DEVELOPINGKimi Antonelli Claims Pole At Suzuka As Verstappen Eliminated In Qualifying Session
Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, edging out Mercedes teammate George Russell in a dominant qualifying performance. Verstappen was eliminated from contention after his second elimination of Q2 this season as he failed to match Ferraris pace on track 36 and missed top ten by one spot with Max's team-mate Sainz finishing eleventh instead.
Key Points
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1Kimi Antonelli secured his second consecutive pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, beating teammate George Russell.
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2Max Verstappen suffered an early exit from qualifying (Q2) and finished in eleventh place on the grid due to a collision with Charles Leclerc's car during Q3 testing at Suzuka. The article states he 'chute en Q2' but does not mention any specific incident or driver interaction causing his exclusion.
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3Antonelli, buoyed by recent success including maiden victory in China and fastest time on free practice days ahead of qualifying, delivered a composed performance to top the grid.
Developments
Kimi Antonelli secured his second consecutive Japanese Grand Prix qualifying pole position with a time 0.198 seconds faster than George Russell, while McLaren drivers finished third and fifth on the grid following their earlier reliability issues in practice sessions. Max Verstappen suffered an unexpected demotion to eleventh place during Q2 after being overtaken by Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad for his first pole position since four previous races at Suzuka.
Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix by beating teammate George Russell with a margin of 0.298 seconds, marking his first victory since winning in China earlier this season while struggling to find pace and handling issues plagued the Mercedes team during qualifying sessions that also saw Oscar Piastri take third place ahead of Charles Leclerc for McLaren's Ferrari rival?