Antonelli Claims Back-to-Back Poles at Japanese Grand Prix
Kimi Antonelli secured his second consecutive pole position by outperforming Mercedes teammate George Russell in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Antonelli maintained the fastest times throughout qualifying, finishing 0.298 seconds ahead of Russell despite not improving on his final lap at Suzuka.
Russell also failed to improve on his last attempt but managed to hold off McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who will start alongside Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on the second row.
McLaren's Lando Norris qualified fifth after a challenging weekend, followed by Lewis Hamilton driving for Ferrari. Max Verstappen was eliminated in the second qualifying session and will begin the race from 11th position.
Antonelli's initial lap in the final session was 0.298 seconds faster than Russell's. Although he was on track to improve on his last run, he locked up at the hairpin (Turn 11) and lost time.
"Super happy with the session. It was a good one, a clean one. And I felt very good in the car and every run I was just improving and improving. Shame about the last lap after a lock-up in Turn 11 but it was a good one before that."
The 19-year-old Italian, who became the youngest driver to claim pole position in history during the Chinese Grand Prix two weeks ago, is establishing himself as a significant contender to Russell in the championship. They enter the race separated by just four points, a margin smaller than the difference between first and second place in a grand prix.
Russell, who reported a lack of rear grip throughout qualifying, was faster than Antonelli in the challenging first sector but lost time in the remaining sections of the lap.
"Really strange session. We were both very fast all weekend. We made some adjustments after final practice and in this qualifying we were nowhere so we have to try and understand."
Meanwhile, Piastri expressed satisfaction with McLaren's evident progress this weekend, marking the first time they have been competitive with Ferrari as the closest challengers to Mercedes.
"We have looked good all weekend. We don't have the pace to match Mercedes still but we are getting closer."
The Australian driver has yet to start a grand prix this season due to a crash on the reconnaissance lap in Australia and a battery failure before the start in China.
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