Japanese GP Post-Qualifying Press Conference Highlights

The 2026 Formula 1 Japanese GP post-qualifying press conference featured the top three drivers: Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes – Pole), George Russell (Mercedes – P2), and Oscar Piastri (McLaren – P3). Here are the most newsworthy quotes and talking points, followed by the full transcript.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes – Pole position)

– Called his session “clean” and was surprised by the near three-tenth gap to Russell: “It’s very easy to gain or lose three tenths” under the new 2026 regulations.
– Described the Mercedes as “limiting in some areas because of the energy constraints” but “really fun” through the Esses; lap times were “not too far off from last year.”
– Noted better following and battery harvest/deploy modes should make overtaking easier tomorrow, but warned Suzuka’s layout (fewer long straights) will still make it tough.
– Stressed the need for a strong start and said he’ll prepare for “as many scenarios as possible” given potential weather/wind changes.
– Paid tribute to the Japanese fans: “The fans here in Japan are pretty incredible… arigato.”

George Russell (Mercedes – P2)

– Congratulated Antonelli but called qualifying “really strange.” The car felt off after a setup change; he started Q1 in P7-P8 and needed a front-wing adjustment.
– Revealed a mechanical issue on the rear end that made the car “step out” in the Esses: “We’re looking into it but we can’t change it now.”
– Admitted P2 felt lucky given the problems and said the team must “adapt our driving or find some answers overnight” for the long race.
– Noted how close Ferrari and McLaren were: “They were very close… the grid has definitely closed up.”
– Praised the new track surface for giving more grip in the second half of the lap, helping keep times close to 2025.

Oscar Piastri (McLaren – P3)

– Said the session was “well executed overall” despite a messy final Q3 lap; happy with P3 after the team “came alive in Q2” following a poor Q1.
– Believes a tiny bit more time was possible but the 2026 cars are “tricky” – “the engine doesn’t like it” if you push too hard.
– Encouraged that McLaren is closing the gap to Mercedes week by week, though “there’s still a pretty big gap to fill.”
– Admitted he “just tried too hard” on his last run, causing the rear to protest, and blamed cooling track temperatures, gusty wind, and power-unit limitations.
– Highlighted the new track surface helping keep lap times competitive with last year, especially in the second half of the lap.

Quick takeaway from the room:
All three drivers highlighted how volatile the 2026 package is—one small mistake or setup tweak can cost huge time. Mercedes looked strong but not bulletproof, McLaren is closing in, and everyone expects strategy, tire management, and the new active-aero/battery rules to play a big role in tomorrow’s race.

Full Transcript

DRIVERS

1 – Kimi ANTONELLI (Mercedes)
2 – George RUSSELL (Mercedes)
3 – Oscar PIASTRI (McLaren)

PARC FERMÉ INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Jean Alesi)

Q: Kimi, what a pole position. Tell us from the inside.
Kimi ANTONELLI: Yeah, I’m super happy with the session. It was a good one. It was a clean one and I felt very good in the car. Every run I was just improving and improving. It was a shame for the last lap because I locked up in Turn 11, but it was a good one as well. I’m really happy with the session and now we’ll focus on tomorrow.

Q: We enjoy it a lot from outside. George, you have a hard time now in the team!
George RUSSELL: Yeah, he did a great job again. Really strange session for us. I mean, we were both very fast all weekend. We made some adjustments after FP3 and then the beginning of qualifying we were nowhere, so we need to kind of understand that. Very lucky again to be in P2. Over the last two weekends it’s both gone wrong come qualifying, but race is tomorrow and still a lot to play for.

Q: Oscar, finally a good start to the weekend.
Oscar PIASTRI: Yeah, I mean, I think qualifying has been okay this year, but nice to get into the top three. I think this weekend we’ve looked good, and I think we’ve executed well. We clearly don’t have the pace or the grip to match Mercedes still, but we’re getting closer, which is the most important point.

Q: Kimi, you will wake up everyone in Italy tomorrow morning. Everybody will watch you. But we are in Japan, and you see the fans. Say something to them.
KA: Yeah, I mean, the fans here in Japan are pretty incredible. There’s so much passion and racing at such a historic track is an incredible feeling. The track is unbelievable to drive with these kinds of car, plus the fans give us a little bit more of a boost when we’re on track, so thank you so much for coming and yeah, arigato.

PRESS CONFERENCE

: Kimi, many congratulations. A tremendous lap in Q3 and you secured pole by nearly three tenths of a second. Just how good was that lap?
KA: I had a really clean session, it felt good. I had a strong Run 1 and then from there on I just built the momentum. Obviously, it was a bit trickier than FP3, especially at the start of qualifying. I think the wind increased a little bit and it felt a little bit more difficult, the car, overall. But then we just tried to adapt and we made some tweaks with aero balance and found a good compromise. Then the lap in Q3 was good. It was a shame for the last one, but I think it was, overall, a very strong session.

Q: Are you surprised by the gap to George?
KA: Yeah, I am, but with this regulation it’s very easy to gain or lose three tenths, whatever the gap was. It’s really easy to gain and lose time, so it was the same for me in Melbourne. But, you know, he’s super quick, he’s been super quick around here and we’ll see tomorrow in the race how we’re going to do.

Q: There’s been a lot of talk during the build-up to qualifying about how a lap would feel around Suzuka with these 2026 regulations. Tell us, how did you feel inside the car?
KA: I mean, I think obviously there are parts of the track where you’re a little bit limited, a bit handcuffed on driving because of energy, but I think still the Esses are pretty good fun because at the end of the day the car on the chassis side is very good fun. The Esses in qualifying were getting pretty quick, so it was good fun. Of course, there’s still work to do and work around, on these big tracks with the energy, trying to find a solution that allows us to push even more and drive without thinking too much, especially in certain places. But overall, I think it was good fun, the qualifying, because at the end also you look at the lap times and they’re not so far off from last year, so I think qualifying today has been good fun.

Q: Let’s throw it forward to tomorrow now. First of all, traditionally it’s been difficult to overtake at Suzuka. Do you think that’ll be different tomorrow with these cars?
KA: Probably. I mean, we’ve seen obviously how much easier it is to follow and obviously when you get the overtake mode, how much more battery you can harvest and then deploy on the straights, so you never know, it can give good racing. But still, I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as China and Melbourne because obviously the track, first of all, is quite a bit tighter and you don’t have as many straights where you can overtake, or straights and then big braking, where you can make the move. You have a lot of fast entries, so it’s not going to be easy, but that’s why it’s crucial to have a good start and then we’ll see from there how the pace is going to be.

Q: And the long-run pace of the car looks good, right?
KA: Yeah, I mean, the long run has been good. Of course, let’s see tomorrow how the weather is going to be, how the wind is going to be, because you never know, it can shift. Let’s see also with temperatures, how hot it’s going to be, and then I’ll try to be ready, try to cover as many scenarios in order to be ready for tomorrow.

Q: Alright, good luck with that. George, let’s come to you now. It looked like you were chasing the car throughout qualifying. Was that the case?
GR: It was really odd, to be honest. We made a set-up adjustment just going into qualifying and the car just did not feel the same as it has been the whole weekend. You saw my first laps in Q1, I was down in P7, P8, and we had to make a massive adjustment during qualifying with the front wing to adapt. The team have already had a look. We don’t know whether something incorrect was done or what happened, but I’m kind of glad again to be in this position because after Q1, I was like, ‘I’m not sure where we’ll end up’.

Q: George, what were the main issues with the car and at what bit of the racetrack as well?
GR: We made a mechanical issue to the car on the rear end and it was just mainly through the Esses. I couldn’t attack any of the corners. The rear was trying to step out on me throughout. I’m sure we’ll try and see what happened. There’s not really anything we can do now, but as I said, it’s a good place to start for tomorrow and it’s going to be a long race.

Q: Good place to start, but what does this mean for the race tomorrow?
GR: Yeah, it’s not ideal. I think, as I said, I’ve felt really comfortable with the car this whole weekend and in qualifying something didn’t quite feel right. So, let’s see tonight, maybe we’ll get some answers, maybe I can adjust my driving style to compensate, but definitely not the session we would have wanted. Two weeks in a row qualifying has been a bit tricky.

Q: And George, what do you make of the gap to your pursuers? The whole grid has closed up a bit here at Suzuka, but are you surprised that, for example, Oscar is as close as he is?
GR: Yeah, to be honest, qualifying was very close between the Ferraris and McLaren throughout, so that was probably a bit of a surprise to us. We both had a very strong FP3 session, we thought we had a bit of a margin to the competitors. Obviously, we’re still P1 and P2, so that’s great, but clearly the others are closing in.

Q: Alright, George, well done. Thank you for that. And Oscar, let’s come to you now. Great performance by you. Just how clean was the session for you?
OP: I think it was pretty well executed. I think the final lap of Q3 was a bit of a mess, but apart from that I think we built into things well. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted from the car after FP3 and I think we did a good job of achieving that, and then also how you have to drive. Yeah, you’ve got to do some interesting things, so I think just staying disciplined on that worked well and I’m happy to end up where we are. I think everyone seemed to chop and change a bit through qualifying. We didn’t look great in Q1 and then Q2 we came alive and managed to hold that pace. I thought the Ferraris were going to be on a par at one point, so it was all a bit of a mixed bag, but happy to end up third.

Q: You say the final lap of Q3 didn’t go well. Was there more time on the table? Could you be even closer to the Mercedes today?
OP: Maybe a tiny bit, but it’s always impossible to know. I think especially with these cars, like Kimi said, it’s very easy to think you’re going faster and doing the right thing, and you end up going slower because the engine doesn’t like it. So, it’s a tricky balance, but I think it was pretty close to what we could have done.

Q: It’s been a pretty bumpy road for McLaren so far this year. How encouraged are you by your pace relative to these guys next to you?
OP: I mean, it’s nice to be closer, obviously. I think we’re learning more and more about the car and about the power unit every weekend. I think this weekend in Suzuka, let’s say being slower in the Esses than Mercedes is not necessarily a bad thing, which is weird to say. But yeah, I think we were saved a little bit by that. So, I think we’ve been more competitive in general, but we’re under no illusion, we’ve still got a pretty big gap to fill.

Q: Looking ahead to tomorrow, you’re lacking racing laps this year. Do you feel on the back foot compared to these guys, lack of knowledge of these new regs in a race situation?
OP: I mean, not necessarily, but you don’t know what you don’t know until you’re in the situation. So yeah, I’ve tried to learn as much as I can from watching the races and even through practice. There have been some interesting moments with cars at different speeds in different parts of the track. I overtook someone into Degner 1 yesterday, which was different. But yeah, you’re learning all the time and I think just the level of awareness you need is very high. But I think ultimately pace is going to be the thing that decides your result, and the start as well. Well, maybe not the start if it’s these guys around you, but yeah, we’ll see what we can do.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Jake Boxall-Legge – Autosport) Question for all three, if I could ask. Over the final runs of Q3, we didn’t see that much in the way of improvements. I don’t think any of the top six improved. Kimi, you’ve already said the reasons why, but was it kind of track-specific? Was there perhaps changing conditions or was it just sort of coincidence that nobody was able to put the lap together on their second runs?
KA: Well, I think for sure the track was not evolving as much. It probably stopped evolving from Q2 onwards. It was getting cooler, so getting the tyres in the right window was not as easy. And I think also sometimes, at some point, you start to be limited by what the power unit can do. Obviously corner speed can start to get higher, but then the PU can start to be a limiting factor. So I think, yeah, that could be a reason. But overall, with the wind as well, it was not easy to put the lap together. It was a bit gusty, so sometimes from corner to corner it was changing.
GR: Yeah, I think the track temp dropping and the tyres are quite hard, there’s new track surface here, it probably just got a bit too cold and that was probably a factor.
OP: I think I just tried too hard, tried to push a bit much and the rear end said no a few times. But it is difficult to know because sometimes you feel like you do a better lap and, like Kimi said, you go faster through the corners and you run into some problems with deployment. So, it’s not always that easy to understand why you make jumps in lap time and stuff like that. But yes, in my case, just trying too hard.

Q: How much grip did the new track surface on the second half of the lap have?
GR: I think a lot. When we resurfaced the first half of the track last year, it was like driving on two completely different circuits. This year obviously the first sector has degraded a little bit, but the second half of the lap has the grip that the first half had last year. So, I think that also explains a little bit of why we’re close to last year’s times, because I think we’ve gained a lot of grip in the second half of the lap. But yeah, it’s good fun when you’ve got more grip.

Q: (Kenichi Tanaka – Motorsport.com Japan) A question for George. This weekend is the home Grand Prix for your engineer, Mr Katsuhide Kuwahara, so could you share your thoughts on him for Japanese fans who are hoping to see Japanese people standing on the podium in the Japanese Grand Prix, since 2012, because you seem to have a great chance to get on the podium with him?
GR: Yeah, I mean, Katsu is one of the most talented engineers we have in the whole team and definitely one of the most hard-working individuals also in the team. I feel very fortunate to have him as one of my engineers. He stood on the podium with me in Canada last year, which was a very proud moment for everybody. So obviously, great for him to have his own race in Japan and great for him to be part of the team.