Mercedes star Kimi Antonelli will start on pole position for Sunday’s 2026 F1 US Grand Prix after topping the timesheets in qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
Antonelli needs to win Sunday’s race if he wants to clinch the world championship this time around, along with other results going his way, and history tells us that qualifying is extremely important at Circuit Of The Americas, with 11 of the 13 races at the Texas track so far having been won by a driver starting on the front row.
Antonelli’s lap time saw him claim pole by 0.179 seconds ahead of Red Bull star Max Verstappen, with Isack Hadjar in third also putting on a strong showing.
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After topping all three practice sessions, it was disappointment for Ferrari when it came to the times that mattered, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton only good enough for P4 and P5.
George Russell will start sixth as his ultra-thin title chances are about to be ended, while McLaren also had a tough afternoon in Austin, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris down in P7 and P8.
The Racing Bulls duo of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson rounded out the top 10, the former set for a grid penalty ahead of Sunday’s race, and the latter failing to set a time in Q3.
With that said, let’s take a look at the full results from qualifying below!
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F1 2026 US Grand Prix Qualifying results
Here are the full qualifying results from Circuit of the Americas:
F1 United States Grand Prix Qualifying Times
Pos
Driver
Team
Gap
1
Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
1:34.035
2
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
+0.179
3
Isack Hadjar
Red Bull
+0.215
4
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
+0.232
5
Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
+0.276
6
George Russell
Mercedes
+0.441
7
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
+0.768
8
Lando Norris
McLaren
+1.014
9
Arvid Lindblad
Racing Bulls
+2.014
10
Liam Lawson
Racing Bulls
No Time
11
Pierre Gasly
Alpine
Eliminated in Q2
12
Nico Hulkenberg
Audi
Eliminated in Q2
13
Gabriel Bortoleto
Audi
Eliminated in Q2
14
Franco Colapinto
Alpine
Eliminated in Q2
15
Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
Eliminated in Q2
16
Oliver Bearman
Haas
Eliminated in Q2
17
Esteban Ocon
Haas
Eliminated in Q1
18
Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
Eliminated in Q1
19
Carlos Sainz
Williams
Eliminated in Q1
20
Alex Albon
Williams
Eliminated in Q1
21
Sergio Perez
Cadillac
Eliminated in Q1
22
Valtteri Bottas
Cadillac
Eliminated in Q1
How does F1 Qualifying work in 2026?
There are a couple of changes to the way qualifying works this year, not quite as sweeping as the new technical regulations most drivers and fans hate so much.
Firstly, we now have 22 cars on the grid, so instead of five cars exiting after Q1 and Q2, we will have six being eliminated. That still leaves 10 for the pole shootout in Q3.
The other notable change lies in the timings – Q3 now gets an extra minute and lasts for 13 rather than 12.
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