George Russel disappointed after Qualifying, Antonelli battles having "very little confidence"

Despite demonstrating speed throughout the race weekend, Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli only qualified P5 and P6 at Suzuka.

Russell had been right on the heels of the McLaren car during the practice sessions and appeared to be the only real threat to the Papaya team.

Instead, he finished behind Charles Leclerc in a struggling Ferrari car.

Russell is attributing the struggles to a risky tire decision.

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“I’m pretty disappointed with the last lap, to be honest,” Russell said. “I tried something different with the tyres, tried to get them a bit cooler to be better at the end of the lap, and ultimately we went too far and had no grip at the beginning of the lap.

“You pay the price. P5 isn’t terrible but I would have liked to have been higher up. Anything can happen tomorrow."

The race is set to experience mixed conditions, as rain and showers could come into play, providing opportunities to advance up the grid, and just as easily fall further down.

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“You can probably see another Melbourne-like race potentially. As I said, disappointed now but P5… we can fight from there.”

While Russell may be disappointed to start in fifth place, Antonelli feels quite satisfied with the outcome considering his struggles throughout the weekend.

Best starting position of the season so far 👊 Good effort out there, Kimi. Hard work paying off pic.twitter.com/M7eFcecVV3
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 5, 2025

The Italian sensation was only two-tenths behind Russell and one position behind his more experienced teammate.

How Antonelli got there, in the end, is a shock even to him.

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“I’m not going to lie – I was quite lost and had very little confidence heading to Qualifying," Antonelli said.

"Definitely was not an easy one but I’m happy with how I progressed and I think I maximised the result."

“FP1 went actually quite well, but then FP2 and FP3 were a step back."

Close margins out there. All to play for tomorrow 💪 pic.twitter.com/4W6UhhK35J
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 5, 2025

"On my side, I couldn’t build the confidence I wanted and I arrived in Qualifying a bit uncertain on what I could have achieved."

"I was happy to get in Q3 and to put a decent lap at the end, but of course still a lot of work to do.”

Mercedes has had one of the more consistent cars in the field, which has led to a second place standing in the Constructors Championship, only 21 points away from McLaren.

The race could provide another opportunity to close the gap, especially if the rain complicates strategy for the other teams.

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