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As is customary, the F1 schedule is again globetrotting (24 races) in 2026 before ending at Abu Dhabi in early December.
Englishman George Russell, who was the preseason favorite to win the overall title in 2026, began by taking the Australian Grand Prix. He and Italy’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli, second Down Under, flipped positions in the Chinese Grand Prix, the latter whipping the former at Shanghai.
Now, the third event is the F1 Japanese Grand Prix, going this Sunday (March 29th) at the Honda-owned Suzuka Circuit. This 18-turn layout is about five hours (by car) southwest of Tokyo. Russell finished fourth in the 2025 standings, with two wins and nine podiums.
Peeking at the board, Russell is the prohibitive 4-7 (-175) favorite to prevail at Suzaka Circuit this Sunday, as the only one who’s a minus-money proposition. Antonelli is the 11-4 (+275) second choice. Remember, Japanese Grand Prix odds and assorted props wagers are fluid.
Lewis Hamilton is listed at 17-2 (+850), with Charles Leclerc at 9-1 (+900). Then, it’s out to 28-1 (+2800) with the trio of 2025 F1 champ Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen.
There are three practice sessions this Thursday and Friday (March 26th and 27th), with qualifying taking place the day before the race.
Here’s a bit of a primer just ahead of the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix and just before F1 takes a month-long ‘vacation’ (returning early-May in Miami)…
Who Has Won the Most F1 Championships?
A deadlock atop the career F1 drivers leaderboard. Lewis Hamilton (2008, 2014-15, 2017-20) and Michael Schumacher (1994-95, 2000-04) each have seven seasonal titles. Juan Manual Fangio (1951, 1954-57) has five titles. Max Verstappen ran out of racetrack going after a ‘five-peat’ last season, winning everything in sight down the stretch but falling (by two points) to Lando Norris.
Verstappen is joined by Alain Prost (1985-86, 1989, 1993) and Sebastian Vettel (2010-13) with those four F1 titles.
Who Won the Last Japanese GP?
Max Verstappen won the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, one of his eight victories on the season. Verstappen defeated (in order) Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. It was Verstappen’s fourth consecutive win at Suzuka (2022-25). He has taken each F1 Japan event since the event had a two-season (2020-21) pandemic pause. Records by manufacturer find Mercedes leading with 10 wins and 29 podiums at Suzuka.
What Will Change in the 2026 F1 Season?
Note that Formula 1 (including the Japanese Grand Prix) began in 2026 with new rules and regulations affecting the size of the cars (including wheelbases), composition of the engines, and weight of the tires. Since the author can barely find his own hood release, he’s unqualified to comment any further.
Any Final Thoughts?
Both F1 news and F1 odds have rabid fans devouring all the twists and turns on those courses with all sorts of twists and turns. It’s only intensifying with the drama in full swing in 2026. If you’re looking down the road to see where the drivers are hitting the road, there’s Miami (May 3rd), Canada (Montreal, May 24th), and Monaco (Monte Carlo, June 7th).
- Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com
