F1 2026: Japanese Grand Prix Preview and Predictions

Formula One is in its new era and the sport has already seen its newest face on the top step of the podium as Kimi Antonelli picked up his maiden win in China two weeks ago and now as the grid moves to Japan, the Silver Arrows and their youngest race winner will look to continue their strong start to the season. Mercedes look a step ahead of the rest of the front runners and they will look to increase their lead moving to the Suzuki circuit.

For the 2026 F1 Australian Grand Prix, here we present our preview and predictions.

Red Bull falling backwards?

It’s been a nightmare start for Red Bull as reliability issues have plagued the Austrian team. Red Bull haven’t managed to see both cars reach the chequered flag in either of the races as Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen have suffered retirements in both of the opening races. 

While they have shown some good race pace, struggles on Saturdays means Red Bull isn’t able to start in the front couple of rows and has been needing to do a lot of catch-up on Sundays. Verstappen and Hadjar both have been vocal in their displeasure of driving the car and the drivability of the Red Bull challenger. The new Red Bull power unit also hasn’t been the strongest as they have been way off from the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and even the Haas has been challenging them on track. 

Mechanical issues have been affecting the team and on top of that, the Red Bulls have been woeful at race starts, which also drops them back at the start of races, giving them more to do again. Verstappen suffered an ERA (Energy Recovery System) cooling issue in Shanghai that saw him have to retire late on in the race but if there is one silver lining for Red Bull, it will be their general race pace. If the Red Bull cars can manage to see the chequered flag, they should be picking up a couple of points but we expect another tough weekend for the Austrian team. 

Haas the outlier ?

After the opening two races, while Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren are the top three, the team that has been sitting in fourth place, as the best of the rest and even ahead of Red Bull are Haas. The American team have made full use of a strong Ferrari power unit and have maximised the struggles of those around and even ahead of them.

Haas are in fourth place in the Constructors’ Standing, just one point behind McLaren and while it might just be the start of the season, Haas have impressed on track and have a chance to build an early lead in the Constructors’ standing before the rest of the grid catches up. Haas scored in the opening two races off Oliver Bearman’s P7 and P5 finish with his experienced teammate, Esteban Ocon yet to get on the board. Bearman has shown strong race pace and race craft and held his own against much more experienced racers. Bearman has put his Haas ahead of a Red Bull in Australia and China. The Haas isn’t as quick as the Ferrari or Mercedes but has managed to put considerable space between themselves and the remainder of the grid, being much clear of the likes of the Racing Bulls, Alpines and the Williams. 

With Red Bull clearly struggling for consistency and reliability and McLaren in the same boat, Haas are slowly putting their name in the best of the rest and expect the American team to have another strong outing in Japan and count on them to score a strong haul of points once again.

Returning to the top?

It is slowly beginning to look like a two-way battle for the Constructors’ Championship, just two races into the season as Mercedes and Ferrari already have built up quite the gap at the top of the Constructors’ table. Mercedes currently lead the Constructor’s championships with 31 points from Ferrari while Ferrari are 49 points clear of McLaren in third place. 

Mercedes have won both races this season so far and George Russell even added the Chinese Sprint win to his collection. While Mercedes picked up another 1-2 in Shanghai, it was Lewis Hamilton with a big milestone as the seven-time world champion picked up his first-ever podium with Ferrari, since joining them at the start of the Formula One 2025 season. Hamilton struggled to get in sync with the car in 2025 but having been part of the team that worked on the development of the 2026 Ferrari challenger, Hamilton already feels more comfortable and the results are showing on track. Hamilton is currently fourth in Drivers’ Standing, one point behind his teammate, 14 points behind Kimi Antonelli in second and 18 points behind George Russell, who holds the top spot. Hamilton finished fourth in the season opener in Australia before picking up two third place finishes in China, in the Sprint and main race. 

Right off the line, Hamilton showed his race craft, as he took the lead of the race and pushed Antonelli multiple times in the opening stages as he and the Mercedes driver exchanged the race lead. While Ferrari were unable to keep up with Mercedes in the latter stages, Hamilton fought off his teammate, following an intense battle with Charles Leclerc and showed some glimpses of his old self as he dug deep, got his elbows out but made sure to keep himself and his opponent on track. As he gets more comfortable with the Ferrari challenger and with Ferrari having a strong challenger, expect Hamilton to take the fight to Mercedes and at Suzuka, where he has won five times previously, count on Hamilton to go well, especially after a confidence-boosting podium finish in Shanghai. 

Pole prediction: George Russell / Lewis Hamilton

Race winners prediction: Mercedes / Ferrari

F1 Japanese Prix 2026: Race details

Circuit: Suzuka International Racing Course
Venue: Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Practice Session 1 time: 08:00 IST, March 27, 2026
Practice Session 2 time: 11:30 IST, March 27, 2026
Practice Session 3 time: 08:00 IST, March 28, 2026
Qualifying time: 11:30 IST, March 28, 2026
Main race time: 10:30 IST, March 29, 2026
Where to watch: F1 TV Pro / FanCode