Antonelli grabs pole
Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli secured a second straight pole at Suzuka in Saturday qualifying, underlining Mercedes’ momentum heading into the Japanese Grand Prix. (gpfans.com) Friday practice had George Russell leading a Mercedes 1‑2 in FP1 while Oscar Piastri topped FP2 in McLaren’s home weekend. (formula1.com)
Antonelli’s fastest lap in Q3 was a 1:28.778, the first 1m28s benchmark of the weekend at Suzuka. (formula1.com) George Russell qualified 0.298s slower with a 1:29.076 to take P2 behind Antonelli in Q3. (motorsport.com) In FP1 Russell set a 1:31.666 on soft tyres to lead a Mercedes 1‑2, edging Antonelli by 0.026s in the opening practice. (total-motorsport.com) Oscar Piastri topped FP2 with a 1:30.133, finishing 0.092s ahead of Antonelli as McLaren showed strong pace on softs. (total-motorsport.com) Max Verstappen was eliminated in Q2, a surprise exit that reshaped the middle of the grid in qualifying. (sports.yahoo.com) Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas were among the drivers knocked out early, classified 19th and 20th respectively, while Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll started at the rear after issues in the session. (formula1.com) Antonelli set his decisive Q3 time on his first run, then locked up into the hairpin on his final lap and failed to improve, leaving the earlier effort enough for the top spot. (formula1.com)
