Kimi Antonelli has secured pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix after beating his teammate George Russell by 0.298 seconds.
Despite a lock-up at the hairpin on his final lap, Antonelli’s early pace was enough to secure top spot, making him the youngest pole sitter in F1 history.
Mercedes teammate George Russell started second, 0.298 seconds behind Antonelli and struggling for rear grip.
The 19-year-old Italian said in a post-race interview: “Super happy with the session. It was a good, a clean session. And I felt really good in the car and every run I just got better and better.”
“Pity about the last lap after a lock-up at Turn 11, but it was a good lap before that,” he added.
Given Antonelli’s exciting F1 qualifying, he is emerging as a serious threat to Russell in the championship.
Antonelli and Russell are only four points apart heading into the race.
Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc took third and fourth place respectively and shared the second row. Lando Norris finished fifth, while Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) qualified sixth.
“We looked good all weekend,” said Piastri, who is yet to start a Grand Prix this season after a crash during the reconnaissance lap in Australia and a battery failure in China before the start.
“We don’t have the pace that Mercedes can match, but we are getting closer,” he added.
Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bull) qualified 10th, notably knocking Verstappen out of the top ten. Other top ten winners include Pierre Gasly, Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Max Verstappen was eliminated in the second session and will start 11th, complaining his car was “undriveable”.
World champion Norris is also facing reliability issues this weekend, as he was unable to complete the second training session due to hydraulic and battery failures.
