F1 qualifying results: Kimi Antonelli takes pole for Japanese Grand Prix

Three Grand Prix qualifying sessions, three front row lockouts for Mercedes.

The Silver Arrows have been the dominant force so far this Formula 1 season, and that trend continued Saturday in Suzuka. Kimi Antonelli beat out teammate George Russell for pole position, marking the third time that Mercedes locked out the front row this season, and the second consecutive pole position for the young driver.

“Yeah, I’m super happy with the session,” said Antonelli trackside to Jean Alesi. “It was a good one. It was a clean one and I felt very good in the car. Every run I was just improving and improving. It was a shame for the last lap because I locked up in Turn 11, but it was a good one as well. I’m really happy with the session and now we’ll focus on tomorrow.”

The session also saw something of a step forward from McLaren, as the defending Constructors’ Champions look to bounce back after both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix due to technical failures. Piastri qualified third ahead of Charles Leclerc in fourth, while Norris took fifth ahead of Lewis Hamilton in sixth.

“I mean, it’s nice to be closer, obviously. I think we’re learning more and more about the car and about the power unit every weekend. I think this weekend in Suzuka, let’s say being slower in the Esses than Mercedes is not necessarily a bad thing, which is weird to say,” said Piastri after qualifying. “But yeah, I think we were saved a little bit by that. So, I think we’ve been more competitive in general, but we’re under no illusion, we’ve still got a pretty big gap to fill.”

Pierre Gasly continued his strong start to the season, as he put his Alpine A526 into seventh behind Hamilton. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, and rookie Arvid Lindblad round out the rest of the top ten.

Max Verstappen was eliminated in Q2, and is set to start in P11.

Here are the qualifying results for the F1 Japanese Grand Prix: