Japanese Grand Prix Takeaways: This Sh!t just got dangerous
F1 OpinionTuesday, 31 March 2026 at 17:19
The Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka last Sunday raised a huge red flag regarding the 2026 Formula 1 regulations from a safety aspect following Ollie Bearman's horrific crash.
Of course that should be the logical conclusion of any rational human being after watching what happened with the Haas driver whose only fault was that he was trying to pass Franco Colapinto in a harvesting Alpine.
After all, isn't this what Stefano Domenicali and Liberty Media want? More overtakes? By the way, how many of those did we have in Suzuka last Sunday?
Not much is my guess because otherwise, those stats would've been immediately thrown in our faces...
Sadly, instead of celebrating the rise of a new promising talent, a future F1 Champion after Kimi Antonelli won his second race in a row, we have to once again report about the mess Formula One Management (FOM) and the FIA have inflicted on the sport in 2026.
And with that we begin our takeaways from the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix.
We are grateful Ollie is safe
The most important thing in this whole 2026 F1 fiasco is that Bearman walked away safe from the accident, albeit limping and with a sore knee.
And there was no surprise here as Haas revealed that it was a 50G impact he sustained. It didn't look that bad on TV, to be honest.
Now Ollie has a long break to recover and try to forget this nightmare with the imposed break we will have this month after the cancellation of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the Middle East war.
Back to the incident, I do not think we really need to explain much, as it was simply one car slowing down and harvesting while another one with Boost Mode, or Mushroom Mode approaching at a huge speed delta, which caught Bearman out.
What was noteworthy is that in the immediate replay, we could hear Colapinto's car revving after he downshifted to harvest, and I was thinking: That was quite a violent downshift.
In the footage released later on their social media, that was not there... Just saying.
But we have to commend FOM for training their commentary staff well; as soon after the incident, they were hinting that Colapinto moved under braking, which is a jink any F1 driver will naturally do when he realises he is being overtaken as he tries to defend. What was next? Blame it on Bearman??!!
The FIA didn't deem it necessary to investigate the crash. Why? Either all the theories about driver error were unfounded, or they simply did not want to have the huge speed differential mentioned in an official FIA document...
I know I am being a bit of a conspiracy theorist here, but bear with me.
What makes matters worse is that Bearman said the FIA and FOM have been warned about the potential of such incidents happening and nothing was done about it.
Let's see what happens over the break though in that regard, while the only action taken for now was to improve qualifying... Which brings me to my next takeaway.
Did you notice any difference?
Just before the race in Japan, the FIA announced changes to the rules related to qualifying, which meant the deployment would be less so the batteries do not require as much harvesting.
That, according to the governing body, was done as a reaction to feedback from drivers and aimed to make sure qualifying was more flat out and not a ridiculous energy management exercise on a track like Suzuka, where qualifying is the highlight of the weekend on such a classic, old-school venue.
However, the change was not enough, and we ended up with cars that did not even have the peak power FOM has been boasting since the start of the new regulations.
We could see from onboards how drivers were still having to lift and harvest in 130R, basically going slower to go faster, and pole position was two seconds off last year's.
What a shame since, personally, I look forward to Suzuka every year to see those flat-out laps in qualifying. Max Verstappen's pole lap there in 2025 was a belter.
Fernando Alonso summed it up perfectly when he said driver skill is not required anymore to deliver a great lap around Suzuka...
Need we say more?
This is not what I signed up for...
That is what George Russell must be thinking after he saw his teammate waltz to another win this season, which was supposed to be his chance—given the W17—to bag that maiden F1 Title he so yearns for and deserves.
Russell was never in the zone around Suzuka, while Antonelli was on it, delivering blistering pace with the confidence of a race winner.
As a result, the Briton went down a wrong path with the car setup and struggled with the rear stability in qualifying, which was also evident in the race as he couldn't keep up with the McLaren of Oscar Piastri without ruining the tyres.
We have to admit that Antonelli got lucky with the Safety Car and Russell didn't, but we have to also keep in mind that with both of them suffering horrendous starts, Antonelli, with his little experience, admirably kept a cool head and drove calmly to recover and take the lead, after which he delivered a commanding drive to the flag.
I think this is the aspect Russell needs to worry about with regard to Antonelli, the Italian's composure under pressure, something we have seen on numerous occasions so far.
Don't get me wrong, it would be stupid to rule Russell out from the Championship, but he has a tough challenge on his hands, and it is coming from the place he least expected, the garage next door.
Japanese Grand Prix Quick Hits
- The Japanese Grand Prix was the first time in 2026 when Mercedes did not finish with both cars on the podium, as Russell was fourth. Their advantage did not seem as considerable as it was in Melbourne and Shanghai.
Maybe that was down to Russell's struggles, the track layout, rivals learning more about their cars... There are many possible factors, but Mercedes will now race looking over their shoulders unless Suzuka was a one-off. - Great recovery from McLaren after a double DNS in Shanghai. They, not Ferrari, had the second-best car behind Mercedes, and Piastri had a real chance of bagging a win had it not been for the Safety Car timing that played against him. Hopefully they sustain this form and deliver a challenge worthy of a reigning F1 Constructors' Champion.
- Charles Leclerc's pass on Lewis Hamilton during the race after asking the team over the radio, indirectly that is, to move the Briton aside was a clear message that he will not take defeat in Shanghai lying down.
Hamilton has kicked off 2026 in great form compared to his maiden Ferrari season, but Leclerc will definitely have something to say about that. - Another tough weekend for Red Bull Racing and Verstappen as the new huge upgrade did not make the RB22 any faster, and the Dutchman is clearly fed up from being beaten by an Alpine driver he previously pulverized when they were teammates.
- Alonso managed to finish the race in the vibrating AMR26. Good thing he has a month to recover.
- Both Audis started the race in Japan, an improvement. Only one Cadillac was lapped. Another improvement.
- The Williams horror show continued with Alex Albon's race relegated to a testing session while Carlos Sainz was nowhere.
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