Mercedes rookie beats teammate George Russell as team maintains 2026 front-row streak.
Kimi Antonelli bested Mercedes teammate George Russell to capture back-to-back Formula 1 pole positions at the Japanese Grand Prix.Antonelli, fresh from his maiden pole and breakthrough victory last time out in China, finished almost three-tenths clear of early title leader Russell at Suzuka on Saturday.
The one-lap challenge of the iconic figure-of-eight Suzuka circuit was somewhat neutered by the new cars, due to the drivers encountering clipping and battery management before some of the most demanding curves, and the session ran green throughout. “There are parts of the track where you’re a little bit limited, a bit handcuffed on driving because of energy,” Antonelli said. “But I think still the Esses are pretty good fun because at the end of the day the car on the chassis side is very good fun. Of course, there’s still work to do and work around, on these big tracks with the energy, trying to find a solution that allows us to push even more and drive without thinking too much, especially in certain places. But overall, I think it was good fun.”Russell was left to rue a set-up adjustment in advance of qualifying that he said robbed him of rear-end confidence through the quick changes of direction through the lap.“I couldn’t attack any of the corners,” Russell said. “The rear was trying to step out on me throughout. I’m sure we’ll try and see what happened.”Mercedes preserved its record of having locked out the front row of the grid at every race in 2026. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri came closest to challenging the Silver Arrows, finishing within a tenth of a second, as he collected third.“I think we’re learning more and more about the car and about the power unit every weekend,” Piastri said. World Champion Lando Norris was beset by technical glitches through practice, robbing him of track time, and he finished fifth, bookended by Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. It was another troubled day at the office for Max Verstappen, who failed to make the top 10 shootout.Verstappen struggled for balance from Red Bull’s RB22 at a circuit where he had claimed the previous four pole positions, and seemed to indicate that new components applied to the car this weekend had not worked. His teammate, Isack Hadjar, made Q3 and qualified ninth, behind Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto. Cadillac locked out the penultimate row of the grid and continue to chip away at the chasing pack, with Checo Perez and Valtteri Bottas 19th and 20th respectively. Honda’s home event showed little signs of being anything other than miserable as the manufacturer continues to be plagued by vibration problems. The Honda-powered Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were comfortably slowest, with the primary ambition to finally get a car to the checkered flag.
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Formula 1: Antonelli and Russell 1-2 on pole for Japanese Grand PrixMercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has taken the pole for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix. The 19-year-old Italian also claimed the pole two weeks ago in China, where he won the first race of his career. Antonelli’s time was 1 minute, 28.778 seconds Saturday on the 5.8-kilometer circuit. Teammate George Russell will start alongside.
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Formula 1: Antonelli and Russell 1-2 in qualifying for the Japanese Grand PrixMercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has taken the pole position for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix
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