Andrea Kimi Antonelli admitted he got lucky when the Safety Car was deployed on lap 22 of the Japanese Grand Prix.

But the eventual race winner wasn’t the only one who benefited – and early race leader Oscar Piastri wasn’t the only one who lost out.

Jump to: Lap chart – Gaps chart – Lap times – Tyre strategies

Clearly, Piastri, George Russell and Charles Leclerc all lost out as a result of the Safety Car, as they were running ahead of Antonelli before making their pit stops. However Antonelli was always likely to be a threat – his pace was strong on both types of tyre as soon as he got into clear air.

Lewis Hamilton also benefited from the timing of the Safety Car, rising from sixth to temporarily hold third after passing Russell at the restart. But unlike Antonelli, Hamilton wasn’t able to hold on to any of the positions he gained.

The cards fell differently for the Racing Bulls drivers. After an excellent qualifying performance and start put him up to eighth at one point, Arvid Lindblad paid the price of coming in early and fell to 14th at the finish.

Lindblad’s team mate Liam Lawson was a clear winner, having run 12th before others ahead of him started to pit, and finishing ninth. Esteban Ocon, ninth before he pitted, lost a place to the Racing Bulls driver.

But arguably the most unlucky driver wasn’t a front-runner. Valtteri Bottas made his first pit stop on lap 19, which dropped him off the lead lap. He was therefore the only car a lap down at the restart. Although the race director allowed him to rejoin the lead lap, he was not allowed time to rejoin the queue of cars, and was still 13 seconds behind them when the race restarted, condemning him to a lonely second half of the race.

2026 Japanese Grand Prix lap chart

The positions of each driver on every lap. Click name to highlight, right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

2026 Japanese Grand Prix race chart

The gaps between each driver on every lap compared to the leader’s average lap time. Very large gaps omitted. Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:

2026 Japanese Grand Prix lap times

All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded). Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and toggle drivers using the control below:

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

2026 Japanese Grand Prix fastest laps

Each driver’s fastest lap:

Rank # Driver Car Lap time Gap Avg. speed (kph) Lap no.
1 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1’32.432 226.17 49
2 63 George Russell Mercedes 1’32.549 0.117 225.88 53
3 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1’32.634 0.202 225.68 53
4 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1’32.777 0.345 225.33 48
5 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1’32.996 0.564 224.8 49
6 1 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1’33.208 0.776 224.29 52
7 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 1’33.427 0.995 223.76 51
8 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford 1’33.552 1.120 223.46 41
9 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Mercedes 1’33.691 1.259 223.13 39
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1’33.732 1.300 223.03 47
11 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford 1’33.837 1.405 222.78 53
12 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1’34.164 1.732 222.01 40
13 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford 1’34.230 1.798 221.85 53
14 31 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari 1’34.256 1.824 221.79 53
15 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford 1’34.314 1.882 221.66 53
16 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Mercedes 1’34.512 2.080 221.19 41
17 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams-Mercedes 1’34.514 2.082 221.19 38
18 87 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari 1’35.604 3.172 218.66 20
19 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac-Ferrari 1’35.637 3.205 218.59 53
20 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Honda 1’36.221 3.789 217.26 47
21 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac-Ferrari 1’36.269 3.837 217.15 52
22 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Honda 1’37.217 4.785 215.04 29

2026 Japanese Grand Prix tyre strategies

The tyre strategies for each driver:

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

2026 Japanese Grand Prix pit stop times

How long each driver’s pit stops took:

Rank # Driver Team Complete stop time (s) Gap to best (s) Stop no. Lap no.
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 22.891 1 22
2 63 George Russell Mercedes 22.937 0.046 1 21
3 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 22.992 0.101 1 17
4 23 Alexander Albon Williams 23.072 0.181 2 45
5 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 23.288 0.397 1 22
6 1 Lando Norris McLaren 23.316 0.425 1 16
7 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren 23.444 0.553 1 18
8 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 23.501 0.61 2 24
9 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine 23.649 0.758 1 17
10 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 23.698 0.807 1 19
11 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 23.999 1.108 1 23
12 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 24.014 1.123 2 23
13 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 24.165 1.274 1 22
14 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 24.304 1.413 1 22
15 23 Alexander Albon Williams 24.337 1.446 3 49
16 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams 24.396 1.505 1 22
17 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull 24.49 1.599 1 22
18 23 Alexander Albon Williams 24.6 1.709 1 22
19 31 Esteban Ocon Haas 24.629 1.738 1 19
20 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 24.63 1.739 1 22
21 87 Oliver Bearman Haas 25.081 2.19 1 16
22 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 25.083 2.192 1 21
23 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 25.129 2.238 1 19
24 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 26.335 3.444 1 18
25 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 26.458 3.567 1 21
26 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 27.307 4.416 1 21

2026 Japanese Grand Prix

Browse all 2026 Japanese Grand Prix articles

Published by

Keith Collantine

Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 – when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring journalist, Keith began running the site full-time in 2010, achieving a long-held ambition to dedicate his full attention to his passion for motor racing. View all posts by Keith Collantine