Kimi Antonelli on F1 Japanese Grand Prix pole in Mercedes lockout with Russell

• Italian finishes 0.298sec ahead of George Russell

• Piastri qualifies third with McLaren teammate Norris fifth

Kimi Antonelli claimed pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, completing another dominant display for Mercedes who have yet to be beaten to pole in the three opening races of the new Formula One season.

With his Mercedes teammate George Russell in second they also completed the team’s third straight lockout of the front row. Their nearest competitor was McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in third, a good result for the team but he was more than three-10ths of a second behind.