Kimi Antonelli takes Japanese Grand Prix pole as Max Verstappen knocked out in Q2 by Arvid Lindblad

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Kimi Antonelli claimed pole position for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix as Max Verstappen suffered a surprise Q2 exit after losing the final top 10 position to rookie Arvid Lindblad.

It was a difficult morning for Lando Norris, who encountered further issues with his McLaren during FP3. The Woking-based team reported problems with the MCL40’s ERS system in the final practice session, compounding what has already been a challenging weekend for the reigning world champion, plagued by a series of technical gremlins throughout practice.

As the pit lane opened, teams typically expecting a Q1 exit were the first to head out onto the Suzuka circuit, with Aston Martin, Williams and Cadillac joined by both Haas and Racing Bulls. The rest of the grid opted to wait, allowing those early runners to lay down rubber before heading out themselves.

Norris was able to join his teammate Oscar Piastri out of the pit lane for Q1, keeping close to the Australian, whose initial flying lap was two tenths quicker.

Early flying laps in Q1 saw Kimi Antonelli snatch the top of the timesheets from Charles Leclerc by four hundredths of a second, with George Russell unable to match the pace of his younger teammate. The Briton found his first lap place him in fifth, before Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton pushed him further down the rankings.

Russell was quick to get on the radio, telling his race engineer Marcus Dudley: “Something doesn’t feel quite right. I’ve got a lot of oversteer.” The Mercedes driver lost significant time to his teammate through the Esses while struggling for rear grip.

It is a worrying sign for Russell, who endured similar issues during qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, although he still managed to secure a front-row start behind Antonelli.

The bottom six at the end of Q1 featured the usual suspects, with both Aston Martins and Cadillacs joined by Alex Albon’s Williams. However, there was a surprise elimination, as Ollie Bearman exited in the first segment despite delivering two very strong weekends for Haas in Australia and China.

At the end of the session, Albon came over the radio to ask his race engineer where he had qualified relative to teammate Carlos Sainz, to which James Urwin replied: “You probably don’t want to know.” The Thai-British driver sounded deflated, admitting that despite raising concerns about the car for a third consecutive weekend, he felt the issue ultimately lay with himself.

Initial fast laps in Q2 saw Oscar Piastri jump to the top of the time sheets, leading the pack by three tenths of a second from Antonelli. Russell once again struggled with his early lap, finding himself down in sixth, behind Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi.

After bolting on a fresh set of soft tyres, Russell was the first to head out for a second run. Although he improved to P2, the Briton still did not look entirely comfortable in his Mercedes. He later told the team, “We’re missing something here. We can’t be losing pace,” underlining his concerns about the car’s performance this weekend.

Max Verstappen, who has been struggling with his car all weekend, found himself on the brink of the drop zone in the closing minutes of Q2, with Arvid Lindblad knocking him out of the top 10. Despite missing a crucial hour of running in FP2, the rookie highlighted the contrast between the Racing Bulls and Red Bull machinery by eliminating the four-time world champion from qualifying.

Verstappen described the car as “completely undriveable” after the shock Q2 elimination, after fighting to get his Red Bull round the track.

Ferrari looked strong throughout qualifying, but the early flying laps in Q3 saw both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton slip down the order behind the McLarens. It appeared the pair struggled with energy deployment in the final sector, with both drivers haemorrhaging time before crossing the line.

Antonelli claimed provisional pole from his Mercedes teammate by almost three tenths of a second, with Piastri close on the heels of Russell in third.

The young Italian held on to pole after the final runs, with no driver able to match his pace. It briefly looked as though Russell might leapfrog his teammate after setting a quicker first sector, but Antonelli was stronger through the final two sectors to stay on top.

Leclerc briefly threatened to disrupt Mercedes’ dominance, but the Monegasque had to wrestle his Ferrari on his final lap, leaving him to split the McLarens in P4.