# Antonelli Takes Austin Pole From Verstappen — F1 Title Could Be Decided Sunday

- Link: https://tectonicsmediapublications.com/antonelli-us-grand-prix-2026-pole-verstappen-austin-title/
- Published: 2026-10-24T22:45:42+00:00
- Author: News Team

**FORMULA 1 | QUALIFYING FINAL | Saturday, October 24, 2026 — Circuit of the Americas,
Austin, Texas.**

Championship leader **Kimi Antonelli** seized pole position for Sunday’s United 
States Grand Prix, putting his Mercedes ahead of the two Red Bulls and giving himself
a chance to settle the Formula 1 title race in Austin. The Italian’s decisive Q3
lap of **1:34.035** beat Max Verstappen by 0.179 seconds, with Isack Hadjar qualifying
third.

## Ferrari’s practice advantage disappears

Ferrari led every practice session this weekend, with Charles Leclerc fastest on
Friday and Lewis Hamilton setting the pace in Saturday’s final session. Yet Antonelli
found the speed when qualifying mattered most. Verstappen took second, Hadjar third,
Leclerc fourth and Hamilton fifth.

The result underlines how little practice form can guarantee on a windy, bumpy track.
Antonelli’s one-lap execution was decisive even though Ferrari and Red Bull had 
looked strong across the earlier sessions. Starting first gives him track position,
but Verstappen and Hadjar will attack on the long uphill run to Turn 1.

## What Antonelli needs to become champion

Antonelli entered the weekend **102 points ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell**.
A title celebration on Sunday is possible but not automatic: Antonelli needs to **
win the race**, with Russell finishing **ninth or lower** and Hamilton **fifth or
lower**, according to the published championship permutations. Qualifying position
is not a race result, and the championship has not yet been decided.

The United States Grand Prix is scheduled for **Sunday, October 25**, over 56 laps.
Mercedes has the pole, but its race pace, tyre management and first-corner execution
remain unanswered questions.

## Watch and follow

No newly uploaded, exact-session official Formula 1 or ESPN YouTube highlights could
be independently verified with a confirmed upload date at publication time. Rather
than embedding older Austin footage, readers can follow the [official Formula 1 United States Grand Prix race hub](https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2026/united-states)
for session results and authorized video coverage as it becomes available.

_Featured-image disclosure: This is a contextual archival motorsport photograph,
not a photograph of Antonelli’s October 24, 2026 pole lap. Photo by Norbert Buduczki,
via [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/@buduczki); reuse under the [Unsplash License](https://unsplash.com/license)._

## Sources and verification

 * [Reuters — October 24 qualifying and championship report](https://www.reuters.com/sports/formula1/antonelli-pole-us-grand-prix-with-f1-title-sight-2026-10-24/)
 * [Grandprix.com — October 24 qualifying lap times and top-three classification](https://www.grandprix.com/races/united-states-gp-2026-qualifying-report.html)
 * [FIA — October 24 final practice results](https://www.fia.com/news/f1-hamilton-leads-verstappen-and-leclerc-final-us-grand-prix-practice)
 * [Formula 1 — official event schedule and race hub](https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2026/united-states)

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