Kimi Antonelli captured pole position for the second time in a row on Saturday. After his first victory in Shanghai, the Italian teenager also has the best starting position for the win in Japan. George Russell joined him again on the front row: the Briton was three-tenths short of his teammate’s fastest time. Former champion and analyst Jacques Villeneuve sees that Antonelli is increasing the pressure on Russell, partly because the latter’s Mercedes future is not certain.
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Speaking with F1TV, Villeneuve emphasized that he saw a dominant Antonelli for the first time in Japan. “This was the first weekend where he was really on top of it,” said the former champion. Although the Italian already celebrated his first F1 victory in Shanghai, Villeneuve believes that Russell still had the upper hand in the first two Grands Prix of the season: “He actually couldn’t match George, he only benefited from the problems George experienced during qualifying,” Villeneuve said about China. “That ultimately gave him his first win. Perhaps that has ensured that he is now ready for the real work.”
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The Canadian was asked about the internal relations within Mercedes. Antonelli has now captured pole position twice in a row, at the expense of his teammate, who had to settle for P2 twice. “That is hard to swallow for Russell,” the Canadian explained. “He also knows that Antonelli is the apple of the eye of Mercedes and Toto Wolff. So for him, this is not a good situation. He has to beat his teammate and win the title, because his seat is still up for debate. Antonelli, on the other hand, is set for the time being. They are in totally different situations.”
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