Kimi Antonelli secured his second straight pole position at Suzuka, outpacing Mercedes team-mate George Russell in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix. Antonelli led throughout the session and ended 0.298 seconds clear of Russell, despite locking up into the hairpin and being unable to improve on his final run.
Russell could not better his earlier time either but held second, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri taking third. Piastri will start the second row alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who looked set to challenge for pole until an oversteer snap through Spoon Curve ruined his final attempt. Leclerc had topped Q1 and showed strong pace early in qualifying.
Lando Norris recovered from a difficult weekend to take fifth, with Lewis Hamilton in sixth. World champion Max Verstappen was eliminated in Q2 and will start 11th after reporting his car as “undriveable” over the radio; he was 0.158 seconds off Isack Hadjar in that session.
Antonelli, 19, said he was "super happy" with a clean, improving session, although he regretted the last-lap lock-up. The Italian — who became the youngest pole-sitter earlier this year in China — has emerged as a genuine title contender, sitting just
