JAPAN LOWDOWN: All the key moments as Antonelli takes championship lead and McLaren show their potential

The Japanese Grand Prix played host to Round 3 of the 2026 Formula 1 season and, as tends to be the case at the iconic Suzuka Circuit, it certainly delivered an entertaining weekend.

Just two weeks on from scoring his maiden win, Kimi Antonelli claimed his second career victory – a result that, in the process, made the 19-year-old the youngest-ever championship leader in the sport’s history.

With plenty of other talking points also emerging during the event, here are all the key moments from the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix…

Antonelli recovers from poor start to win and become youngest championship leader

In a repeat of what he achieved one fortnight ago in China, Kimi Antonelli secured pole position during Qualifying in Japan, the Mercedes driver outpacing team mate George Russell through the session to claim the P1 slot.

Russell and the team later admitted that a set-up change beforehand had seemingly hindered the Briton’s performance – an issue that he would then have to carry into Sunday’s race – but that did not take away from another solid outing for Antonelli.

Come race day, the youngster’s prospects of repeating his Shanghai win initially looked shaky when he suffered a difficult start, slipping backwards by a number of positions off the line while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri surged into the lead.

However, after making gains through the order, fortune favoured Antonelli. Finding himself provisionally in the lead as others around him – including Russell – made their pit stops, the decision to extend the Italian’s stint paid off when a Safety Car was called on Lap 22 owing to a crash for Haas’ Ollie Bearman, meaning that Antonelli was able to pit and reemerge in P1.

The 19-year-old barely put a foot wrong for the remainder of the event, getting away well at the restart before building a gap that saw him cross the line with a sizeable lead of over 13 seconds from Piastri.

Antonelli now has a total of 72 points – meaning that he leads the Drivers' Championship by nine points from Russell and becomes the youngest person to ever head the standings in the process. While there is now a five-week gap until Round 4 in Miami, the teenager certainly holds the momentum entering into the April break.

Piastri and McLaren show their potential

Piastri endured a dreadful start to the season thanks to an error at his home race in Australia – where he crashed on his way to the grid – and an unfortunate electrical issue that ruled him out of the Chinese Grand Prix.

However, he seemed to shrug off those early setbacks as he arrived in Japan, where he first hinted at McLaren’s newfound pace in FP2 by pipping Antonelli to the top spot, albeit by less than one-tenth.

The status quo was reinstated with the Silver Arrows locking out the front row in Qualifying, but they have still not found their feet when it comes to race starts which allowed the Australian to storm past both drivers and begin his defence of the lead.

Although he got a bit unlucky with the timing of his sole pit stop – four laps before the Safety Car – Piastri was able to steadily work his way back up to second place, avoiding the battles unfolding behind to deliver a confident drive to the podium.

He was left to wonder what could have been had the Safety Car not been deployed as he initially looked to be in a battle with Russell for the win, but the result was nevertheless a sign that McLaren are not to be written off quite yet.

The fact that Lando Norris maintained his top-five spot from Qualifying also suggested an improvement for the team. While it was not a smooth journey to that point, as he first had to overcome myriad technical problems, it puts them in a great spot to continue building on in the break.

Leclerc seals another podium, but Hamilton less happy

The Mercedes versus Ferrari battle that we came to expect from the opening rounds looked a little different this time, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton grappling to master the energy deployment at the Suzuka Circuit.

Like many of their competitors, they were seen clinging onto their cars amid concerning snaps of oversteer throughout Free Practice and Qualifying, but Leclerc admitted that one such moment actually helped him secure P4 on the grid.

The Monegasque continued his streak of brilliant reactions at lights out, displacing Antonelli and Russell to move into second place. They both eventually fought their way back past and Leclerc got stuck into another tense fight with his team mate, which he eventually came out on top of despite some minor contact.

The action didn’t abate for him as Russell put more and more pressure on Leclerc for the final podium spot, surging past with two laps remaining before the Ferrari driver reclaimed the position down the main straight, defending it all the way to the end.

His relentless drive took the Scuderia to their third Grand Prix podium of the year, with Hamilton missing out in P6 as he lost a late fight with Norris.

The Briton undoubtedly showed flashes of the strong performances that kickstarted his season by fighting his way up to third at the Safety Car restart, but he later reported that struggles with power ended up with him tolerating a “pretty terrible weekend”.

Are Red Bull in a midfield battle?

While Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari battled towards the front of the race, Max Verstappen and Red Bull were nowhere to be seen as they languished on the fringes of the top 10.

The four-time World Champion endured another miserable weekend in 2026 at Suzuka, a venue where he had previously taken pole position and the victory for four years in succession.

This time around, Verstappen failed to even progress into Q3 on Saturday and, after starting P11, could only climb to P8 after becoming stuck behind Pierre Gasly's Alpine, eventually finishing 32 second behind race winner Antonelli despite a mid-race Safety Car.

"Of course it’s not where we’d like to be, but at the moment I feel we’re a bit more in that midfield battle than up at the front," said Verstappen.

Red Bull team mate Isack Hadjar failed to even reach the points, finishing P12 and adding: "It’s not good, but everyone’s got their heads down to understand what’s going on."

Jack Black and Anya Taylor-Joy lead the stars enjoying the show

With its global appeal, Formula 1 is no stranger to welcoming the odd celebrity or two to the paddock during Grand Prix weekends, and the Japanese event was no different.

Film stars including Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Pratt and Brie Larson were all in attendance, having been in Japan earlier this week to promote their new film, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

The Super Mario cast spent the race in the Ferrari garage and watched the Scuderia reach the podium with Leclerc, as Hamilton finished P6.

Jack Black was also given the honour of waving the chequered flag at the end of the Grand Prix, the actor doing so as Antonelli crossed the line to take victory.

Suzuka’s fans deliver again

The fans always flock to Suzuka in huge numbers, and are some of the most passionate F1 sees all season long. This year was no exception, with the track packed from Thursday onwards – and nearly everyone in some form of fancy dress.

While the famous DRS hats are no more thanks to ‘Active Aero’ replacing the Drag Reduction System for 2026, that did not deter the fans from some innovative creations.

One group were decorated with the different compound Pirelli tyres as headwear, while another fan had crafted a papaya flower fascinator as she showed from support for Piastri, who very much delivered by grabbing a podium on Sunday.

Ferrari’s ‘flip flop’ wing was in evidence, mounted to the front of a cap, while another fan came dressed as Ayrton Senna complete with full race helmet.

Some took inspiration from Samuri culture, while others had an entire car mounted to their heads which looked slightly less aerodynamic than the real thing.

But all in all, the fans young and old always make this a weekend to remember, creating a brilliant atmosphere for the drivers which is why this remains a favourite race for all the field.