2026 US Grand Prix starting grid
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The gist
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli took pole for the 2026 US Grand Prix, ahead of Max Verstappen.
A win in Austin could make him F1's youngest-ever champion at 20.
Background
Kimi Antonelli is a Mercedes driver who took pole position for the 2026 US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. It was his seventh pole of the year and his first since July. He enters the race with his first chance of securing his maiden F1 title; a win would make him F1's youngest-ever world champion at 20. The grid was shuffled from the qualifying order by penalties for Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto.
How it unfolded
- Oct 24, 2026Antonelli took pole, beating Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar in qualifying; it was his seventh pole of the year.
- Oct 24, 2026Arvid Lindblad qualified ninth but took a five-place grid penalty for a sixth internal combustion engine, dropping him to 14th.
- Oct 24, 2026Franco Colapinto qualified 14th but a 10-place penalty for a fourth control electronics unit dropped him to 21st.
- Oct 24, 2026Gabriel Bortoleto was set to start last after a penalty for multiple new power unit components.
- Oct 25, 2026The FIA confirmed the provisional starting grid, with Antonelli on pole ahead of Verstappen, Hadjar, Leclerc, Hamilton and Russell.
Who’s saying what
- Bulls
- Antonelli said ahead of the race: "I'm going to try to win."
- Caution
- Verstappen, who qualified second, said "Q3 wasn't good" after the session.
Still unverified
The grid is provisional pending final validation by the FIA. Bortoleto's penalty is described as "believed to be a record 80-place penalty" by one source, while others give 60 or 20 places. Sources also differ on Antonelli's title-clinching conditions: one states a win plus George Russell finishing P9 or lower and Lewis Hamilton P5 or below, while others state Hamilton lower than fourth and Russell lower than eighth.