The Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli might have certified subsequent to one another in P5 and P6 at Suzuka, however their respective reactions differed significantly because the Briton was left questioning what may have been.
Russell seemed to be firmly within the combine for pole place throughout the weekend in Japan and was the closest competitor to McLaren most of the time, leaving the battle for prime spot seemingly a three-horse race.
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However Max Verstappen’s magnificent lap in Q3 noticed him declare his first pole of the 12 months while the Mercedes driver fell out of rivalry down in fifth place, ending the session behind Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc.
The 27-year-old was left annoyed by his lowest Qualifying efficiency of the season to date, particularly in a subject the place the frontrunners are separated by such small margins – the highest three drivers coated simply 0.044s.
