Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli will start from pole position for the second race in succession after beating teammate George Russell to top the qualifying for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on Saturday.
Antonelli looked quicker than Russell for most of the session, and his best lap of 1:28.778 was almost 0.3s quicker than anything Russell could manage, with the Briton frequently struggling for rear grip on the exits of corners, and taking to team radio to bemoan his W17's lack of stability.
"I'm super happy with the session. It was a good one, it was a clean one. I felt very good in the car and every run I was improving," said Antonelli, whose second pole position comes two weeks after he became the youngest polesitter in F1 history at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Behind the two Mercedes, Oscar Piastri put in a good performance to finish the session third for McLaren, just less than 0.06s adrift of Russell, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start fourth after saving a large slide on his final run and emerging as the only frontrunner to improve on his last lap.
Piastri's teammate Lando Norris finished the session fifth, ahead of the second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton in sixth. A good performance from Pierre Gasly saw the Alpine driver finish seventh, alongside Isack Hadjar in the first Red Bull.
Gabriel Bortoleto secured ninth for Audi, while Arvid Lindblad impressed by reaching the top 10 for Racing Bulls despite missing Friday's second practice session due to a mechanical issue.
Max Verstappen was the biggest casualty among those who failed to reach the final phase of qualifying. The Dutchman will line up 11th after appearing to lack confidence in his Red Bull and reporting after his final run that something was wrong with the car, citing rear instability.
Joining Verstappen on row six is Haas's Esteban Ocon, ahead of Bortoleto's teammate Nico Hulkenberg. Liam Lawson starts 14th in the second Racing Bulls, with Gasly's teammate Franco Colapinto 15th, and Carlos Sainz 16th in the first of the Williams.
Alex Albon was eliminated in the first phase of qualifying and will start 17th in the second Williams, while Ocon's teammate Ollie Bearman was a disappointing 18th after a strong start to the season.
Cadillac drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas occupy row ten after outqualifying the struggling Aston Martin pair of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who locked out the back row at the home circuit of their engine partner Honda.
- Kimi Antonelli
- F1 Japanese GP
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
