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Kimi Antonelli grabbed his second win of the 2026 season at Suzuka, Oscar Piastri finally got a race finish and Pierre Gasly quietly produced one of the weekend’s best drives. Here are the ratings from Japan.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli took his second career pole at Suzuka as Mercedes locked out the front row. Oscar Piastri managed P3 while Verstappen and several big names failed to make Q3.
Oscar Piastri topped Friday practice at Suzuka, leaving George Russell admitting McLaren were quicker than he expected. Mercedes still showed race pace, but several teams battled reliability and balance issues ahead of qualifying.
Ferrari's SF-26 looked stronger over long runs than on a single lap in Friday practice at Suzuka. Setup issues and an oversteer tendency left questions, while McLaren impressed and Mercedes still set the benchmark.
Friday at Suzuka underlined a clear truth: McLaren has single-lap pace, but the MCL40 still drops time in specific corners. Data from practice and comments from James Vowles and Andrea Stella point to mechanical gremlins and a deficit in mid-corner performance compared with Mercedes.
Lando Norris says McLaren can turn an unexpected April break into a development advantage, using extra time between the Japanese Grand Prix and Miami to push upgrades on the MCL40.
Cadillac’s F1 debut has been messy, but one stat stands out: the American team completed 180 laps across the first two races, more than McLaren and even Red Bull. Here are the numbers and what they mean.
Mercedes arrive in Shanghai looking untouchable after another 1-2 showing. If they avoid first-lap drama and reliability gremlins, the sprint will probably be about McLaren and Ferrari scrambling for third.
Oscar Piastri crashed on the sighting lap at the Australian GP, called 'brutal' by Martin Brundle; McLaren left scrambling for upgrades.