Kimi Antonelli takes his second pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix. Despite threats from Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, the young Italian could not be beaten. McLaren seemed to have made marginal gains after a tough time out last time in China.
Q1 – Ferrari’s Fighting Chance
The first qualifying session suggested Scuderia Ferrari HP had more pace than expected. Despite being slightly out of reach of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS cars in FP3, it was Leclerc who laid down the benchmark. After being under a tenth to Antonelli on the first runs, all looked hopeful for the Scuderia.
His teammate, however, looked slightly off the pace, with Lewis Hamilton failing to be within half a tenth of the Monegasque. Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto set the midfield alight, slotting into fifth and sixth respectively behind reigning champion Lando Norris.
George Russell seemed to have a turbulent session compared to the young Italian’s fastest lap. The British driver complained he had issues with the car, stating, “I’ve got loads of understeer.” Antonelli set a blistering middle sector of a 39.9 and looked to have the edge over his struggling teammate. Russell lost tonnes of time to him in the Esses.
Leclerc was the first car to break into the 1:29s ahead of the Mercedes of Antonelli. The Monegasque looked to set up a promising fight for pole position.
Despite being the first car out on the second run, Max Verstappen failed to make any impression. As he was unable to get ahead of the two McLaren drivers. Alex Albon was another driver who failed to make serious improvements. After being a tenth up on getting out of the bottom six, he lost time down the back straight. Teammate Carlos Sainz, however, squeezed through into Q2 for the first time this season.
Cadillac’s Sergio Pérez managed to outqualify a teammate round Suzuka for the first time since 2019. The American teams’ upgrade helped them to edge both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Ollie Bearman was another shock exit in Q1, his first of the season.
Q2 – Verstappen Falls at the Second Hurdle
Antonelli seemed to be the lead Mercedes heading into Q2, gaining two tenths alone through the first two sectors on a struggling Russell. Hamilton appeared to have a hopeful pace in the first sector before losing time to the 19-year-old in the middle sector. It seemed he was the one to beat. Oscar Piastri on new tyres managed to jump the Mercedes and the Ferraris on used ones.
Teammate Norris, however, still didn’t appear to have the pace compared to Piastri, remaining three and a half tenths down.Bortoleto showed signs of strong pace, slotting in ahead of Russell and Hamilton on new tyres. Teammate Hulkenberg remained in the danger zone in eleventh.
On his first visit to Suzuka, Rookie Arvid Lindblad had an impressive final lap. He knocked out first-team driver Verstappen, putting himself into Q3.
Even with an upgrade this weekend, it seemed it would be another disappointing qualifying for Oracle Red Bull Racing. The first runs saw both drivers on the cusp with Hadjar ahead of Verstappen. The Dutchman failed to make the needed improvement on his final run with a huge snap into Spoon, compromising his speed down the back straight. A result that meant he had been outqualified at Suzuka by a teammate for the first time since 2019.
Ocon similarly fell at the last hurdle along with Hulkenberg, Liam Lawson, Franco Colapinto, and Carlos Sainz.
Q3 – McLaren Bounce Back After China
The final session saw Russell make marginal improvements, gaining back time he had lost in previous sessions through the Esses, even managing to edge ahead of him in sector one. Antonelli clawed two tenths back in the middle part of the lap, slotting into provisional pole.
After looking in the fight, Leclerc and Hamilton could only manage fifth and sixth, having been leapfrogged by the McLarens on the first runs. Norris still trailed behind Piastri by a couple of tenths, bearing evidence of his problem-plagued weekend.
The 2025 Formula 1 World Champion’s second run saw no gains on his initial runs, solidifying that he would be outqualified by his teammate for the third race in a row. The first time Norris had been outqualified by a teammate in the first three rounds of a calendar for the first time in six years.
Piastri’s impressive lap slotted him into P3, the British-based team’s best Grand Prix qualifying result this year.
Gasly showed impressive pace, qualifying ahead of the sole Red Bull of Hadjar. The French driver managed to slot into P7 ahead of Bortoleto and Linblad.
Leclerc, who in the first two qualifying segments looked to be on pace to fight for pole, had a tough final run. The Ferrari driver was flying through the first sector, lighting it up purple, before a snap of oversteer in sector two lost him around four tenths, maximising his result to P4. The Monegasque split the McLarens and qualified two spots ahead of Hamilton.
Despite a lock-up in his final run, Antonelli completed a stunning lap of a 1:28.778, keeping himself ahead of teammate Russell in P1.
Antonelli Found His Form
The youngest polesitter ever has gone back-to-back with pole positions ahead of his teammate in the third 1-2 for Mercedes this season.
The German manufacturer clearly remains the team to beat, but it seems McLaren has joined the fight. Having made gains on Ferrari, McLaren can take away a huge positive from their qualifying despite having no major upgrades till Miami.
All eyes turn to tomorrow, where the fast-starting Ferraris may ruin the polesitter’s fun.