Kimi Antonelli took United States Grand Prix pole with a 1:34.035 lap on 24 October 2026 at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas, according to Formula One. The Mercedes driver will start ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with team-mate George Russell further back.
Antonelli’s first final-segment lap settles pole
Antonelli set his fastest lap on his opening run in the final segment of qualifying. The official Formula One report says none of his rivals improved enough to displace him, and Antonelli abandoned his own second attempt. It was his seventh pole position of the season. Verstappen qualified second, followed by Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton completed the leading group, while Russell was sixth in the other Mercedes.
The order gives Antonelli a clear track position advantage before the race, although a pole position does not decide the Grand Prix. Formula One’s report describes gusty wind during the final segment, which made the balance of the cars unpredictable. Antonelli said the team had put together a clean session before the decisive run, but acknowledged that the Red Bulls had been quick throughout qualifying.
SportsRivo compared Formula One’s completed qualifying classification with its separately published starting grid. Both place Antonelli ahead of Verstappen and Hadjar, so the leading qualifying trio also occupies the leading grid places as listed before the race. That check matters because a qualifying result and the race grid are separate records; the grid, rather than the session classification alone, establishes where those drivers are due to line up.
A title opportunity now begins from the front
Formula One’s post-qualifying account identifies Austin as Antonelli’s first possible championship-clinching weekend. The conditions still depend on the race result and on where Russell and Hamilton finish. Pole gives Antonelli the first starting place, but the published title scenario requires a victory and the other specified results. Russell and Hamilton will start behind the two Red Bulls, adding a concrete qualifying result to that pre-race equation.
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli said after qualifying: “We’ll try to win.” He also warned that Verstappen and Hadjar had shown strong pace. His remarks concern the approaching race, rather than a result already secured. The Grand Prix remains scheduled for Sunday in Formula One’s qualifying report, so the title possibility remains conditional at this point.
What the grid changes for Sunday
- Antonelli starts on pole for the scheduled United States Grand Prix, with a direct opportunity to defend the lead into the opening corner.
- Verstappen lines up alongside Antonelli, while Hadjar starts immediately behind them, giving Red Bull both of the closest challenges to the Mercedes pole-sitter.
- Russell begins behind Hamilton and the Red Bull pair. That starting order is relevant to the published title conditions, which still require the race results to fall Antonelli’s way.
Source: Formula One qualifying report