Kimi Antonelli will start the United States Grand Prix from pole position after outpacing Max Verstappen in qualifying. The Mercedes driver is now well placed to take the victory he needs to keep his drivers' title hopes alive, although he also requires Lewis Hamilton to finish fifth or lower and George Russell to place no higher than ninth.
Red Bull's Strong Showing
Isack Hadjar joined his Red Bull team-mate Verstappen in the top three as the team found impressive pace in qualifying, despite both drivers having complained about their cars' balance for most of the weekend.
Ferrari dominated practice, with Charles Leclerc fastest in both Friday sessions and Hamilton topping the timesheets in FP3. However, their pace faded when it mattered, and neither driver looked like a contender for pole in Q3.
Penalties Reshape the Grid
Lando Norris had his best lap time deleted for exceeding track limits, dropping him to eighth in the qualifying result despite being sixth quickest on the road.
Three drivers are confirmed to serve grid penalties on Sunday, all for new engine parts. Arvid Lindblad, who qualified ninth, drops five places. Franco Colapinto falls 10 places after qualifying 14th. Gabriel Bortoleto, who was 13th on the road, will start at the very back with 60 places' worth of penalties for a range of new components.
Indicative Starting Grid
The full indicative starting grid with penalties applied is as follows:
- Kimi Antonelli - Mercedes
- Max Verstappen - Red Bull
- Isack Hadjar - Red Bull
- Charles Leclerc - Ferrari
- Lewis Hamilton - Ferrari
- George Russell - Mercedes
- Oscar Piastri - McLaren
- Lando Norris - McLaren
- Liam Lawson - Racing Bulls
- Pierre Gasly - Alpine
- Nico Hulkenberg - Audi
- Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin
- Oliver Bearman - Haas
- Arvid Lindblad - Racing Bulls*
- Esteban Ocon - Haas
- Lance Stroll - Aston Martin
- Carlos Sainz - Williams
- Alex Albon - Williams
- Sergio Perez - Cadillac
- Valtteri Bottas - Cadillac
- Franco Colapinto - Alpine*
- Gabriel Bortoleto - Audi**
*Grid penalties applied. The race gets underway in Austin on Sunday, with the championship battle set to intensify as Antonelli aims to close the gap at the top of the standings.
