Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the 2026 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, edging out Red Bull driver Max Verstappen by 0.179 seconds during Saturday qualifying.
Round 18 of the 2026 season heads to Texas for the final stretch of flyaway races, setting up a 56-lap grand prix at the Circuit of the Americas from 23-25 October. Lights out for Sunday’s race is scheduled for 15:00 local time in Austin, corresponding to a 20:00 GMT start in the UK as the UK reverts to Greenwich Mean Time following the end of British Summer Time.
💬 “Taking pole position today was beyond our expectations heading into the session. We’ve been working hard to get the car into a good window all weekend, and we’ve been chipping away at it.”Hear from Kimi, George and Toto after the Austin Qualifying 👉https://t.co/sh6dWtyDLD pic.twitter.com/JhQmCQATDQ
Antonelli Takes Pole in Austin Qualifying
Antonelli delivered a stellar lap in Q3 to claim pole position ahead of Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, who rounded out the top three for Red Bull. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc qualified fourth, with his team-mate Lewis Hamilton taking fifth and Mercedes driver George Russell starting sixth on the grid. The competitive spread across the top four teams measured a narrow 0.12 seconds on long-run pace, with the 14th round of the world championship marking the first time in four years that Austin is hosting a traditional grand prix weekend without a sprint race.
Ferrari entered the weekend showing strong practice pace but faltered during the decisive qualifying hour.
Driving-wise, I don’t think I drove well in the session. At the minute, it feels a little bit like a moving target in the car. I’m just not feeling the rhythm with the car, not knowing where its limit actually is.
BA, via The Race
Antonelli Needs Specific Results to Win Drivers Championship
Antonelli enters Sunday’s grand prix with an opportunity to secure his maiden drivers’ championship. To clinch the title in Austin, the Italian driver must win the race while teammate Russell finishes ninth or lower and Hamilton places outside the top four according to championship calculations. Toto Wolff noted that the squad brought an updated package to both cars following difficult outings in Malaysia and Singapore.
The Top 10 with 16 laps remaining… 👇1. Antonelli2. Norris3. Verstappen4. Leclerc5. Hadjar6. Hamilton7. Piastri8. Russell9. Lawson10. Gasly#F1 #USGP | LAP 40/56 pic.twitter.com/V6xksPTQb6
More on Andrea Kimi Antonelli
📻 "Ah this guy…"Antonelli locks up in the dirty air of Sainz as the Mercedes looks to lap the Williams 😳#F1 #USGP | LAP 36/56 pic.twitter.com/GqJrhG1MG9
LIGHTS OUT IN TEXAS!!! KIMI NAILS THE START AND LEADS THE US GP!!