Antonelli takes pole at 2026 US Grand Prix: Can he win the F1 title in Austin?

Austin, October 25 — 20-year-old Italian racer Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the United States Grand Prix with a perfectly measured fastest lap during Saturday's qualifying session. Antonelli, who leads the drivers' championship by 102 points over his Mercedes teammate George Russell, will clinch the title if he wins in Austin on Sunday, provided both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton fail to secure a top four finish.

The young Italian outpaced Max Verstappen, his nearest challenger, by a mere 0.179 seconds, while Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar secured third place. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc placed fourth, followed by George Russell in the second Mercedes, and Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari. The confident Antonelli stated, "We got pole so we'll try to win tomorrow," acknowledging that Max Verstappen's performance in qualifying was impressive and it would not be an easy task to outpace him.

Verstappen, who won this race from pole last year and aims for his fifth victory in Austin, admitted that Q3 was challenging due to unpredictable wind conditions that affected both sets of tyres. McLaren's Oscar Piastri and reigning world champion Lando Norris qualified seventh and eighth, respectively, while Racing Bulls' rookie Arvid Lindblad, who has a five-place grid penalty, and Liam Lawson rounded out the top ten.

The session took place in hot and cloudy conditions, emphasizing the importance of avoiding exceeding track limits during the qualifying hour, a challenge that Alpine's Pierre Gasly narrowly avoided by using his last seconds to survive the first qualifying session after losing his earlier time.