Kimi Antonelli: I am a bit surprised by such an advantage.

      In Suzuka, Kimi Antonelli won the qualifying session and starts from pole for the second time in his career in the Sunday race. At the press conference, the Mercedes driver commented on the result and the course of the qualifying session.

      Question: Kimi, congratulations on the pole. How good was your final lap?

      Kimi Antonelli: I had a clean qualifying session, and everything went well. I was able to get it right from my first lap on track, and then I just built up the pace. Of course, it was more challenging than in the third practice, especially at the beginning of the qualifying session. Apparently, the wind picked up, and the car's behavior changed for the worse. We tried to adapt to this – we made adjustments to the aerodynamic balance and found the right compromise.

      The final lap was good. It's a pity that the last one didn't work out, but overall I had a very strong qualifying session.

      Question: Are you surprised by such an advantage over George Russell?

      Kimi Antonelli: Yes, a bit surprised, but with the current regulations, three-tenths in either direction is not uncommon. It's very easy to gain or lose time, and I experienced that in Melbourne as well. George is very fast, and he's strong here too, so we'll see how it all plays out in the race.

      Question: Before qualifying, there was a lot of talk about what it would feel like to drive the 2026 car in Suzuka. What are your impressions?

      Kimi Antonelli: There are sections of the track where you feel a bit restricted in your actions, as if your hands and feet are tied due to battery consumption and charge accumulation. But still, navigating the "esses" is enjoyable because the car itself is very interesting to drive in terms of chassis. In qualifying, we went through the "esses" quite quickly, and that was great.

      Of course, we still have work to do, especially on tracks like this in terms of charge consumption. We need to find a solution that allows us to attack more aggressively and drive more naturally without overthinking, especially in certain sections. But overall, I enjoyed qualifying, and if you look at the lap times, they are not that far off from last year's, so today was quite interesting.

      Question: Let's talk about the race. It's traditionally difficult to overtake in Suzuka. Do you think the situation will change with these cars?

      Kimi Antonelli: Possibly. We've already seen how much easier it has become to closely follow another car, and how much the overtaking mode helps – you can accumulate more energy and then use it on the straights. So the race could be interesting. But still, I think it won't be as easy here as it was in China or Melbourne.

      The track itself is narrower, there are fewer straights, and there are also fewer classic zones with strong braking where you can make an attack. There are many fast corners, so it won't be easy. Therefore, it's especially important to start well, and then we'll see what the pace will be like.

      Question: You have no issues with pace over a long distance, right?

      Kimi Antonelli: Yes, the long-distance pace looks good. But we'll see what the weather is like tomorrow and what the wind will be like, as its direction can change sharply. It's also important how hot it will be.

      I will try to be ready for any scenario and think through as many scenarios as possible to approach the race as prepared as I can.

      Question: Most couldn't improve in the decisive attempt in the final. Is this related to changing track conditions or just a coincidence?

      Kimi Antonelli: I believe the track condition didn't change much – it stopped changing after the second session. It got cooler, so getting the tires into the working range wasn't that easy. Additionally, at some point, the limiting factor becomes the power unit as speeds increase in the corners. I think that could have been the reason.

      Overall, it was challenging to put together a fast lap with the wind. It was gusty and changed direction from corner to corner.