Still on a high after seeing Kimi Antonelli win his first Grand Prix? Wondering how F1 could become more like MarioKart? Looking to see many replays of the Senna-Prost Championship deciding crashes? Wondering how many races Mercedes are going to win this season and how insufferable will George Russell be doing it? Then let our 2026 Japanese F1 Grand Prix Prix-View answer some of those big questions and more that you didn’t ask for.
The Gurgler’s 2026 Japanese F1 Grand Prix Prix-View brings some thoughts on what the race weekend ahead might bring, rate the chances of a great Grand Prix with our Race Potential Rating, and we throw in more than a few barely interesting stats to sort wheat/chaff.
Essentially a quick summary of what a casual F1 fan needs in the shortest possible time for your convenience.
And for F1 opinion, stand by for the F1 Donkey’s Bold Predictions and Opinion where no one and nothing is safe. And like the cars around him on the grid, Lance Stroll.
READ MORE – WHAT HAPPENED LAST RACE: 2026 CHINESE GP REVIEW
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READ MORE – LAST CHANCE 2025 READ: 2025 F1 SEASON DRIVER OF THE SEASON AND STATS
2026 Japanese F1 Grand Prix Prix-view – Race Potential Rating
The Gurgler does like to use some obscure drivers in our Race previews and report, so who better to use than Teo Fabi to determine a race rating system.
So before each race we give a rating out of ten for four key category that are loosely based on each letter of Teo Fabi’s surname. Don’t know who Teo Fabi is, you should.
FAST? 9 / 10 – It’s fast and looks fast, especially through the first corner and esses and the accurately named 130R corner. The speed makes up for the narrowness and lack of action as below.
ACTION? 3 / 10 – It’s a track where overtaking is usually at a premium, and by that we mean there’s usually bugger all unless someone has a huge lunge at the chicane that pays off every third attempt. The challenging nature of the track means incompetency will be punished, so a few wild moments await. Not all of them Lance Stroll’s as the Aston Martin might not be fast enough or last long enough to make a mistake.
BIG HISTORY? – 8 / 10 – Suzuka has been active since 1987 except for Covid and has been the scene of some of F1’s biggest moments, like Senna and Prost denying Championships on each other in consecutive years. Shame it’s on so early in the season, but better than not at all.
INCLEMENT WEATHER? – 3 /10 – The Weather Channel says not much chance of rain, but it could be on the colder side, but nothing to get too excited about yet.
RACE POTENTIAL RATING 58% – It’s a great track that fans and drivers love to watch the cars go around. Just sometimes the races can be dull if not wet.
2026 Japanese F1 Grand Prix Prix-view – Stats Summary
Want to know if your favourite driver for this weekend is a master of the track or the track is a master of them? Here then are some barely interesting facts and stats.
BEST OF STATS
- Max Verstappen has taken the win from pole for the last four seasons.
- Lance Stroll hasn’t made Q3 on any of the seven attempts thus far.
- Lewis Hamilton has made every Q3 at this track since his debut in 2007.
- A win for Lewis Hamilton will draw his level with Michael Schumacher for most wins.
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Driver Stats – Japanese F1 Grand Prix
Team Stats – Japanese F1 Grand Prix
History Stats – Japanese F1 Grand Prix
99 = a DNF. Grid position 20 is overstated as that was also used for cars starting in pitlane. Results from all races for long term history and from 2021 from Grid to Race positions. stated.
Other Stats – Japanese F1 Grand Prix
Below stats from 2000 onwards.
F1 2025 Season Stuff
READ MORE: 2025 F1 SEASON DRIVER OF THE SEASON AND STATS
