Antonelli Leads Every Point-Scoring Position at Suzuka

Antonelli Makes It Count From the Front

[Andrea Kimi Antonelli](/drivers/antonelli) started from pole and took the full 25 points at Suzuka, leading the [2026 season](/seasons/2026) standings as the third round concluded. It was a clean afternoon's work for [Mercedes](/teams/mercedes) — pole converted, race won, both cars in the top four.

Behind him, the order told a story about who has pace and who is still finding it. [Oscar Piastri](/drivers/piastri) started P3 and finished P2, leapfrogging [Charles Leclerc](/drivers/leclerc) who had qualified on the front row in second and fell to third by the flag. [McLaren](/teams/mclaren) gaining a position on a Ferrari who started ahead is the kind of detail that matters over a 24-race season.

Mercedes Running in Formation

The symmetry of the result is almost too tidy: Antonelli P1 from P1, Russell P4 from P4. No drama, no interference between teammates, maximum extraction. Teams that finish rounds this way tend to compound advantages quickly.

Ferrari's Afternoon Comes Up Short

Leclerc and [Lewis Hamilton](/drivers/hamilton) qualified second and fifth, and finished third and fifth respectively. The positions held. Neither improved. Hamilton's P5 from P5 is points on the board, but [Ferrari](/teams/ferrari) needed more from a car that clearly has qualifying pace — Leclerc on the front row proved that. Converting starting positions into podiums ahead of faster cars is the gap Ferrari needs to close.

Fifteen points for Leclerc, ten for Hamilton. Useful. Not enough to close the gap to Antonelli.

Norris, Verstappen, and the Midfield Contenders

[Lando Norris](/drivers/norris) finished sixth from sixth — McLaren's second car scoring eight points after Piastri's 18 gives the Woking team 26 constructors' points at Suzuka alone. [Max Verstappen](/drivers/max_verstappen) came home seventh from seventh for [Red Bull](/teams/red_bull), which is a difficult result to parse. Seventh place from seventh grid slot is not the kind of return Red Bull was used to producing, and being out-pointed by both Mercedes and both McLarens is a three-round pattern worth watching.

[Pierre Gasly](/drivers/gasly) took fourth from P8 on the grid for [Alpine F1 Team](/teams/alpine), a genuine result in the points. [Fernando Alonso](/drivers/alonso) added two points for [Aston Martin](/teams/aston_martin) from P9, and [Carlos Sainz](/drivers/sainz) rounded out the top ten from P10 for [Williams](/teams/williams) — one point, but confirmation that Williams remains competitive enough to threaten the lower points positions.

Where the 2026 Championship Stands After Three Rounds

No champion has been crowned yet, and the season is still too young to draw firm lines. But Suzuka reinforced what the first two rounds suggested: Antonelli and Mercedes are operating at the front of the field under the 2026 regulations, Piastri and McLaren are the closest challengers, and Ferrari has the qualifying pace to compete for pole but hasn't yet translated that into race wins.

Verstappen in seventh is the number that will generate the most conversation. Red Bull's active aerodynamics and power unit performance in race trim, as opposed to qualifying, will be closely scrutinised heading into round four.

For the full 2026 standings and to track how Suzuka changed the championship picture, see the [2026 season](/seasons/2026) page. For a head-to-head breakdown of Antonelli and Piastri through the opening rounds, the [compare tool](/compare?d1=antonelli&d2=piastri) has everything you need.