Japanese 2026 GP preview
Weekend schedule
All timezonesTimes shown in circuit-local time (GMT+9).
- FP1Fri11:30
- FP2Fri15:00
- FP3Sat11:30
- QualifyingSat15:00
- RaceSun14:00
A forecast appears here once the weekend is inside the forecast window.
The circuit
Full circuit guide →Suzuka International Racing Course · 5.807 km · 18 corners · figure-of-eight
Recent form at this circuit
Last winners
- 2026Andrea Kimi Antonelli · Mercedes
- 2025Max Verstappen · Red Bull
- 2024Max Verstappen · Red Bull
Last pole times
- 2026Andrea Kimi Antonelli · Mercedes · 1:28.778
- 2025Max Verstappen · Red Bull · 1:26.983
- 2024Max Verstappen · Red Bull · 1:28.197
Historic moments
2022 · A title clinched by a rule nobody had read properly
Torrential rain red-flagged the race after two laps and only 28 of the scheduled 53 were run before the three-hour clock ran out. The whole paddock, Max Verstappen included, assumed reduced points; the FIA then ruled that full points applied because the race had restarted, and he had won his second championship without knowing it.
2005 · Räikkönen's charge from 17th to victory
Kimi Räikkönen started 17th after a pre-race engine change, then carved through the field and ran down long-time leader Giancarlo Fisichella, passing him for the win on the very last lap. It's still regarded as one of the greatest single drives in Formula 1 history.
What makes it different
- The only figure-of-eight on the calendar: the back section crosses over the pit straight on a bridge, so a single lap runs both clockwise and anticlockwise.
- The corner called 130R is named for its 130 m radius - it is taken flat at around 300 km/h, and is one of the few genuinely committing corners left in Formula 1.
- The first-sector esses are a linked sequence: a tenth lost at the first compounds through all of them, which is why the circuit has produced so few surprise pole positions since it joined the calendar in 1987.
- The circuit doubles as a Honda-run theme park - Motopia, with its own Ferris wheel and go-karts, has sat trackside since the circuit opened as a Honda test facility in 1962.
Home race
Home race for Yuki Tsunoda.
This grid’s history here
| Driver | Wins | Podiums | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | 4 wins · 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 | 7 podiums · 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2018, 2017, 2016 | 4 poles · 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 4 wins · 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014 | 7 podiums · 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2009 | 2 poles · 2018, 2017 |
| Fernando Alonso | 1 win · 2006 | 4 podiums · 2011, 2010, 2006, 2005 | — |
| Valtteri Bottas | 1 win · 2019 | 2 podiums · 2019, 2018 | — |
| Andrea Kimi Antonelli | 1 win · 2026 | 1 podium · 2026 | 1 pole · 2026 |
| Oscar Piastri | — | 3 podiums · 2026, 2025, 2023 | — |
| Charles Leclerc | — | 2 podiums · 2026, 2022 | — |
| Lando Norris | — | 2 podiums · 2025, 2023 | — |
| Sergio Pérez | — | 2 podiums · 2024, 2022 | — |
| Carlos Sainz | — | 1 podium · 2024 | — |
Milestone watch
Max Verstappen has won here 4 times (2025, 2024, 2023, 2022).
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