For the first time, an onboard lap was not shown in full: what happened during Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s lap?
The 2026 Japanese Grand Prix qualifying once again sparked debate, especially off the track: for the first time, the onboard video of the pole-sitter was not shown in full, with the entire third sector removed from the official broadcast.
At the end of every qualifying session, Formula 1 usually publishes the full lap from the standard camera above the driver’s head, without any cuts or changes in angle. This time, however, things didn’t go that way.
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The protagonist of the story is Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who secured a brilliant pole position at Suzuka after a very tight session with George Russell. However, when the fastest lap was published, the international broadcast chose not to show the final part of the onboard, instead inserting external shots in the final sector.
F1, Antonelli Onboard Cut: The Reason
The decision is almost certainly linked to the super clipping phenomenon, already observed during the Japanese weekend. In the third sector, particularly near the ultra-fast 130R, all 22 cars showed a clear drop in speed due to electrical energy depletion, a situation that makes lap management particularly complex, especially in qualifying.
Instead of the onboard view, which would have highlighted the slowdown and difficult energy management, traditional TV footage was used. It is unlikely that this was just a coincidence or an error.
This situation, combined with the complaints from Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, risks putting Formula One Management under pressure. The objective now is to return to “normal” as soon as possible.
Photo: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
