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Antonelli claims second consecutive pole at Suzuka
Kimi Antonelli delivered another dominant qualifying performance at the Japanese Grand Prix, outpacing Mercedes teammate George Russell by 0.298 seconds to secure his second straight pole position. The 19-year-old Italian, who became the youngest driver to achieve an F1 pole in China, continues to impress as he edges closer to Russell in the championship standings.
Qualifying session breakdown
Antonelli set the pace early in qualifying, maintaining his lead throughout the session despite a lock-up in Turn 11 during his final run. Though he failed to improve on his last lap, his earlier time was sufficient to secure top spot. Russell, struggling with rear grip issues, managed second place but was unable to close the gap to his teammate.
"Super happy with the session. It was a good one, a clean one. I felt very good in the car and every run I was just improving and improving. Shame about the last lap after a lock-up in Turn 11, but it was a good one before that."
Kimi Antonelli
Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc will share the second row, with Piastri expressing satisfaction with McLaren's progress this weekend. Leclerc, who led the first segment, lost time due to an oversteer snap in the Spoon Curve, while Lando Norris recovered from reliability issues to finish fifth.
Verstappen struggles, starts 11th
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen faced an uncharacteristically difficult session, failing to advance beyond Q2 and starting 11th. Verstappen described his car as "undriveable" over the radio, a rare setback for the Red Bull driver, who has won the past five Japanese Grands Prix from pole.
Rookie Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bull eliminated Verstappen in Q2, while Alpine's Pierre Gasly, Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, and Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top 10.
Notable performances and incidents
Lewis Hamilton, driving for Ferrari, finished sixth, trailing Leclerc but closing the gap to within 0.162 seconds in the final session. Norris, despite hydraulic and battery failures earlier in the weekend, managed seventh place.
At the back of the grid, Cadillac outpaced Aston Martin for the first time, with Sergio Perez leading the charge 1.6 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso. Alonso, racing just days after the birth of his son, extended his streak of outqualifying teammate Lance Stroll to 39 grands prix.
Race preview and broadcast details
The Japanese Grand Prix is set to begin at 06:00 BST on Sunday. Live commentary will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live, with text updates on the BBC Sport website and app. Fans are invited to submit questions for Andrew Benson's Q&A session ahead of the race.
