Antonelli takes US Grand Prix pole at COTA as Verstappen and Hadjar mount Red Bull challenge

Antonelli seizes pole with opening Q3 lap

Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas on Saturday, setting a 1m 34.035s on his first Q3 run that no rival could better, as reported by formula1.com. The Mercedes driver edged the Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, with Verstappen second at 0.179s and Hadjar third, per the BBC's Andrew Benson in Austin. Antonelli abandoned his second flying lap after a moment, Autoweek reports, and its qualifying classification confirms the top times. ¹²⁴

It was Antonelli's seventh pole of the 2026 season and his first since the Belgian Grand Prix in July, as the BBC and ESPN both note. The 20-year-old Italian, who can potentially clinch his maiden world title at this race, said: "We got pole so we'll try to win tomorrow. Max has been very quick, and also Isack did an incredible job in Qualifying. It's not going to be easy but we'll try to get a good start and hopefully lead into Turn 1." He added that Q3 was very tough with gusty, unpredictable wind. ¹²³

The lap was something of a surprise. Antonelli had not been prominent through practice or the opening two qualifying segments, and his Mercedes engineer Peter Bonnington told the BBC: "I wasn't expecting that", emphasising that the first lap of the final session was already good enough for pole. ²

How the top ten fell in the final shootout

Grand Prix 247's session report details the sequence: George Russell set the first Q3 benchmark with a 1m 34.476s before Antonelli went four-tenths clear, followed by Verstappen, Hadjar and Leclerc. Verstappen reported the car felt very tricky with the grip, which formula1.com connected to his 0.179s deficit. In the final runs no one improved on Antonelli's time; Leclerc, Verstappen and Hadjar stayed put, Hamilton moved up to fifth, and Norris's lap was later deleted for track limits. ¹⁵

Autoweek reports that Antonelli's second push lap was scuppered by a wild moment through Turn 13, while none of his rivals found the improvement needed in the final minutes, as formula1.com also noted. Hadjar later told Grand Prix 247 he lost significant time to a massive tailwind at Turns 13 and 15 but was happy to have fought back to third after struggling with balance all weekend. ⁴¹⁵

Ferrari fades when it mattered

Ferrari set the pace in all three practice sessions at Austin, but Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton could manage only fourth and fifth in qualifying, Leclerc 0.232s off pole and Hamilton 0.044s behind his team-mate, according to the BBC and ESPN. ESPN notes Ferrari have not started from pole since Leclerc at Hungary in 2025, and that Hamilton's wait for a pole extends back to that same race two years earlier. ²³⁴

"Just tyres were so difficult to put in the right window and as soon as the track is getting a tiny bit cooler we suffer from it massively," Leclerc said, per the BBC. "Q1 and Q2 we were up there but in Q3 we started to lose a little bit the pace we had." Grand Prix 247 reports Q1 ran at around 30 degrees Celsius air temperature and 38 degrees on track, with the wind picking up. ²⁵

Track limits claim Norris; McLarens and Russell off the pace

Lando Norris's best Q3 lap was deleted for breaching track limits, dropping him to eighth behind team-mate Oscar Piastri, who qualified seventh. The BBC reports the fastest McLaren was 0.768s from pole despite an upgrade brought to this weekend, and Norris told the BBC: "Not great. Just difficult. The car was the best it's felt but I just did a crap job." Track limits proved a challenge throughout the weekend, with formula1.com noting no driver escaped a lap-time deletion across practice, and Haas's Oliver Bearman also had his best Q2 lap removed. ¹²⁵

Russell qualified sixth, 0.441s off his team-mate, and told the BBC he made a couple of mistakes in Q3 and went slower than in Q2. Piastri's session carried a race-day benefit: Nine reports the Australian progressed to Q2 on the medium tyre, saving a new set of softs for the race, a trick Antonelli and Russell also managed, while the Red Bull drivers preserved a set of softs across their first two segments. ²⁶

Grid penalties reshape the midfield and the back

Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad qualified ninth but will receive a five-place penalty for exceeding the permitted internal combustion engine allocation, formula1.com reports. Alpine's Franco Colapinto takes a 10-place drop for a new control electronics unit, promoting Fernando Alonso and Ollie Bearman from their initial qualifying positions, and the BBC reports Alonso will start 12th once penalties for Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto are also applied. Bortoleto is set to start from the back after changing multiple power unit components, per formula1.com. ¹²

Neither Audi driver made Q3: Pierre Gasly missed the top 10 by just 0.022s for Alpine in 11th, while Audi's tow strategy using Bortoleto for Nico Hulkenberg did not work out, with Gasly, Hulkenberg, Bortoleto, Colapinto, Alonso and Bearman all eliminated in Q2, as formula1.com and Grand Prix 247 recount. Esteban Ocon fell at Q1, Williams' Carlos Sainz recorded his worst qualifying result at the track since his rookie season, and Cadillac qualified slowest for its home grand prix, Sergio Perez 21st ahead of Valtteri Bottas, per Autoweek. ¹⁵⁴

Grand Prix 247 also noted an unusual incident in Q1: Fernando Alonso had a small fire in the region of his Aston Martin's exhaust, which appeared to be extinguished as he drove out on track. Alonso nevertheless reached Q2 and qualified 14th. ⁵⁴

Championship picture: Antonelli's first match point

Antonelli heads into Sunday's race leading the championship by 102 points with 150 still available, ESPN reports. To be crowned champion in Austin, he must win the race with Hamilton finishing fifth or lower and Russell ninth or lower, per ESPN and Autoweek; the BBC frames the same conditions as Hamilton below fourth and Russell below eighth, and notes Hamilton has already secured the first part by qualifying fifth. ³⁴²

Verstappen, who has won the last two grands prix from pole position according to Autoweek, starts second and said: "Q3 was not good, Q1, Q2 were nice but for whatever reason in run one and two just didn't have a nice balance. No mistakes, just not enough grip. But if it's still a P2, I take it." The race is scheduled to begin at 1500 local time on Sunday at the Circuit of The Americas. ⁴¹²