Kimi Antonelli claimed pole position for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, beating Max Verstappen by 0.179s in a tight Qualifying session at the Circuit of The Americas. Isack Hadjar completed the top three for Red Bull, ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, while George Russell qualified sixth in the second Mercedes.
At the start of Q1, Leclerc set the initial benchmark with a 1:35.200, before McLaren’s Oscar Piastri moved into third on the Medium tyres. The Australian’s team-mate Lando Norris subsequently went ahead on Softs, with Antonelli and Russell also improving on Piastri’s time.
The Red Bull closed to within a tenth of Leclerc’s early benchmark. Audi also showed promising pace, with Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto breaking into the top 10 alongside Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.
As the clock counted down, Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon, Alexander Albon, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas and Pierre Gasly occupied the elimination positions. Gasly had already seen his opening lap deleted for exceeding track limits, leaving the Alpine driver under pressure to improve.
Colapinto and Gasly subsequently moved up to 11th and 13th respectively, while Norris delivered the fastest lap of the session, going 0.171s clear of Leclerc to finish Q1 at the top of the timesheets. Ocon, Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz, Albon, Perez and Bottas were eliminated.
At the start of Q2, Verstappen set the early pace, posting a 1:34.471 to edge ahead of Norris. Piastri faced a more difficult session in the second McLaren, initially finding himself down in 10th and at risk of elimination. Lindblad, Gasly and Colapinto were also fighting to secure a place in the final segment.
Leclerc reclaimed the top spot in the closing stages, moving ahead of Antonelli and Russell as the final laps came in. Verstappen progressed alongside both McLarens, Hamilton, Hadjar and the two Racing Bulls drivers.
Lindblad’s late improvement proved decisive in the battle for the final places, leaving Gasly just 0.022s short of advancing. Hülkenberg and Bortoleto were also eliminated, alongside Colapinto, Fernando Alonso and Haas driver Oliver Bearman, whose final lap was deleted for a track-limits infringement.
The top 10 then returned to the circuit for the final shoot-out, with the fight for pole position still wide open. Russell set the initial pace with a 1:34.476, but Antonelli quickly went four-tenths faster to move into provisional pole position. Verstappen, Hadjar and Leclerc followed, while Hamilton initially settled for sixth.
Verstappen reported that the grip was making the car difficult to drive, and the Dutchman ended his first run 0.179s behind Antonelli. Both McLarens were also outside the top six, leaving the final runs crucial to their starting positions.
Racing Bulls opted not to send either driver out again, leaving Lindblad ninth and Lawson 10th. The remaining eight drivers returned to the track for their final attempts, but none could beat Antonelli’s benchmark. The Mercedes driver abandoned his second flying lap, having already done enough to secure his seventh pole position of the season.
Verstappen held on to second place, with Hadjar completing an impressive result for Red Bull in third. Leclerc and Hamilton qualified fourth and fifth respectively, ahead of Russell.
Piastri secured seventh place, while Norris initially appeared to have qualified sixth before his lap was deleted for exceeding track limits, dropping him to eighth. Lindblad and Lawson completed the top 10.
“Max has been very quick, and also Isack did an incredible job in Qualifying,” said Antonelli. “It’s not going to be easy but we’ll try to get a good start and hopefully lead into Turn 1, and then we’ll try to set the pace, even though it’s going to be very tight. I’m very happy with Qualifying today – Q3 was very tough with the wind, very gusty and unpredictable. I’m happy that we stuck it on pole.”
2026 FIA Formula 1 United States Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:34.035 – –
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:34.214 0.179
3 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:34.250 0.215
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:34.267 0.232
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:34.311 0.276
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:34.476 0.441
7 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:34.803 0.768
8 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:35.049 1.014
9 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:36.049 2.014
10 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford – – –
11 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:35.080 1.045
12 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:35.158 1.123
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:35.691 1.656
14 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:35.722 1.687
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:35.818 1.783
16 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:36.031 1.996
17 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:36.531 2.496
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 1:36.677 2.642
19 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:36.770 2.735
20 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:36.967 2.932
21 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:37.433 3.398
22 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:37.523 3.488
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