A second consecutive pole position for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, very few have managed to set such a record since his first.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli did it again, and this time even more beautifully. The young Mercedes driver scored his second consecutive pole position, joining a very select group of very important names, including Ayrton Senna. A magical lap from the 2006-born driver, who edged out teammate George Russell by three tenths, on a track like Suzuka, which has always been considered the University of Formula 1 and motorsport in general.
Talking about a championship fight after just three races wouldn’t make much sense, but the signals Antonelli is sending are very clear with a W17 that, for now, seems to be in a league of its own. Perhaps everything will change completely in Miami, but in the meantime, the Italian is playing on equal terms with captain Russell, and if he wins tomorrow, he could leap to the top of the drivers’ standings ahead of the long April break.
Antonelli himself commented on his splendid qualifying: “This pole is better for me than the other onebecause George had problems in Shanghai, even though I had some with the wing, which is why the lap was still good. It’s nice to be on pole again after China. It was important, because after the race win I was a bit nervous, and I absolutely didn’t want to let my guard down. I knew it would be a moment to get carried away and lose my concentration. I’m happy I was able to keep it focused. Now we’re thinking about tomorrow.”
The key thing, even before the various race simulations, will be to avoid any major problems at the start. Antonelli knows this well: “First of all, we’ll have to see how the starting line goes, but the team has already told us to stay calm and not cause any problems, because we’re still first and second. It will be important to score important points, both for us and for the team My teammate is definitely my main rival, because he’s the only one with the same car as mine.
We’re now at a stage where we have an advantage over the others, so he’s my most direct competitor. This doesn’t mean the others can get significantly closer. We have to stay on our guard, because for now it’s just me and my teammate, but McLaren, for example, is still using the aerodynamic package from Barcelona. I imagine the next step they bring will be a significant one. We have to stay on our guard. The others are behind, but the situation can change in a moment.”
Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
