Kimi Antonelli demonstrated he intends to be front and centre in the Formula One world championship battle after claiming a commanding pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, driving his Mercedes with an assured confidence beyond his tender years.
The 19-year-old delivered a hugely impressive lap on a Suzuka circuit that rewards drivers who can push to the edge and beat his team-mate George Russell into second by 0.298 seconds. This was no little feat despite the British driver struggling with set-up issues on his car.
Antonelli, fast-tracked into Mercedes for his F1 debut last season, is delivering on the promise the team had seen in the young Italian. The pole completes a superlative back-to-back, after he claimed the top spot and the win at the last round in China. Despite it being only his second year in F1 he trails Russell by four points in the championship.
The pole lap was typically committed, with Antonelli not shy of throwing his all into it. He might have gone even quicker on his final run in Q3 but for a small lock-up at turn 11. “Let’s go, man!” he exclaimed on taking the top spot. “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 was improving and improving.”
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This was, however, a more sobering afternoon for Max Verstappen, who was once more left stymied by his underperforming Red Bull. The four-time world champion is a master at Suzuka, where he has taken pole and won the last four races. However, with Red Bull still struggling, the Dutchman was knocked out in Q2, managing only 11th.
“I think there’s something wrong with the car,” Verstappen told his engineer. “It’s completely undriveable suddenly in this qualifying.”
He added: “As soon as you really try to push, for me it was just all over the place. Really not good and also really doesn’t give you confidence to attack any corner. I was just stuck, I couldn’t push more.
“There are just a few parts in the car that are not working how they should be working. That’s limiting us to even when you make just set-up changes like you used to do in the past, it still doesn’t respond, basically.
“I’m not even frustrated any more. I’m beyond that. I don’t get upset about it. I don’t get disappointed or frustrated by it any more with what’s going on.”
Behind the two Mercedes, who completed the team’s fourth straight lockout of the front row, including the sprint race in China, a challenge from Ferrari failed to materialise. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was in third, a good result for the team, but he was more than three 10ths behind. While Charles Leclerc took fourth for Ferrari with his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in sixth, the Monegasque was still down six 10ths. McLaren’s defending world champion, Lando Norris, was in fifth.
Antonelli and Mercedes were the class of the field, once more demonstrating that the pace advantage they opened the season with remains formidable. The Italian’s first pole at Suzuka once more proved how enormously assured he is in a car that has pace, energy management and a stable platform in which the teenager has great confidence.
On the opening runs in Q3 Antonelli and Russell had set the pace, with the Italian edging out his team-mate by just under three 10ths, with a 1 min 28.778 sec lap. Neither could improve for their final laps but nor could the opposition, although McLaren will be enormously pleased in having put at least one car within three 10ths of the leaders, given the problems this season.
Russell was clearly expectant of more, having been complaining of a lack of rear grip, but was pleased to have made the front row after acknowledging the team made a misstep in the set-up.
“We made an adjustment going into qualifying and the car just did not feel the same as it has in the whole weekend,” he said. “It was just mainly through the esses, I couldn’t attack any of the corners, the rear was trying to step out on me throughout.”
It is Antonelli, then, who holds the whip hand for now, notwithstanding the expected fast start from Ferrari, and Russell too being more than aware how vital track position will be in the race, so a frenetic dash down the hill into turns one and two can be expected. A win on Sunday would put Antonelli into the lead of the world championship for the first time.
Pierre Gasly was in seventh for Alpine, Isack Hadjar eighth for Red Bull, Gabriel Bortoleto an impressive ninth for Audi, with the rookie Arvid Lindblad also doing well to take 10th for Racing Bulls. – Guardian
