Kimi Antonelli takes United States Grand Prix pole as George Russell finishes sixth
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli claimed his seventh pole position of the 2026 Formula 1 season at the United States Grand Prix, setting a 1m34.035s lap at the Circuit of the Americas. His first Q3 run proved decisive, putting him roughly two tenths ahead of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar. It was Antonelli’s first pole since the summer break and denied Verstappen a third in succession.
Charles Leclerc, who had topped Q2 after showing strong pace in practice, finished fourth ahead of Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton. George Russell could manage only sixth, followed by Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris; Norris lost two places when his final lap was deleted for exceeding track limits.
Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson completed the Q3 group for Racing Bulls. Lawson sat out the final session to limit the impact of Lindblad’s five-place engine penalty and will start ninth, while Lindblad drops to 14th. Pierre Gasly missed Q3 by 0.022s, with Nico Hulkenberg, Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto, Fernando Alonso and Oliver Bearman also eliminated in Q2. Bortoleto faces a back-of-the-grid start after taking a new Audi power unit, while Colapinto has a 10-place penalty for new engine-control electronics. Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas were knocked out in Q1.
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