The event was held at the Suzuka International Racing Course for the 36th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 27–29 March. The Grand Prix was the third round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship and the 40th running of the Japanese Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship.
Going into the event, George Russell (Mercedes) led the Drivers' Championship with 51 points. Kimi Antonelli was in second, and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) in third. Mercedes led the Constructors' Championship with 98 points, ahead of Ferrari and McLaren.
The drivers and teams were the same as published in the season entry list. During the first practice session, Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) was replaced by Jak Crawford.
Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the C1, C2, and C3 tyre compounds, designated hard, medium, and soft, for teams to use at the event.
Three free practice sessions were held. The first free practice session on 27 March 2026 was topped by George Russell (Mercedes). The second free practice session on the same day was topped by Oscar Piastri (McLaren). The third free practice session on 28 March 2026 was topped by Kimi Antonelli.
Qualifying was held on 28 March 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+9), and determined the starting grid order for the race.
The race was held on 29 March 2026, and was scheduled to start at 14:00 local time (UTC+9) before being delayed to 14:10. The delay followed an accident in the Porsche Carrera Cup Japan support series. The race was run for 53 laps.
At the start, Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) had good starts. Kimi Antonelli eventually recovered to fourth by lap 10. Oliver Bearman crashed his Haas at Spoon curve on lap 20, leading to a safety car deployment. Antonelli retained his lead after pitting under the safety car. On the restart, Antonelli had a good getaway from Piastri. Antonelli won from Piastri for his second career win. Piastri and Leclerc rounded out the podium. George Russell, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly, Max Verstappen, Liam Lawson and Esteban Ocon rounded out the remaining points positions.
The regulation changes surrounding the increased usage of the battery and electric power deployment modes came under scrutiny following Bearman's crash. The FIA held a review with power unit developers on 9 April regarding potential refinements to the regulations. Further meetings were held on 15, 16 and 20 April, with the intention that these changes would be introduced for the following Miami Grand Prix.
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