Sportsupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 6 March 2026Kimi Antonelli Beats Max Verstappen For United States GP Pole At Circuit Of The Americas
7 Western Mainstream6 Local Western6 Other1 Latin AmericanPhoto: Yu Chu Chin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped for layout
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Antonelli secured pole for the United States Grand Prix, Verstappen 0.179s behind. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver could become the youngest F1 world champion this weekend.
Pole sets title math
Kimi Antonelli took pole position for the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, beating Max Verstappen by 0.179 seconds with a pole time of 1:34.035.
“Antonelli will become world champion on Sunday if he wins the race while his Mercedes team-mate George Russell is lower than eighth and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton below fourth.”
Antonelli can become Formula 1's youngest world champion on Sunday if he wins while George Russell finishes lower than eighth and Lewis Hamilton finishes below fourth, with Hamilton and Russell starting fifth and sixth.
Antonelli said, "It does feel a little bit different," while also insisting, "But the goal stays the same. I just need to keep doing my job."
Verstappen told Antonelli, "He just needs to try and win the race," and added that if it does not happen in Austin it will happen "next weekend (in Mexico City)."
Antonelli entered the weekend with a 102-point lead over Russell and 111 points over Hamilton, and the pole extended his season total to eight victories in the 17 races so far.
Qualifying details and quotes
Antonelli beat Verstappen to pole in Austin after coming from Q3 to surge ahead, and Sky Sports reported his pole time as 1:34.035. Antonelli said, "We got pole, so we will try to win tomorrow," and he added, "Max has been very quick and Isack did an incredible job, so it won't be easy." Sky Sports placed Isack Hadjar third, with Charles Leclerc fourth and Lewis Hamilton fifth, while George Russell was set to start sixth.
Verstappen said, "Just Q3 was not good," after qualifying, and the race setup left Russell needing to finish in the top eight to ensure Antonelli will not be crowned champion if he wins. The pole also set up a narrow margin in qualifying, with Antonelli's 0.179 seconds over Verstappen and Hadjar's third-place time close enough to keep the front of the grid tightly contested.
What must happen Sunday
Grande Prêmio described the championship situation as a race against the points gap, with Antonelli holding 340 points and Russell 238 before the United States Grand Prix.
“First, he must absolutely win. Then, at the same time, George Russell must finish at most ninth while Lewis Hamilton must not finish higher than fifth.”
Grande Prêmio said Antonelli could clinch the title with a win in Austin if Russell finishes ninth or worse and Hamilton finishes no higher than fifth, and it framed the scenario as requiring "something catastrophic" for the title to be decided this weekend.
RMC Sport said Antonelli could be crowned as early as Sunday if he wins and returns with a 125-point lead over second place, while Russell finishes at most ninth and Hamilton does not finish higher than fifth.
SB Nation reported that Antonelli can clinch with a win provided teammate George Russell finishes ninth or lower and Lewis Hamilton finishes fifth or lower, while noting that Turn 1 chaos at the Circuit of the Americas could matter.
Antonelli kept his focus on the race itself, telling the BBC Sport question about whether his approach will change, "But the goal stays the same. I just need to keep doing my job" as he prepared for Sunday.