Karun Chandhok impressed by Kimi Antonelli: "Had the upper hand" over George Russell all weekend

Karun Chandhok praised Kimi Antonelli’s consistent speed at Suzuka after the Mercedes driver outperformed George Russell to take Japanese GP pole

Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Karun Chandhok has claimed that Kimi Antonelli has had the "upper hand" over his experienced team-mate George Russell throughout the Japanese Grand Prix weekend so far.

The Italian driver secured pole position for the race at the Suzuka circuit, and Russell will join him on the front row with a P2 start.

"We have seen through the practice sessions that Antonelli has had the upper hand," Chandhok told Sky Sports F1.

"All through qualifying, it looked like Russell was struggling to have a good feeling with the rear of the car - he didn't have the confidence to lean on the rear.

"In the end, we saw his last run, his first sector was strong but he didn't have that final confidence to lean on the car."

2009 F1 champion Jenson Button also spoke about Antonelli's form. "I feel we have seen a different Kimi this weekend. He's always been extremely quick but the consistency is there," he said.

"He's driving within himself, he's not overdriving. To see how good he's been through practice, and the consistency he had in qualifying, really impressive."

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Lars Baron / LAT Images via Getty Images

Antonelli secured his maiden F1 win at the Chinese Grand Prix after successfully converting pole position and he will be looking to continue that form through to the Japanese Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old driver currently sits second in the drivers' standings with 47 points, four points behind his team-mate and championship leader Russell.

"I had a really clean session. Felt good. I had a strong run one," Antonelli said during the post-qualifying press conference.

"And then from there on, I built the momentum. And obviously, it was a bit trickier than FP3, especially at the start of qualifying. I think the wind increased a little bit. And yeah, it just felt a little bit more difficult, the car overall. But then we tried to adapt.

"And we made some tweaks with the aerobalance and found a good compromise. Then the lap in Q3 was good. It was a shame for the last one. But I think it was overall a very strong session."