Antonelli clinches pole position for Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Russell and Piastri

Kimi Antonelli has stormed to pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix, the Italian following up on his maiden pole last time out in China to put himself at the front of the grid ahead of Mercedes team mate George Russell.

After looking on the pace throughout Qualifying, Antonelli continued that form by securing provisional pole on his first run in Q3 – and while he failed to improve on his final lap, the youngster had done enough to secure P1 on the grid with his time of 1m 28.778s.

Russell could not match the other Silver Arrows car and had to settle for P2, ending the session 0.298s adrift, while Oscar Piastri proved to be the pair’s closest competitor in third for McLaren. Charles Leclerc had also looked on for a strong lap but suffered a snap of oversteer on his last effort, leaving the Ferrari racer in fourth.

Lando Norris placed in fifth for McLaren, ahead of the other Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.

The big story from Q2 was the exit of Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver’s run of consecutive pole positions across the last four years at Suzuka coming to an end as he found himself eliminated in P11, having reported that his car was “completely undriveable”.

Haas’ Esteban Ocon also missed out on the top-10 shootout in 12th, as did Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg (13th), Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson (14th), the Alpine of Franco Colapinto (15th), and Carlos Sainz, who made it past Q1 for the first time this season in the Williams (16th).

There was a surprise in Q1 when Ollie Bearman dropped out of the session, the Haas driver exiting in P18 behind the Williams of Alex Albon.

Also eliminated in the opening segment were the Cadillac cars of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas in 19th and 20th, followed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll at the rear of the pack.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Leclerc fastest as Bearman exits

After three practice sessions across the weekend at Suzuka so far, a different name had topped the timesheets each time – but who would come out on top when the attentions of the paddock switched to Saturday’s Qualifying?

The Racing Bulls pair led a queue of cars out of the pit lane – all sporting the soft tyres – when Q1 got underway at 1500 local time, though around half of the pack opted to stay in their respective garages during the opening minutes.

As the clock ticked down and others started to join the fray, the Mercedes duo were the last to head out on track – and while Leclerc had gone fastest prior to the Silver Arrows pair setting a timed lap, it was Antonelli who surged into P1 on his first effort, with Russell more than half a second back from his team mate in fifth.

The Briton reported that “something doesn’t feel quite right” following his effort, adding that he was experiencing oversteer. Elsewhere another surprise came courtesy of Hulkenberg, who slotted his Audi into fifth place on the timesheets.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Williams, Cadillac and Aston Martin cars all found themselves at risk of elimination in the bottom six, while Alpine’s Colapinto was on the bubble in P16.

Leclerc improved on his second push lap to replace Antonelli at the top, the Monegasque breaking into the 1m 29s to beat the Italian by one-tenth. The action on track soon picked up again in the final minutes, with the pack keen to secure their place in Q2.

While Leclerc, Hamilton and Antonelli remained in the pits, the rest of the field tried to improve – including Russell, who moved up to second on a time 0.052s behind Leclerc. Meanwhile Albon climbed up to 16th, but would it be enough to get the Thai driver through?

This pushed Bearman down into the danger zone – and while Sainz had hauled himself out of the bottom six for the first time this season, Colapinto looked to be the main candidate to threaten Albon’s place.

The Alpine driver slotted into P16, dropping Albon down and putting the Williams driver out of the session. Bearman was a somewhat surprising elimination in P18, the Haas racer joining Perez, Bottas, Alonso and Stroll in exiting Qualifying.

Knocked out: Albon, Bearman, Perez, Bottas, Alonso, Stroll

Q2 – Antonelli sets the pace and Verstappen misses out

After being the last to head out in Q1, the Mercedes duo were the first to hit the track when Q2 began, followed by the Ferrari cars – with all running used soft tyres. Antonelli was again looking quick, the Italian going fastest in the opening laps on a 1m 29.774s.

Russell’s effort was three-tenths adrift, the Silver Arrows machines separated by the Ferrari of Leclerc – before Piastri went quickest of all with his lap of 1m 29.451s, placing him ahead of Antonelli and Leclerc. Norris was fourth, in front of Bortoleto – catching the eye again in the Audi – and Russell.

Replays showed Russell experiencing a drift out of the final corner, the British driver’s struggles with the rear of the W17 continuing. As he returned to the track for another lap, the names at risk in the bottom six were Hulkenberg, Ocon, Lindblad, Colapinto, Lawson and Sainz.

Following his next lap, Russell – on a fresh set of soft tyres – remained three-tenths behind Piastri, before Leclerc pumped in a 1m 29.303s to go to the top. Verstappen, meanwhile, was at risk of elimination, the Red Bull driver sitting in 10th place as the segment headed towards its close.

While Hulkenberg could not improve on P12 to beat the Dutchman, Lindblad impressively shot up to P10, displacing Verstappen – who reported that his car was “completely undriveable” – and pushing the four-time World Champion down to P11.

As Antonelli ended Q2 with the fastest time in the final moments via a 1m 29.048s, the drivers joining Verstappen in making an early exit were Ocon, Hulkenberg, Lawson, Colapinto and Sainz.

Knocked out: Verstappen, Ocon, Hulkenberg, Lawson, Colapinto, Sainz

Q3 – Advantage Antonelli as the Italian secures pole

Antonelli was first out on track to kickstart the top-10 shootout, with most of the field sporting fresh soft tyres while Bortoleto, Gasly and Lindblad opted for used sets. After everybody had put a lap on the board, Antonelli had again gone quickest via his effort of 1m 28.778s.

Once again Russell looked slightly more distant in comparison to his team mate, the Briton’s lap nearly three-tenths away in P2.

The McLarens, meanwhile, slotted into third and fourth with Piastri and Norris, followed by Leclerc and Hamilton while Hadjar, Gasly, Bortoleto and Lindblad completed the order, the latter having had his time deleted due to exceeding track limits.

After a brief lull in the action, the pack headed out again to set their decisive final laps of Q3, with Antonelli the first out of the pit lane. Could the Italian repeat his form from last time out in China and claim a second career pole position?

Amid a slight lock-up, Antonelli could not improve despite going fastest of all in the final sector – but it was enough to keep the Mercedes driver on top, with Russell also remaining in second. Piastri slotted into third, while Leclerc was looking racy out on track.

A snap of understeer for the Monegasque undid the lap and left him in P4, putting him ahead of Norris. Hamilton – who had been shown the black and white flag for driving unnecessarily slowly at the pit exit – went sixth quickest.

Gasly was best of the rest in P7, with Hadjar leading Red Bull’s charge in P8 from Bortoleto and Lindblad.

Key quote

“Super happy with the session,” said Antonelli. “It was a good one, a clean one. I felt very good in the car and every run I was just improving and improving. It was a shame for the last lap because I had a lock-up in Turn 11, but it was a good one as well. Really happy with the session and now we'll focus on tomorrow.”

What's next

The 2026 Japanese Grand Prix is set to begin at 1400 local time on Sunday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action from the Suzuka Circuit.