IT'S RACE WEEK: 5 storylines we're excited about ahead of the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix

Melbourne and Shanghai both provided plenty of action and two different winners from the opening two rounds of the 2026 Formula 1 season, with Mercedes clearly leading the way as a team. But the calendar has provided its first full-week gap in the schedule for teams to really digest and develop on what they’ve learned, with a number of storylines to get excited about heading to Suzuka.

Mercedes drivers looking for the upper hand

Two race weekends down, and it’s a win apiece for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli when it comes to a Grand Prix.

Russell took the spoils in Australia and then won the Sprint in China, but Antonelli hit back with pole position in Shanghai after his team mate hit trouble in Qualifying, before duly converting that into his first victory in F1.

It’s extremely early days, but at this stage it’s hard to look past one of the two Mercedes drivers for the Drivers’ Championship, such is the level of performance advantage they currently have. Even if others are able to reel Mercedes in during what is likely to be a season that features an extremely high rate of development, the early points on the board could prove crucial.

And so Antonelli getting off the mark so soon into his F1 career is a huge boost for the Italian, not only for his own development but also for any hopes he might have of fighting for the title this season.

Toto Wolff has downplayed the battle between his two drivers, saying they are at very different stages of maturity and calling for patience with Antonelli, but if the 19-year-old is able to follow-up with another strong performance – and potential win – at Suzuka, then belief in his title potential will only grow.

Hamilton’s fresh momentum at Ferrari

Both the Sprint and the Grand Prix itself in China delivered plenty of exciting racing between the two Ferrari drivers, and while it was Charles Leclerc who came out on top on Saturday, Lewis Hamilton hit back to secure his first podium for the Scuderia on the Sunday.

Hamilton has been in strong form from the word go this season and says he definitely feels back to his best – both physically and mentally – after a challenging first year with Ferrari in 2025.

There is still a sizable gap to Mercedes but the evidence so far is that the two Ferrari drivers can at least target podiums, and they have so far been free to battle for those positions, while being able to give Russell and Antonelli a run for their money in the early stages of each race.

As evidenced by the McLaren issues and Russell’s Qualifying scare in China, the Mercedes power unit is not bulletproof, so if a door opens for one of the Ferrari drivers to take a win, the question heading into each race now is which one will it be?

Honda’s home race

It has been a tough start to the season for Aston Martin and Honda, with reliability issues hampering the team and limiting their mileage. Both sides discussed the challenges they were facing arriving at the first race, and have since managed to make some progress despite the back-to-back nature of the first two rounds.

The Japanese Grand Prix is another matter entirely, though, as Honda get ready to celebrate their first home race in partnership with Aston Martin. The gap since China will have given the team more time to try and identify improvements that can be made, and the factories in both Silverstone and Sakura have been hard at work.

There will always be additional focus on Honda at their home circuit, but they are sure to enjoy significant support and will be keen to display further steps in the right direction as they look to explore more of the car’s potential.

How do McLaren and Red Bull respond?

Although a lot has been made about Aston Martin’s lack of mileage, they have managed to complete more laps across both of their cars in a racing scenario than the defending Constructors’ Champions McLaren have.

Oscar Piastri’s failure to start in Melbourne was followed by the disastrous double-DNS in China, when two separate electrical problems with the Mercedes power unit – albeit the same component – prevented either driver from lining up on the grid.

Not only was that painful at the time, it leaves McLaren behind on knowledge of how to get the most out of their car and power unit, with such limited data compared to many of their rivals.

They still sit third in the Constructors’ Championship, though, with Haas one point behind them after an extremely impressive start to the year from Ollie Bearman in particular. Red Bull are down in fifth, after also struggling in China, in their case to get the RB22 handling as the drivers wanted.

Both teams have aspirations of closing the deficit to the top two teams and showed more encouraging signs in pre-season testing than they have been able to replicate in the opening two rounds. Suzuka is their next chance to get back on track.

Amazing fans and an iconic track

The huge events keep coming to kick off the 2026 season, after massive crowds in both Melbourne and Shanghai, it’s on to Suzuka and a venue that the teams and drivers love for multiple reasons.

The fans in Japan are unique, with thousands filling the main grandstand even on a Thursday as the teams are setting up for the race weekend, and some of the most creative homemade signs and accessories that you are ever likely to see.

On top of that, the iconic track is a true challenge for the drivers. It is relatively narrow in places, and features multiple high-speed corners and changes of direction, with a flow that often has it featuring near the top of any list of a driver’s favourite layouts.

This year’s cars will provide a different test to those raced in 2025, but with lower levels of overall downforce and more power available at certain times, there will be plenty of grip-limited high speed corners, and mistakes will continue to be punished, with gravel often waiting on the outside of each turn of the figure of eight configuration.

As incredible as Suzuka has always been, it can be tough to overtake at times given its characteristics, so it will be interesting to see if the different opportunities offered up at the first two circuits also transfer to Japan.