Mercedes Secures Suzuka Front Row as Verstappen Struggles to Eleventh in Japan Qualifying

Max Verstappen will start the Japanese Grand Prix from 11th after a difficult qualifying session at Suzuka on March 28, 2026, while Mercedes secured a front-row lockout. Verstappen, the reigning Formula One world champion, said his Red Bull was “undriveable,” underscoring a sharp shift from his recent dominance at the circuit.

The result extends a troubled opening phase to his season and breaks with his recent Suzuka record, where he has won each of the past four races. In contrast, Mercedes converted pace into position, with Kimi Antonelli taking pole and George Russell joining him in second.

Qualifying outcome at Suzuka

Antonelli led the session with a best lap of 1:28.778, putting Mercedes at the head of the grid. Russell was 0.298 seconds slower, completing a 1-2 that positions the team strongly for race strategy and track position at a circuit where overtaking can be limited.

Behind the Mercedes pair, Oscar Piastri qualified third for McLaren and Charles Leclerc took fourth for Ferrari. The top four suggests a competitive fight among multiple teams even as Red Bull’s lead driver struggled to reach the final phase of qualifying.

What changed for Verstappen and Red Bull

Verstappen linked his difficulties to the sport’s new technical framework requiring a 50-50 split between conventional and electrical power. He has criticized the regulations previously, and at Suzuka he described a car that was hard to predict under braking and turn-in.

He reported pronounced oversteer on corner entry during qualifying, after earlier practice work aimed at reducing understeer. The combination left Red Bull without a stable balance window, limiting confidence and lap time when grip and precision are critical.

Season context and momentum shift

The Suzuka setback follows two recent incidents: a crash in Q3 at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and a retirement from the Chinese Grand Prix two weeks before Japan. Together, those results indicate that Verstappen’s early campaign has been shaped by both reliability or incident risk and outright performance challenges.

Mercedes, by comparison, has carried momentum from China, where Antonelli—19—became the youngest pole-sitter in Formula One history two weeks ago. He repeated that front-of-grid performance in Japan, reinforcing the team’s qualifying strength under the current rules package.