Motor racing: Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli storms to second consecutive pole in Japan

SUZUKA(JAPAN): Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli looked every bit the seasoned veteran as he eased to a second successive pole position in Saturday’s qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old Mercedes driver, two weeks on from having scored his first pole and win, lit up the timing loops around the iconic 5.8 kilometer-long Suzuka racetrack with a one minute 28.778-second lap.

Set on his first attempt, it was enough to beat teammate George Russell by a handy 0.298 seconds, with the Briton making it three out of three front-row lockouts for the team.


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Australian Oscar Piastri, 0.354 seconds off the pace, took third for McLaren.

“I felt very good in the car and every run I was just improving and improving,” said a composed Antonelli after taking his second career pole and 50th for an Italian driver.

“I’m really happy with the session and now we’ll focus on tomorrow,” he added, a minor lock-up that prevented him from improving even further on his final run offering the only indication of his relative inexperience.

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READY TO TAKE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD
Antonelli heads into Sunday’s race fired up from his success in China and knowing a repeat performance in Japan would see him take the championship lead from Russell, who is four points ahead.

The Briton, winner of the opening race in Australia and the Saturday sprint in China, complained of a lack of rear grip throughout the session and never looked in a position to challenge his younger teammate.