Kimi Antonelli takes Austin pole at US Grand Prix, with title hopes on the line this weekend

Antonelli claims pole position

Antonelli celebrated after taking his first pole since the Belgian Grand Prix in July. He said, “It feels good to be back.” His engineer, Peter Bonnington, said he had not expected the result and noted that Antonelli’s opening lap in final qualifying was quick enough for pole.

Title hopes hinge on victory

Antonelli needs to win the United States Grand Prix to retain a chance of securing the F1 title. The Austin race falls on a weekend when he could potentially clinch his first world championship. He said the team would try to win, but warned that Max Verstappen had been quick and Isack Hadjar had performed exceptionally.

Verstappen leads Hadjar

Verstappen took second place, with Hadjar only 0.036 seconds behind the four-time champion. Verstappen said he had struggled with balance and grip in Q3, but accepted the P2 result.

The Ferraris fell away in qualifying. George Russell was 0.441 seconds behind Antonelli, while the fastest McLaren was 0.768 seconds off pole.

Grid places and race coverage

Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth, ahead of Russell in sixth. The McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris followed; Norris’s fastest lap was deleted for a track-limits breach. BBC Radio 5 Live commentary was scheduled from 19:30, with live text updates on the BBC Sport website and app.