Kimi Antonelli underlined his growing status as one of Formula 1’s standout performers by claiming another pole position, this time at the iconic Suzuka Circuit. The 19-year-old delivered a composed and clinical qualifying performance, once again putting himself at the front of the grid.

Mercedes locked out the front row for the third consecutive race, but while George Russell struggled to extract the maximum from his car, Antonelli looked comfortable throughout the session.

“It was a good session, I’m happy with it. I think I was able to improve lap by lap. That first Q3 lap was good. Second lap was looking strong but then at Turn 11 I locked up and lost quite a bit of time so it was a shame. I was a bit annoyed with that but I got pole position. I felt good in the car, felt good with the track, and now focusing on tomorrow," said Antonelli, as quoted by F1.com.

Despite a small mistake on his final run, Antonelli had already done enough to secure P1.

The Italian has also embraced the atmosphere at Suzuka, where passionate fans and the character of the circuit combine to create one of the most special weekends on the calendar.

“The fans here in Japan are pretty incredible. There's so much passion and racing at a historic track is an incredible feeling. The track is unbelievable to drive with this kind of car plus the fans give us a little bit more of a boost when we go on track,” added the Italian driver who also took pole position in the previous weekend in China.

“I was able to build momentum already from the Melbourne race, and then China was continuing to build momentum. It’s just trying to keep this momentum and keep on trying to improve and squeeze a bit of performance every time without overdoing it. I think overall I’m getting a good feeling with the car. Of course there’s still work to do, especially on maximising the PU but it was good. I’m really happy with that,” concluded Antonelli.