Piastri shines as Antonelli leads Suzuka ratings

Japanese GP driver ratings: who impressed?

The Japanese Grand Prix delivered drama, standout drives, and a new championship leader in Kimi Antonelli.

But beyond the result, several drivers—especially Oscar Piastri and Pierre Gasly—left a huge impression.

Top performers of the weekend

Oscar Piastri — ⭐ 9/10

• Lightning start to take the lead early
• Controlled the race brilliantly in first stint
• Unlucky with safety car timing

Without that interruption, he could have won

Pierre Gasly — ⭐ 9/10

• Best of the rest in both qualifying and race
• Held off pressure from Max Verstappen
• Extracted maximum from a tricky Alpine

One of the most complete performances of the weekend

Kimi Antonelli — ⭐ 8.5/10

• Fast all weekend
• Beat George Russell in qualifying
• Benefited from safety car—but still delivered

Now leads the championship

Podium contenders

Charles Leclerc — 8/10

• Strong qualifying
• Excellent racecraft under pressure
• Held off Russell late on

George Russell — 7/10

• Quick but inconsistent
• Hurt by setup changes and safety car
• Couldn’t reclaim podium

Lando Norris — 8/10

• Limited running due to reliability issues
• Strong recovery drive

Solid result despite difficult weekend

Mixed weekends

Lewis Hamilton — 6/10

• Struggled for confidence in Ferrari
• Outperformed by Leclerc

Max Verstappen — 6/10

• Car lacking performance
• Outqualified by team-mate
• Continued frustration with regulations

Esteban Ocon — 7/10

• Quiet but effective return to points

Rising talents

Arvid Lindblad — 8/10

• Knocked Verstappen out in qualifying
• Impressive early race pace

Liam Lawson — 7/10

• Benefited from safety car
• Consistent but unspectacular

Difficult weekends

Franco Colapinto — 4/10

• Struggled throughout
• Involved in incident leading to major crash

Oliver Bearman — 4/10

• Poor qualifying
• Huge crash (50G impact)
• Fortunately uninjured

Alex Albon — 5/10

• Off the pace
• Internal frustrations visible

Lance Stroll — 5/10

• Qualified last
• No race impact

Key takeaway

• Antonelli is now the title leader
• Piastri showed race-winning potential
• Gasly delivered a standout performance
• Verstappen and others still battling car & rule issues

Final verdict

Suzuka confirmed one thing:

The 2026 season is no longer just about experience

Young stars like Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri are taking control