Antonelli takes US Grand Prix pole ahead of Verstappen and Hadjar
Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for the 2026 United States Grand Prix at Austin, beating Max Verstappen by 0.179s. Isack Hadjar qualified third, with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton next and George Russell sixth.
Antonelli took pole for the United States Grand Prix in a close qualifying session at the Circuit of The Americas. The Mercedes driver beat Verstappen by 0.179 seconds, with Hadjar completing the top three for Red Bull. Antonelli’s pole-setting lap was a 1m34.035s, and he will share the front row with Verstappen.
Behind the top three, Leclerc and Hamilton qualified fourth and fifth for Ferrari, while Russell was sixth in the second Mercedes. Multiple reports described it as Antonelli’s seventh pole of the 2026 season, on a weekend where he could potentially clinch his first world title.
After qualifying, Antonelli said he was pleased to avoid another track limits breach and joked that staying within the limits was his biggest achievement. Hadjar said third place came after a difficult start to the weekend, during which he had struggled to find the right balance.