Under the sweeping curves of the Suzuka Circuit, Kimi Antonelli delivered another statement performance in qualifying – calm, clinical, and increasingly convincing.
The young Italian secured his second consecutive pole position and led a Mercedes front-row lockout thanks to a “clean” session coupled with a controlled display.
While others – including his teammate George Russell – wrestled with balance and changing conditions, Antonelli looked in tune from the outset, building pace methodically and striking when it mattered most.
“I had a really clean session, it felt good,” he said. “I had a strong Run 1 and then from there on I just built the momentum.”
Building speed, lap by lap
Antonelli’s session wasn’t entirely straightforward. Changing wind conditions early in qualifying made the car more unpredictable than in final practice, forcing him and his team to react quickly.
“Obviously, it was a bit trickier than FP3, especially at the start of qualifying. I think the wind increased a little bit and it felt a little bit more difficult, the car, overall.
©Mercedes
“But then we just tried to adapt and we made some tweaks with aero balance and found a good compromise. Then the lap in Q3 was good. It was a shame for the last one, but I think it was, overall, a very strong session.”
That ability to adapt proved decisive. While Russell struggled with balance issues, Antonelli kept extracting more from the W17, culminating in a pole lap that underlined both speed and composure.
A surprisingly comfortable margin
Even Antonelli, however, was taken aback by his gap to Russell, an 0.298-second advantage that was larger than expected – especially given how tight the field has been under the new regulations.
“Yeah, I am, but with this regulation it’s very easy to gain or lose three tenths, whatever the gap was,” he said.
“It’s really easy to gain and lose time, so it was the same for me in Melbourne. But, you know, he’s super quick, he’s been super quick around here and we’ll see tomorrow in the race how we’re going to do.
“The Esses in qualifying were getting pretty quick, so it was 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, the qualifying, because at the end also you look at the lap times and they’re not so far off from last year, so I think qualifying today has been good fun.”
Keeping it real ahead of race day
Despite the momentum, Antonelli remains grounded heading into Sunday’s race. Suzuka’s tight layout and high-speed nature present a very different challenge, where track position – and a clean start –could prove decisive.
“Probably” he said of overtaking becoming easier in the race. “I mean, we’ve seen obviously how much easier it is to follow and obviously when you get the overtake mode, how much more battery you can harvest and then deploy on the straights, so you never know, it can give good racing.
“But still, I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as China and Melbourne because obviously the track, first of all, is quite a bit tighter and you don’t have as many straights where you can overtake, or straights and then big braking, where you can make the move.
“You have a lot of fast entries, so it’s not going to be easy, but that’s why it’s crucial to have a good start and then we’ll see from there how the pace is going to be.
“Yeah, I mean, the long run has been good. Of course, let’s see tomorrow how the weather is going to be, how the wind is going to be, because you never know, it can shift.
“Let’s see also with temperatures, how hot it’s going to be, and then I’ll try to be ready, try to cover as many scenarios in order to be ready for tomorrow.”
Two poles in a row now tell a clear story: Antonelli is slowly but surely establishing himself. And if he can convert this latest opportunity into victory, the conversation around the championship may start to shift in a very real way.
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