On the most selective circuit of the championship in terms of driving, the young Italian prodigy once again dominated his experienced teammate by being the fastest in qualifying in Japan: promising!
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Kimi Antonelli confirms his immense potential by securing a second consecutive pole position during qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Already the author of the fastest time in Shanghai, the young Mercedes driver follows up with another benchmark performance on the demanding Suzuka track.
Kimi in control
At the end of a perfectly mastered session, the Italian showed constant progress throughout the different phases of qualifying. With each run, he was able to improve his times, methodically building his pole. The only shadow on the picture: a slight error in his final attempt, with a wheel lock-up that prevented him from lowering his time even further.
A detail of no consequence, however, as his rivals failed to do better in the final seconds: “I am very happy with my session. It was clean, I felt good in the car and I was improving with every run. It’s a shame about the last lap, I locked a wheel, but it was still a good session, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow”, he told Jean Alesi.
Antonelli also wanted to praise the unique atmosphere of the Japanese weekend, renowned for the fervor of its supporters: “The fans in Japan are incredible. There is so much passion. It’s a historic circuit, incredible to drive with these cars, and the fans give us an extra boost. Thank you for coming!”
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Mercedes monopolizes the front row
Behind him, George Russell completes an all-Mercedes front row, confirming the team’s overall strength this weekend. However, the Briton had a much more complicated qualifying session. Trapped by imperfect setup choices after FP3, he found himself in difficulty at the start of the session, struggling to find the right balance with his car.
“He is doing a very good job, and it’s a very good session for us. We made changes after FP3 and I was nowhere at the start of qualifying”, he admits.
As the laps went by, Russell nevertheless managed to turn the situation around, optimizing his final runs to secure an unexpected second place: “By the time I figured it out, I was lucky to be second. That’s two races where qualifying has been compromised, but everything is still to play for in the race tomorrow”, he adds.
Strong momentum for the race
With this locked-out front row, Mercedes enters the race in a position of strength. Antonelli, full of confidence, will try to convert this new pole into a victory, while Russell hopes to capitalize on this recovery to play a strategic role at the front of the race.
In a context where tire and energy management remains decisive with the 2026 cars, the race looks open, despite the initial advantage of the Silver Arrows.
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