Antonelli Takes Pole in Austin
Kimi Antonelli beats Max Verstappen by 0.179 seconds, and the Mercedes driver can become champion in the race if he wins and George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finish low enough
Kimi Antonelli's 1:34.035 came on his first Q3 run at the Circuit of The Americas. He did not improve on his second lap, and no one beat the time. It is his seventh pole of the season.
Max Verstappen was second in 1:34.214, and Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar was third. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were fourth and fifth for Ferrari, which had been fastest in all three practice sessions.
George Russell qualified sixth and Oscar Piastri seventh. Lando Norris dropped to eighth when his final lap was deleted for track limits. Arvid Lindblad takes a five-place grid penalty, so Liam Lawson starts ninth.
Antonelli, 20, becomes champion if he wins the race, Russell finishes ninth or lower and Hamilton finishes fifth or lower. That would make him the youngest champion in Formula 1 history, with five races left.
The race starts at 3 PM CDT (4 PM ET).
Kimi Antonelli beat Max Verstappen to pole position for the United States Grand Prix by 0.179 seconds, and the Mercedes driver can clinch the championship in the race if he wins and George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finish low enough.
Antonelli set 1:34.035 on his first Q3 run at the Circuit of The Americas. He did not improve on his second lap, and no one beat the time. It is his seventh pole of the season.
Verstappen was second in 1:34.214, and his Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar was third. The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Hamilton were fourth and fifth. Ferrari had been fastest in all three practice sessions.
Russell qualified sixth and Oscar Piastri seventh. Lando Norris's final lap was deleted for exceeding track limits, and that dropped him to eighth.
Arvid Lindblad qualified ninth but takes a five-place grid penalty for an extra engine part, so his Racing Bulls teammate Liam Lawson starts ninth.
"We got pole so we'll try to win tomorrow," Antonelli said. "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, 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."
Verstappen said: "Just Q3 was not good."
Antonelli, 20, becomes champion if he wins the race, Russell finishes ninth or lower and Hamilton finishes fifth or lower. The title stays open if Antonelli does not win, if Russell finishes eighth or higher, or if Hamilton finishes fourth or higher. A title in Austin would make Antonelli the youngest champion in Formula 1 history, with five races left.
The race starts at 3 PM CDT (4 PM ET).