{
  "id": 16400758,
  "title": "Antonelli takes pole at 2026 US Grand Prix: Can he win the F1 title in Austin?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/antonelli-takes-pole-at-2026-us-grand-prix-can-he-win-the-f1-title-in",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-25T00:48:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/sports/2026/10/25/antonelli-takes-pole-at-2026-us-grand-prix-can-he-win-the-f1-title-in-austin/240480"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "AUSTIN, Oct 25 — Runaway world championship leader Kimi Antonelli showed no nerves as he stormed to pole position...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 7,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Siao leads as Olympic champ Shaidorov falls on figure skating Grand Prix return",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/siao-leads-as-olympic-champ-shaidorov-falls-on-figure-skating-grand",
        "published": "2026-10-24T14:49:38.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "SB Nation",
        "title": "United States Grand Prix qualifying results: Who takes pole in Austin?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/united-states-grand-prix-qualifying-results-who-takes-pole-in-austin",
        "published": "2026-10-24T20:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Antonelli on pole for US Grand Prix with F1 title in sight",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/antonelli-on-pole-for-us-grand-prix-with-f1-title-in-sight",
        "published": "2026-10-24T22:14:25.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Mercedes' Antonelli claim pole position for F1 US Grand Prix",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/mercedes-antonelli-claim-pole-position-for-f1-us-grand-prix",
        "published": "2026-10-24T22:18:26.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Japan Times",
        "title": "Ami Nakai captures second consecutive title at Grand Prix de France",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/ami-nakai-captures-second-consecutive-title-at-grand-prix-de-france",
        "published": "2026-10-25T02:47:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Gulf News",
        "title": "Yas Island homes hit Dh5,000 a night in Grand Prix week",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/yas-island-homes-hit-dh5-000-a-night-in-grand-prix-week",
        "published": "2026-10-25T04:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}