Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell on Saturday as Max Verstappen suffered another qualifying nightmare.
Mercedes have claimed one-two finishes at both grands prix so far in a flying start to the Formula 1 season and they were again dominant in dry conditions at Suzuka.
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The 19-year-old Italian Antonelli became the youngest pole-sitter in F1 history two weeks ago in China and he made it two in a row with a fastest lap of 1min 28.778sec.
Early championship leader Russell was second, 0.298sec behind, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri third and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fourth.
The Japanese Grand Prix gets underway on Sunday at 4pm AEDT.
‘UNDRIVEABLE’: Max knocked out in Q2 | 00:37
Japanese Grand Prix Start Time
Sydney – 4pm
Melbourne – 4pm
Brisbane – 3pm
Adelaide – 3.30pm
Perth – 1pm
Hobart – 4pm
Darwin – 2.30pm
Japanese GP Starting Grid
1 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
2 George Russell (Mercedes)
3 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
4 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5 Lando Norris (McLaren)
6 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
7 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
8 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
9 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
10 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
11 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
12 Esteban Ocon (Haas)
13 Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
14 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
15 Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
16 Carlos Sainz (Williams)
17 Alex Albon (Williams)
18 Ollie Bearman (Haas)
19 Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
20 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
21 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
22 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
AloJapan.com