Mercedes Driver Kimi Antonelli Earns Surprise Pole for the US Grand Prix as He Chases the F1 Title
Antonelli earned his seventh pole of 2026 as Verstappen and Hadjar followed, while Norris lost two places after a deleted final lap.
- Championship leader Kimi Antonelli claimed his seventh pole of 2026 at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, defeating Max Verstappen in a thrillingly close qualifying session.
- Antonelli's performance broke the weekend's trend of Verstappen and Ferrari dominance across the demanding 5.5km Circuit of the Americas, where both had appeared to hold a slight edge throughout practice.
- Charles Leclerc led the second qualifying segment with a 1m34.198s lap, while track limits at Turn 11 caused lap deletions for drivers including Oliver Bearman, reshaping the grid.
- Lewis Hamilton and George Russell qualified fifth and sixth respectively, leaving both Mercedes drivers facing a difficult challenge to sustain their fading title hopes into Sunday's race.
- Grid penalties will reshape Sunday's order; Alpine's Franco Colapinto and Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto face back-row starts, while Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson prepare for their respective penalized positions.
103 Articles
103 Articles
The Italian can conquer the title in the United States and become the youngest champion in history. Alonso will start 12th
We expected a battle between the two Ferrari and the Red Bull-Ford, by Max Verstappen, to win the pole in the Austin Grand Prix. And instead, here it came out like a lightning...
Writing sports, 24 Oct (EFE).- The Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), leader of the championship, will first be released this Sunday in the United States Grand Prix; the eighteenth of the Formula One World Cup, in the Circuit of the Americas of Austin (Texas): where the Spaniards Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Carlos Sainz (Williams) will start thirteenth [...] The entry Antonelli leaves from the ‘pole’, ahead of the Red Bull, in Aust…
The Italian Kimi Antonelli will drop in pole position in the US GP, which may be the decisive in the contest for the title of Formula 1. In this Saturday's classification, on the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) track in Austin, the Mercedes driver hit Max Verstappen with 1min34s035. Isack Hadjar was third. — We got the pole and will try to win tomorrow, but Max has been very fast, has done an amazing job in the classification. I will try to lead …
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