Was Bearman right to question Colapinto’s role in his huge Suzuka crash? Did Franco Colapinto contribute to Oliver Bearman's crash at Suzuka? He changed his approach to Spoon curve in two ways on lap 21.

Some interesting differences in Colapinto's approach to Spoon curve on the lap Bearman crashed trying to pass him. He made his first downshift several hundred metres earlier than he did on every single previous lap:

www.racefans.net/2026/03/31/w...

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NEW: "Two balls of steel!" How Leclerc won his battery battle with Hamilton and Russell

Charles Leclerc's race engineer congratulated him on repassing George Russell. Here's how they - and Lewis Hamilton - saw their three-way scrap for a podium place.

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If Countdown are missing a few tiles for the numbers game I think I know who took them...

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Master of understatement.

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Verstappen says he could walk away from F1 at end of 2026 over new rules Max Verstappen has raised the possibility of leaving Formula 1 at the end of this season if he remains unhappy with the state of racing in the series.

Verstappen says he could walk away from F1 at end of 2026 over new rules: www.racefans.net/2026/03/29/v...

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FIA must address dangerous closing speeds for next race after Bearman’s crash – Sainz The crash Oliver Bearman suffered at Suzuka would be much worse at some other Formula 1 tracks, Carlos Sainz Jnr warned.

The FIA noted "the contribution of high closing speeds" in Bearman's crash and said it will look into whether rules changes are needed during April: Any potential changes "require careful simulation and detailed analysis", it added.

More: www.racefans.net/2026/03/29/f...

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One of the most telling indicators of how poor the racing has become under the new rules is we see so few stewards' investigations over incidents now.

Passing has become so inconsequential and defending so unrealistic the drivers are hardly bothering to put up a fight.

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Bearman suffers bruised knee in huge 50G Japanese GP crash Oliver Bearman was taken to the Medical Centre after suffering a huge crash while trying to pass Franco Colapinto at Suzuka.

Colapinto on Bearman's crash: "I'm glad he's fine."

"It's the first thing I asked to the team because it was a really big one."

More: www.racefans.net/2026/03/29/b...

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Bearman suffers bruised knee in huge 50G Japanese GP crash Oliver Bearman was taken to the Medical Centre after suffering a huge crash while trying to pass Franco Colapinto at Suzuka.

Oliver Bearman was travelling at 308kph when he went off, according to his team: www.racefans.net/2026/03/29/b...

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli win the Japanese Grand Prix

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So now we have yo-yo passes at the end of the race.

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Russell now appears to slow approaching Spoon in much the same way Colapinto did. Leclerc got around him.

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No investigation say the stewards. Looking at it a few more times it's more the unusually high closing speed that's the clear contributing factor.

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That feels like the first time the clipping has contributed to a significant racing crash. Wonder what the stewards will make of Colapinto's line as Bearman tried to pass him.

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All drivers will start on the medium compound tyres, except Bottas who is on hards.

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Fernando Alonso won't attend Thursday's media day at Suzuka "for personal family reasons" according to Aston Martin. His partner is expecting their first child soon. He won't drive in first practice on Friday as Jak Crawford will take over his AMR26.

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Depressing thought: this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix is Formula 1's last traditional format event - three practice sessions, qualifying and grand prix - until June.

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Verstappen onschadelijk gemaakt na 24 jaar ploeteren, racefans worden beroofd Er is in de afgelopen weken heel veel gezegd en geschreven over de kritiek van Max Verstappen op de Formule 1, uiteraard ook hier op F1Maximaal.nl. Verstappen wordt richting de uitgang gestuurd door Juan Pablo Montoya en hypocriet genoemd door Marc Surer, maar krijgt ook veel steun, van bijvoorbeeld...

Verstappen onschadelijk gemaakt na 24 jaar ploeteren, racefans worden beroofd #Verstappen #Formule1 #F1 #racefans #Montoya

Calling off Hamilton-Leclerc fight would have been "unfair" - Vasseur Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur defended their decision to allow Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to fight for position in the Chinese Grand Prix.

I prefer a Ferrari boss who says this kind of thing...

www.racefans.net/2026/03/16/c...

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Those suggesting Verstappen wouldn't criticise the current Formula 1 rules if his car was more competitive should note he has slated the sprint races more than any other driver and also won more of them than any other driver.

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Ocon given no penalty points for collision with Colapinto The stewards gave Esteban Ocon no penalty points for his collision with Franco Colapinto, in a further sign they have softened their approach this year.

"I deserved the penalty today, it's very clear" - Ocon

More: www.racefans.net/2026/03/15/o...

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Ocon given no penalty points for collision with Colapinto The stewards gave Esteban Ocon no penalty points for his collision with Franco Colapinto, in a further sign they have softened their approach this year.

The stewards have clearly raised the threshold for penalty points much higher this year if that woeful move by Ocon on Colapinto doesn't earn him any:

www.racefans.net/2026/03/15/o...

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Alonso retired from Chinese GP as he was 'losing feeling in my hands and feet' The severe vibrations caused by Honda's power unit forced Fernando Alonso to retire from the Chinese Grand Prix.

UPDATE: Alonso retired from Chinese GP as he was 'losing feeling in my hands and feet'

More: www.racefans.net/2026/03/15/a...

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The energy graphics are an improvement but they need to be on-screen all the time.

Unfortunately they do give the impression that most of these position swaps are down to energy levels and the 'Overtake mode' gimmick.

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Ocon with one of the worst moves I've seen from an F1 driver in a while.

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At what point will FOM add special effects and comedy sound effects to all these Mario Kart passes?

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Shocker for McLaren as Piastri's car is being pushed into the pit lane too! Neither MCL40 will take its place on the third row - will either car actually start?

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McLaren still have problems with Norris's car. He did not leave the garage for a reconaissance lap and so must start from the pit lane instead of his sixth place on the grid - if he can start at all.

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McLaren had the floor off Norris's car to check an electronic problem but the team say they believe they have fixed the problem and are preparing his car for the race.

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It looked like Antonelli's speed began to drop about half a kilometre before the turn 14 hairpin on his pole position lap.

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