Kimi Antonelli Surprises in Japan as Russell's Gamble Backfires at Suzuka
So, here's the scoop from Suzuka — things got pretty intense in Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, especially if you're keeping tabs on Mercedes. On one hand, we had George Russell taking a bold tyre strategy that just didn’t stick the landing, and on the other, there’s rookie Kimi Antonelli, showing up big when it mattered — even though he admitted he was totally lacking confidence coming into the session.
Let’s start with Russell. The guy looked strong all weekend. Legitimately in the mix for pole, matching the McLarens toe-to-toe. But in Q3, he took a bit of a risk. Tried to run cooler tyres, hoping they'd peak towards the end of his lap. That backfired hard. Instead of building grip, he had none at the start of the lap and ended up finishing P5 — his worst Qualifying performance so far this season. He straight up said, “You pay the price,” which kind of sums up how high the stakes are when the field is separated by less than a blink — 0.044s between the top three.
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Now, here’s where things get interesting. Right behind him in P6? Kimi Antonelli. Yeah, the 18-year-old who had never even driven Suzuka before this weekend. And not only that — he was struggling. FP2 and FP3 were rough, confidence was low, and coming into Quali, he straight up said he was “lost.” But when it counted? He delivered. Made it into Q3 and landed just two-tenths behind Russell. That’s impressive by any standard, especially for someone making their Suzuka debut.
Antonelli was honest about it, too. Said he was surprised by the result, mentioned how tough it was to get comfortable on this high-speed, technical track. But he kept his head down and made it work. You can hear the maturity in his words — not hyping himself up too much, just acknowledging that there’s still a lot to improve.
And come race day? Things got even more exciting. With rain potentially on the horizon, and Antonelli showing strong pace and tyre management during the opening stints, he actually led the race for a short period before pitting — a massive moment in his young career. He stayed cool under pressure, executed cleanly, and emerged back on track in sixth, just behind Russell.
So yeah, while Russell’s Qualifying gamble didn’t pay off this time, Antonelli’s composure under uncertainty and his ability to adapt on the fly? That’s the kind of stuff that turns heads in Formula 1. Mercedes may not have locked out the front row, but with Antonelli proving he can hang with the best — even without the confidence or the track time — there’s definitely a new talent worth watching.
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