Kimi Antonelli took a second consecutive pole position, outpacing Mercedes team-mate George Russell in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.
Antonelli led across the session and finished 0.298 seconds ahead of Russell, despite failing to improve on his final attempt after locking up into the hairpin. Russell also could not better his earlier lap but held second, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Piastri will start on the second row alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Lando Norris recovered from a difficult weekend to take fifth, with Lewis Hamilton sixth. World champion Max Verstappen was eliminated in Q2 and will start 11th.
Antonelli said he was “super happy” with a clean, improving session, though he regretted the lock-up on his last lap. The 19-year-old, who became the youngest pole-sitter earlier this year in China, is now a serious championship contender — he and Russell are separated by just four points.
Russell, who reported a lack of rear grip during qualifying, said the session was “really strange” after adjustments following final practice left them off the pace. Piastri praised McLaren’s progress this weekend, saying the team had been competitive with Ferrari and were closing the gap to Mercedes.
Leclerc had shown pace by topping the opening qualifying segment and looked set to challenge for pole after a fast first sector on his final lap, but an oversteer snap through Spoon Curve ended that bid. Hamilton, although off the pace of the Ferraris this weekend, was within 0.162 seconds of Leclerc in the final running to take the last spot among the leading three teams.
Norris endured reliability issues across the weekend — a hydraulic problem in FP2 and a battery issue in final practice — but still finished 0.277 seconds behind team-mate Piastri.
The rest of the top 10 comprised Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and rookie Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bull. Lindblad’s late Q2 lap knocked Verstappen out of contention; Verstappen had radioed that his car was “undriveable” and was 0.158 seconds off Hadjar in that session.
Oliver Bearman, impressive earlier in the season, was eliminated in Q1. In other team battles, Cadillac showed stronger pace than Aston Martin in qualifying, with Sergio Perez 1.6 seconds quicker than Fernando Alonso. Alonso, racing for the first time since the birth of his son, extended his streak of out-qualifying team-mate Lance Stroll to 39 grands prix.
Japanese Grand Prix
Race at 06:00 BST on Sunday
Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app
