SUZUKA - Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli cashed in on his "banker lap" on Saturday to take pole position in qualifying ​for the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old set the ‌fastest time of one minute 28.778 seconds on his first attempt in the final shootout phase of qualifying.

A lock-up on his second attempt prevented him ​going even faster, but it did not matter with his ​initial effort good enough to beat second-placed Mercedes teammate ⁠George Russell by a handy 0.298 seconds.

"Putting that one lap in ​that was very good," Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff told Sky ​Sports.

"Bono (Antonelli's engineer Peter Bonnington) told him to put a banker in - and then he pushed it a little bit hard on the last one and it ​wasn't so good, but it's really pleasing to see," he ​added.

Drivers typically put in two fast laps when battling for pole.

The first is usually ‌treated ⁠as a "banker" attempt, aimed at getting a lap time on the board during which drivers tend to play it slightly safe before putting it all on the line in a high-risk last-gasp blast ​for top spot.

For ​Antonelli, playing ⁠it safe paid off. It was the 50th pole for an Italian driver.

He heads into the weekend ​fired up from having secued his first pole and ​victory ⁠two weeks ago in China as he bids for a first win at Suzuka, an old-school layout renowned as one of the great ⁠drivers' tracks.

"When ​you hear his radio communications, also ​on the intercom in the garage, it's just calm," Wolff added.

"Not putting himself too ​much under pressure."