying that changes had been made to Russell's car ahead of today's session at the Suzuka circuit, which left the Briton fighting with too much oversteer.
"We did a set-up tweak on the other side," the ...
28 March 2026 08:26
The Japanese Grand Prix is hosting round three of the 2026 Formula 1 campaign and Kimi Antonelli will start on pole after an action-packed qualifying session at Suzuka.
Here are five takeaways from Saturday in Suzuka.
Qualifying change a step in the right direction for 2026 ruleset
The 2026 regulation change has been contentious to say the least. Just looking at the drivers, Max ...
28 March 2026 08:08
After every F1 qualifying session, Motorsport publishes each team's qualifying record in terms of team-mate battles.
This record is based exclusively on qualifying results so that grid penalties don't alter the statistics.
When a driver can't put in a representative lap time due to a technical issue or an incident, this will be mentioned in the table.
Read Also:
Formula 1F1 ...
28 March 2026 08:05
Kimi Antonelli grabbed his second career pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix, also his second in a row, as Max Verstappen was eliminated in Q2.
Antonelli enforced his dominance on Mercedes team-mate George Russell so far this weekend, with the Italian youngster quicker than his elder in the last two free practice sessions as well as Q2 – by six tenths – and Q3 – by three.
The ...
28 March 2026 04:57
Mercedes F1 driver Kimi Antonelli has headed team-mate George Russell in final practice at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Russell was unable to top Antonelli's final quarter lap in the W17 as Mercedes heads to qualifying as the clear favourites, leading FP3 by a huge margin over its Ferrari and McLaren challengers.
The first proper push laps saw the Ferraris take an early lead before Antonelli ...
27 March 2026 22:26
Alex Brundle has detailed what the energy tweaks introduced for qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix will mean for the drivers.
The FIA confirmed ahead of the race weekend at the Suzuka Circuit that drivers will now only be allowed to harvest eight megajoules of energy, rather than the previously permitted nine megajoules. The adjustment has been introduced to reduce the amount of super ...
27 March 2026 21:51
Lewis Hamilton surprised fans ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix as he arrived at a Yokohama car meet in a Ferrari F40.
The Ferrari F40, estimated to be worth £4million, pulled up beside a Subaru Impreza and a Honda NSX sporting a wide bodykit at the Daikoku Parking Area in Yokohama. The iconic car was the last to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari and it features a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V8 ...
27 March 2026 18:18
The new-generation of Formula 1 cars have changed how Suzuka’s first sector is tackled: beyond the reduced downforce, which lowers cornering speeds, drivers now barely touch the brake pedal, because the hybrid system decelerates the car through transitions to maximise energy recovery in a key section.
Over the years, Suzuka has fascinated thanks to the beauty of its layout, with medium- and ...
27 March 2026 17:16
David Coulthard has claimed that the April break formed by the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will give some of the struggling Formula 1 teams the "chance to breathe".
Now that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix are no longer going ahead in April, there will be a five-week break between the Japanese and Miami Grands Prix.
“If we look at those that have ...
27 March 2026 17:10
Qualifying for the upcoming F1 Japanese GP has the potential to see the grid closer than ever in 2026. After Friday's sessions saw Oscar Piastri set the pace in second practice for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, it revealed that Mercedes’ early dominance might be challenged in FP3 and in qualifying at Suzuka.
After Mercedes locked out a 1-2 in opening practice, Piastri responded with a ...
27 March 2026 17:00
The Cadillac Formula 1 team has brought upgrades to the Japanese Grand Prix and although Valtteri Bottas doesn’t think they’re a gamechanger, he is still positive about the progress.
Cadillac is making its F1 debut this year and, as expected, it has been a backmarker across the opening two rounds with Bottas and team-mate Sergio Perez out in Q1 of both Melbourne and Shanghai - where they ...
27 March 2026 16:00
As championship defences go, McLaren's 2026 so far has been little short of catastrophic: Oscar Piastri has yet to start a grand prix, while Lando Norris didn't even get as far as the grid in China.
Statistically Shanghai was the first time neither McLaren has started a grand prix since the 2005 US GP at Indianapolis, where it joined the other Michelin-supplied teams in withdrawing after the ...
27 March 2026 14:27
In the second free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri set the pace with a 1m30.133s, finishing around a tenth clear of the two Mercedes drivers, Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
However, anyone hoping for a close fight at the front or a McLaren breakthrough should be cautious. In the decisive long runs at the end of the session – completed on heavy ...
27 March 2026 14:19
Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner believes Mercedes will face threats from other teams this year due to the high rate of development in the 2026 season.
After the first two rounds of the season, Mercedes leads the constructors' standings with 98 points, 31 points more than Ferrari in second. George Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and Chinese sprint ...
27 March 2026 13:24
Alex Brundle has identified a weakness for Mercedes Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli, as he finds himself battling against his team-mate George Russell in the 2026 championship.
The Italian became the second-youngest driver to win an F1 race at the Chinese Grand Prix, and his part in the drivers' championship battle has since become a hot topic of conversation.
While Brundle applauded ...
27 March 2026 13:07
Lewis Hamilton has fired back at those who criticised him during the ground effect era.
The seven-time champion has bounced back after a difficult few years in the championship. Hamilton struggled to adapt to the ground-effect era cars as he seemingly failed to bond with the change in driving behaviour. On top of this, he was also tasked with adjusting to his new surroundings at Ferrari after ...
27 March 2026 13:00
Ferrari is "just not quick enough" to trouble the front of the grid, thinks Lewis Hamilton, as the Scuderia hopes fixing its car balance will get it ahead of 2026 Formula 1 rival McLaren in Japan.
Charles Leclerc and Hamilton finished fifth and sixth in second practice on Friday, shipping around seven and eight tenths respectively to session leader Oscar Piastri in the McLaren.
Over half of ...
27 March 2026 12:17
Ollie Bearman has branded Kimi Antonelli's maiden Formula 1 win as "very special".
The Briton watched his former Formula 2 team-mate clinch his first grand prix victory at the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, which he claimed gave him confidence that he would be able to reach the same milestone one day.
"We text. We sent each other a message after the race," Bearman ...
27 March 2026 11:40
2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button has tempered expectations after McLaren's Oscar Piastri topped the timesheets in FP2 ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
While the Australian driver edged out the dominant Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, in the second practice session at Suzuka, Button argued that the Brackley outfit will likely be holding some performance back.
"We ...
27 March 2026 11:07
McLaren is expecting no changes to the 2026 Formula 1 pecking order despite a very strong showing in second practice at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
The Woking outfit, which has won the last two titles, controlled FP2 via Oscar Piastri, whose world champion team-mate Lando Norris finished fourth amid issues with his hydraulics.
It was nonetheless some much-needed positivity for ...
27 March 2026 10:30
Ferrari brought its so-called (by team boss Frederic Vasseur) 'Macarena' wing to the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix. But ahead of free practice on Friday, it decided to not to use the innovative rotating rear wing flap, even though there were enough spare parts in the Suzuka garages to build two cars.
The SF-26s will therefore contest the third round of the calendar with no major changes ...
27 March 2026 10:25
Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso has shared an update after the birth of his first child.
The 44-year-old driver arrived late at the Suzuka Circuit for "personal family reasons", which have now been confirmed to be the arrival of his child with his partner, Melissa Jimenez.
"I’m a little jet-lagged because I landed this morning, but here we are," Alonso told DAZN Spain after the ...
27 March 2026 10:00
Former IndyCar driver and F1 TV presenter James Hinchcliffe believes Carlos Sainz is facing a "defining moment" in his career after joining Williams.
The Spaniard was left looking for a new seat after he was replaced at Ferrari by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton from 2025. After weighing up multiple options, Sainz ultimately signed with Williams.
The Grove outfit is currently battling ...
27 March 2026 09:41
Red Bull F1 team principal Laurent Mekies admitted his squad is "very far" from the frontrunners in Japan after crippling balance issues have left his drivers off the pace. Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar ended the day in 10th and 15th respectively, over 1.3 seconds off the front, after Red Bull struggled to dial in the balance of its RB22, which saw substantial upgrades in the shape of a revised ...
27 March 2026 09:31
Formula 1 stewards were busy after opening practice for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix as Friday's FP1 saw three separate incidents be investigated afterwards.
Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz were under the spotlight, though all incidents resulted in no further action at Suzuka.
One was between world champions Hamilton and ...
27 March 2026 09:14
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen says his Red Bull Formula 1 car is "bleeding a lot of lap time" from significant balancing issues in Japanese Grand Prix free practice.
In a Red Bull RB22 that featured upgrades including a reshaped sidepod and a tweaked floor, Verstappen was seventh in Friday morning's FP1 session, eight tenths adrift of leader George Russell in the Mercedes. Verstappen ...
27 March 2026 09:04
During the opening weekend of the 2026 Formula 1 season, much of the media attention was on the number of batteries that Honda had to its disposal in Melbourne.
But that Friday, Adrian Newey made an unrelated, even more interesting comment. The legendary designer revealed that Aston Martin did not know until November 2025 that Honda’s F1 project was in a completely different state compared to ...
27 March 2026 08:39
Ferrari chairman John Elkann admitted that the Maranello outfit "fell short of ambitions" in 2025, but assured its stakeholders that "racing is as much about learning as winning".
The Fred Vasseur-led team finished the 2025 Formula 1 season fourth in the constructors' standings. After Lewis Hamilton joined the team at the start of the year, he took time to adjust to the new team. While he ...
27 March 2026 08:19
Oscar Piastri halted Mercedes dominance by pipping Kimi Antonelli to top second practice for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
The McLaren driver set a 1m30.133s which was 0.092s quicker than Antonelli, whose Mercedes team-mate George Russell completed the top three after dominating opening practice.
FP1 saw the championship leader top a Silver Arrows 1-2, but Mercedes struggled ...
27 March 2026 06:27
Aston Martin Formula 1 ambassador Pedro de la Rosa has stated Adrian Newey’s team principal job “will remain unchanged” and Jonathan Wheatley isn’t joining the squad “for the time being”.
Wheatley officially left his position at the rival Audi team last Friday ”due to personal reasons”, one day after Motorsport revealed he was set to replace Newey as Aston Martin’s team ...
27 March 2026 04:43
Championship leader George Russell has topped Formula 1's first free practice session at Suzuka's Japanese Grand Prix, pipping Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli by a tiny margin.
With Russell and Antonelli having divided the first two grands prix wins between themselves, Mercedes' early-season dominance showing little signs of slowing down at the third event of the 2026 era.
Russell led the ...
27 March 2026 01:46
Setting aside the issue of whether the racing was artificial or not, the battles for the lead between the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers in the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix has created the impression that these two teams enjoy a healthy advantage over the rest of the field.
How close they are to each other is open to question, and Charles Leclerc has challenged the narrative that his ...
26 March 2026 23:00
Mario Andretti has shared his respect for Colton Herta after the American driver decided to step away from the IndyCar Series to pursue his dream of driving in Formula 1.
Herta currently serves as the test driver for the Cadillac F1 team, while also racing in Formula 2 as he works towards a seat in F1.
"You can tell he truly, truly wants to do it," Andretti told Autosport in an exclusive ...
26 March 2026 19:24
Since the beginning of automobile racing, men have stood at its centre. Women, it was long assumed, were better suited to modelling cars than driving them, while engineering or managing a team remained entirely out of the question. It is precisely for this reason that seeing more women find their way onto the grid today feels so significant. And yet, women have always been a fundamental – if ...
26 March 2026 17:52
Jonathan Wheatley's exit from his role as Audi Formula 1 team principal has been branded a "shock decision" by F1 TV presenter Lawrence Barretto.
Audi confirmed last week that Wheatley was to leave the team with immediate effect due to personal reasons. The Briton had only joined the team in 2025 and was part of the transition from Sauber to Audi.
"As it continues its journey towards the ...
26 March 2026 17:45
Mercedes drivers have won every grand prix and sprint race this season. A modest sample size, given this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix is round three, but that hasn’t stopped George Russell continuing to be the championship favourite.
Oscar Piastri, a title contender last season, has yet to actually start a grand prix this year, and his McLaren team is having to come to terms with the fact ...
26 March 2026 17:05
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu is “very proud” of the way Esteban Ocon handled his collision with Franco Colapinto in Formula 1’s Chinese Grand Prix.
The incident occurred after Colapinto pitted from eighth on lap 32 of the race; the Alpine emerged out of the pits right in front of Ocon, who attempted a late lunge down the inside in the Turns 1-2 curve but ended up with nowhere to go ...
26 March 2026 16:28
George Russell channelled his inner Han Lue in a The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift-inspired shoot ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Briton did the iconic pose as he leaned against a Mercedes AMG GT 63, sporting the wolf-inspired livery that will be on the Brackley outfit's Formula 1 cars at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.
"Georgie understood the assignment," one fan ...
26 March 2026 15:15
"Best close your DMs now" was one journalist’s advice to Esteban Ocon in the post-race media ‘pen’ after a collision with Franco Colapinto in the Chinese Grand Prix. The Haas Formula 1 driver was duly on the receiving end of a torrent of online abuse in the days that followed.
While Ocon brushed off the abuse, which included death threats, as the work of "keyboard warriors", it forms part ...
26 March 2026 13:36
Lewis Hamilton has shared a "full circle" moment after having a samurai lesson from the artist who choreographed the sword-fighting scenes from Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.
After doing karate as a young boy, Hamilton shared how he began the martial art as a way of dealing with bullying at school, but learned so much more from it than he originally expected. Now, using the time between the ...
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