Kimi Antonelli has once again drawn attention in Formula 1 by reaching a historic milestone after his pole position for the Japanese GP, achieved this Saturday. The Mercedes driver joined a rare list that, until now, had been composed only of champions of the category.
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The achievement gained even more weight after the Italian secured his second pole of the season, repeating the performance previously obtained at the Chinese GP, where he also secured his first F1 victory. By outperforming his teammate, George Russell, Antonelli reinforced his strong start to the championship and increased expectations for the rest of the year.
This pole position, achieved on March 28, placed the young driver in an extremely select group in Formula 1. According to a survey, only four F1 champions had managed to secure pole position on this same date previously.
The data becomes even more significant because all the drivers who reached this mark in the past ended up winning the title that season. As a result, Antonelli’s performance is now seen as a possible indicator of a strong campaign in this year’s championship.
Still early in the season, Mercedes appears as one of the main title contenders, which further increases the pressure on the Italian driver. The combination of the car’s competitive performance and the young driver’s positive momentum puts Antonelli in the spotlight.
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With two strong results securing pole in two consecutive qualifying sessions and a consistent start, Antonelli is now being watched as a potential title contender in the championship. The possibility of repeating the feat of previous champions who share this statistic, and who have a combined thirteen world titles between them, raises expectations for the rest of the season.
Even with the championship still in its early stages, the historical coincidence puts Antonelli in the spotlight. If he maintains his current performance, the young Mercedes driver could turn the curious statistic into a strong indicator of a title challenge in Formula 1 in 2026.
Pole Position achieved on March 28 in different years:
Driver Year Race Result Champion that season
Nelson Piquet – 1981 – Brazil – 12th – Yes
Mika Hakkinen – 1998 – Brazil – 1st – Yes
Jenson Button – 2009 – Australia – 1st – Yes
Lewis Hamilton – 2015 – Malaysia – 2nd – Yes
Kimi Antonelli – 2026 – Japan – ? – ?
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