Source: Official Team Post via X
Kimi Antonelli Secures Pole at 2026 United States Grand Prix
Kimi Antonelli clinched pole position for the 2026 United States Grand Prix, edging out Max Verstappen. The Red Bull team saw a strong performance from Isack Hadjar, who qualified third.
The 2026 United States Grand Prix qualifying session at the Circuit of The Americas concluded with Kimi Antonelli claiming pole position for Mercedes. This result positions him at the front of the grid for Sunday's race, with Max Verstappen of Red Bull joining him on the front row.
Isack Hadjar delivered a standout performance for Red Bull, securing a career-best third place on the grid. Charles Leclerc will line up alongside Hadjar in fourth for Ferrari, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton will start from fifth. McLaren's Lando Norris secured sixth place, ahead of Mercedes' George Russell in seventh. Oscar Piastri will start eighth for McLaren.
Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad qualified ninth but will face a five-place grid penalty due to a power unit infringement, allowing Liam Lawson to move up a position. In Q2, both Alpine and Audi drivers failed to progress, with Pierre Gasly taking 11th and Nico Hulkenberg 12th. Gabriel Bortoleto and Franco Colapinto will start 13th and 14th, respectively.
Fernando Alonso managed 15th place, while a late lap time deletion saw Haas' Oliver Bearman drop to 16th. Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll were eliminated in Q1, alongside the Williams and Cadillac drivers.
Grid penalties will shuffle the starting order further, with Gabriel Bortoleto starting from the back due to taking extra power unit parts, while Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad will also drop down the order.
Here are the full qualifying results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:35.390 | 1:34.278 | 1:34.035 | | 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:35.215 | 1:34.471 | 1:34.214 | | 3 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | 1:35.286 | 1:34.887 | 1:34.250 | | 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:35.200 | 1:34.198 | 1:34.267 | | 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1:35.355 | 1:34.833 | 1:34.311 | | 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:35.029 | 1:34.539 | 1:34.379 | | 7 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:35.730 | 1:34.305 | 1:34.476 | | 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:35.842 | 1:34.818 | 1:34.803 | | 9 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | 1:35.755 | 1:34.950 | 1:36.049 | | 10 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | 1:35.662 | 1:35.058 | – | | 11 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:35.969 | 1:35.080 | – | | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | 1:35.704 | 1:35.158 | – | | 13 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 1:35.632 | 1:35.691 | – | | 14 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:35.898 | 1:35.722 | – | | 15 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:36.240 | 1:35.818 | – | | 16 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:36.175 | – | – | | 17 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 1:36.531 | – | – | | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:36.677 | – | – | | 19 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:36.770 | – | – | | 20 | Alex Albon | Williams | 1:36.967 | – | – | | 21 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | 1:37.433 | – | – | | 22 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | 1:37.523 | – | – |