Amarenalytics Talks F1 - 2026 Japanese Grand Prix
📊 Amarenalytics talks Formula 1 🏁 🏎️
Let's review the third race of the season, the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix.
🏆 Antonelli Unstoppable in Suzuka, Mercedes Extend Their Dominance
Kimi Antonelli converted pole position into a commanding victory at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, making it back-to-back wins for the young Italian.
Mercedes continue their imperious form, now leading the Constructors' Championship with 135 points, a 45-point gap over Ferrari in second.
In the Drivers' standings, Antonelli has now leapfrogged Russell to lead on 72 points, with Russell on 63 and Leclerc a distant third on 49.
👏 The Good
Antonelli (P1 → P1) — Pole to victory again. Kimi is simply in a class of his own right now. Three races in, and the Italian driver is leading the championship. Extraordinary.
Piastri (P3 → P2) — Oscar climbs one spot from his qualifying position to take a strong P2 for McLaren. After the DNS nightmare in China, this is a much needed response from the Australian.
Norris (P5 → P5) — Lando holds his grid position and scores 10 points. After missing the Chinese GP entirely, any points are welcome at McLaren.
Ocon (P12 → P10) — Esteban gained two spots from P12 on the grid to snatch the final championship point for Haas. A quiet but effective drive.
Lawson (P14 → P9) — Liam gained 5 positions from the back of the midfield to score 2 points for Racing Bulls. Solid racecraft.
Sainz (P16 → P15) — Carlos gained a position but remains pointless. Still, forward progress for Williams.
🤔 The Unremarkable
Russell (P2 → P4) — George drops two places from his front-row start and loses the championship lead to his teammate. A frustrating afternoon for the Brit.
Leclerc (P4 → P3) — Charles gains one spot to take the final podium position, but Ferrari will feel they needed more from their pace. A podium is a podium, but it feels underwhelming.
Hamilton (P6 → P6) — Lewis holds his grid position exactly. Consistent, but Ferrari will want more from their seven time world champion.
Gasly (P7 → P7) — Pierre holds position throughout. Alpine score 6 points but will feel the midfield battle is slipping away.
Verstappen (P11 → P8) — Max gains 3 spots from P11 to score 4 points. A recovery of sorts, but Red Bull are nowhere near the front runners.
Hadjar (P8 → P12) — Isack drops 4 places from a decent qualifying position. Red Bull's second car continues to underperform.
Hulkenberg (P13 → P11) — Nico gains 2 spots but misses the points. Audi remain stuck on 2 points for the season.
Bortoleto (P9 → P13) — Gabriel drops 4 places from a promising P9 grid slot. A disappointing race for the Audi rookie.
Lindblad (P10 → P14) — Arvid drops 4 positions from P10. Racing Bulls' second car struggles to convert qualifying pace into race results.
Colapinto (P15 → P16) — Franco drops one spot. Alpine's second car continues to struggle.
Perez (P19 → P17) — Sergio gains 2 spots but remains pointless. Cadillac are yet to trouble the scorers.
Bottas (P20 → P19) — Valtteri gains one spot. Another anonymous afternoon for the Finn.
Albon (P17 → P20) — Alexander drops 3 places to finish last of the classified runners. A tough day for Williams.
😬 The Ugly
Bearman (P18 → DNF) — Oliver's race ends in retirement from a scary crash after starting from P18. Haas lose a potential points haul from their second car, especially painful given Ocon's P10.
Stroll (P22 → DNF) — Lance retires from last on the grid. Aston Martin remain on zero points after three races. The Silverstone outfit are in crisis.
Alonso (P21 → P18) — Fernando gains 3 spots but finishes last of the classified runners alongside his teammate's DNF. Aston Martin are yet to score a single point in 2026. A brutal start to the season for the two-time world champion.
Episode 4 will cover the Miami Grand Prix 🏁 🏎️
Credits:
Omni and Hawkfry Group for providing the business intelligence platform.
OpenF1 (openf1.org) team for creating and maintaining an awesome open source API.
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