Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes team-mate George Russell on Saturday as Max Verstappen suffered another qualifying nightmare. Mercedes have claimed one-two finishes at both grands prix so far in a flying start to the Formula One season and they were again dominant in dry conditions at Suzuka.
The 19-year-old Italian Antonelli became the youngest pole-sitter in F1 history two weeks ago in China and he made it two in a row with a fastest lap of 1min 28.778sec. Early championship leader Russell was second, 0.298sec behind, with McLaren`s Oscar Piastri third and Ferrari`s Charles Leclerc fourth. Antonelli, who won the first grand prix of his F1 career in China two weeks ago, said it was “a really clean session”. “There`s still work to do in these big tracks with the energy, how to find a solution that allows us to push even more and drive without thinking too much,” he said.
“But overall I think it was good fun.” Russell was fastest in Friday`s first practice but he has trailed his younger team-mate in every session since then. The British driver said he was struggling with his car for most of qualifying and admitted it was “not ideal” going into Sunday`s race. “I`ve been really comfortable with the car this whole weekend, it`s just in qualifying something didn`t quite feel right,” he said. “Let`s see tonight, maybe we`ll get some answers, maybe I can adjust my driving style to compensate.”
`Undriveable` Red Bull
Russell`s problems paled into insignificance compared with those facing four-time world champion Verstappen, who exited in Q2 and starts from a lowly 11th on the grid for Red Bull. The Dutchman, who has won in Japan for the past four years, took pole last year with a track-record lap time. He has railed against new Formula One regulations that see a 50-50 split between conventional and electrical power, and labelled his car “undriveable”. “The car never turns mid-corner, but at the same time this weekend, it`s just oversteering a lot on entry,” he said.
“It`s really difficult, unpredictable.” Verstappen, who finished sixth in Melbourne and retired from the Shanghai grand prix two weeks ago, added: “We have problems that I cannot explain in detail here.” Verstappen was involved in a public confrontation on Thursday when he ejected a reporter from his news conference. McLaren`s world champion Lando Norris was fifth, followed by Ferrari`s Lewis Hamilton and Alpine`s Pierre Gasly. Verstappen`s Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar was eighth, with Audi`s Gabriel Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad of RB rounding out the top 10. Piastri will be desperate to make an impact in Sunday`s race after missing the first two grands prix of the season. The Australian said his qualifying session was “pretty well executed” after also finishing fastest in Friday`s second practice. “It`s nice to be closer,” said Piastri of his third place on the grid.
“I think we`re learning more and more about the car and about the power unit every weekend.” Esteban Ocon of Haas, Audi`s Nico Hulkenberg, RB`s Liam Lawson, Alpine`s Franco Colapinto and Williams` Carlos Sainz went out in Q2 with Verstappen. Haas driver Ollie Bearman, who finished fifth at the Chinese Grand Prix, was a shock faller in Q3 and will start from 18th. Cadillac pair Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas went out with him, as did Williams` Alex Albon and Aston Martin`s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. The Aston Martin pair, who have yet to complete a grand prix so far this season as they struggle with extreme vibration, finished bottom of the timesheets.
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