HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from Qualifying in Japan as Antonelli storms to pole while Verstappen suffers early exit

Kimi Antonelli came out on top in a tense battle for pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix, beating his Mercedes team mate George Russell and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

An inter-team fight for the top spot appeared to be on the cards as Q3 began in Suzuka, with both Mercedes drivers, Piastri and Charles Leclerc all having jostled for the fastest time throughout the hour.

However, it was Antonelli who put together an unbeatable time of 1m 28.778s to secure his second consecutive pole position, which was ultimately enough to deny Russell by over two-tenths.

McLaren bounced back from their early reliability struggles to take third and fifth place, separated by the lead Ferrari of Leclerc. Lewis Hamilton was sixth ahead of Pierre Gasly, Isack Hadjar and Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto.

Further down the order, there was a shock early exit for Max Verstappen – who started on pole in the previous four Japanese events – when the Dutchman was demoted to P11 in Q2 by Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad.

To watch the best moments from Qualifying at the Suzuka Circuit, click go on the video player above.