{"id":568294,"date":"2026-03-27T18:14:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T18:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/568294\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T18:14:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T18:14:11","slug":"weather-forecast-schedule-and-how-to-watch-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/568294\/","title":{"rendered":"Weather forecast, schedule and how to watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Qualifying for the upcoming F1 Japanese GP has the potential to see the grid closer than ever in 2026. After Friday’s sessions saw Oscar Piastri<\/a> set the pace in second practice for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, it revealed that Mercedes\u2019 early dominance might be challenged in FP3\u00a0and in qualifying at Suzuka.<\/p>\n

After Mercedes locked out a 1-2 in opening practice, Piastri responded with a 1m30.133s in FP2 to edge\u00a0Kimi Antonelli<\/a> by 0.092s, with George Russell<\/a> completing the top three.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0McLaren driver controlled much of the session, particularly once soft-tyre running began, while team-mate Lando Norris<\/a> recovered from early issues to finish fourth.<\/p>\n

The result suggests the competitive picture remains finely balanced heading into the remainder of the weekend, with Mercedes,\u00a0McLaren and Ferrari all showing flashes of pace under Formula 1\u2019s new 2026 regulations.\u00a0Here is all you need to know to follow the action from Japan.<\/p>\n

Where can I watch the F1 Japanese GP?<\/p>\n

Fans in the United Kingdom can watch the Japanese GP in the usual place for F1, as Sky Sports has entered its 14th year of broadcasting the championship. It is showing every session of the 2026 campaign, meaning the track action can also be streamed via the Sky Go app or NOW TV. Fans are able to watch the action on\u00a0freeview as well though, as Channel 4 broadcasts highlights of both qualifying and the race.<\/p>\n

There was change for 2026 over in the United States though, as Apple TV took over from ESPN as F1\u2019s exclusive broadcaster in the US as part of a five-year deal for the tech giant, worth approximately $140m each year.<\/p>\n

Where can I follow qualifying live for the F1 Japanese GP?<\/p>\n

Live coverage of this weekend\u2019s Japanese Grand Prix is available via Motorsport.com with commentary of every session from FP1 to Sunday\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

F1 Japanese GP Schedule<\/p>\n

FP3<\/p>\n

Event
\nDate<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

11:30 \u00a0 <\/p>\n

Japanese GP – FP3 <\/p>\n

Qualifying<\/p>\n

Event
\nDate<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

15:00 \u00a0 <\/p>\n

Japanese GP – QU <\/p>\n

Race<\/p>\n

Event
\nDate<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

14:00 \u00a0 <\/p>\n

Japanese GP – Race <\/p>\n

\"Carlos <\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz, Williams<\/p>\n

Photo by: Peter Fox \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

What is the weather forecast for the F1 Japanese GP?<\/p>\n

Saturday 28 March: Free Practice 3 and Qualifying<\/p>\n

Dry conditions are expected to continue into Saturday, although cloud cover may increase slightly compared to Friday. Final practice should begin at around 15C, with temperatures rising to approximately 17C for qualifying. Humidity is expected to sit near 54%, with no significant threat of rain.<\/p>\n

Sunday 29 March: Japanese Grand\u00a0Prix<\/p>\n

The Japanese Grand\u00a0Prix has been known for extreme wet conditions in the past, but that is not expected this year. Forecasts point to dry conditions with sunny intervals for the race start at 14:00 local time, with temperatures around 19C and stable conditions throughout.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

F1 2026 drivers’ standings<\/p>\n

F1 2026 constructors’ standings<\/p>\n

Position
\nTeam
\nPoints<\/p>\n

1
\nMercedes
\n98<\/p>\n

2
\nFerrari
\n67<\/p>\n

3
\nMcLaren
\n18<\/p>\n

4
\nHaas
\n17<\/p>\n

5
\nRed Bull
\n12<\/p>\n

6
\nRacing Bulls
\n12<\/p>\n

7
\nAlpine
\n10<\/p>\n

8
\nAudi
\n2<\/p>\n

9
\nWilliams
\n2<\/p>\n

10
\nCadillac
\n0<\/p>\n

11
\nAston Martin
\n0<\/p>\n

We want your opinion!<\/p>\n

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?<\/p>\n

Take our 5 minute survey.<\/a><\/p>\n

– The Motorsport.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Qualifying for the upcoming F1 Japanese GP has the potential to see the grid closer than ever in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":568295,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,279457,277594,813,816,107978,141202,85],"class_list":["post-568294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-f1-japanese-gp-qualifying-weather-forecast","tag-f1-japanese-grand-prix","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-japanese-gp","tag-schedule-and-how-to-watch","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/568295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}