Pole in Austin: Antonelli starts ahead of Verstappen in possible title decider
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli took pole for the United States Grand Prix, 0.179 seconds clear of Max Verstappen. A win on Sunday could make the Mercedes driver world champion.
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Kimi Antonelli will start the United States Grand Prix from pole position. The Mercedes driver lapped the Circuit of the Americas in 1:34.035 in Q3, his seventh pole of the season according to Formula1.com. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was 0.179 seconds behind, with team-mate Isack Hadjar third, 0.215 seconds off. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who had topped all three practice sessions, followed. "I am really happy to take pole position as that was not an easy session," Antonelli said.
George Russell was only sixth in the second Mercedes, ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, who lost a lap for exceeding track limits. Racing Bulls pair Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson completed the top ten. Lindblad takes a five-place grid penalty for an extra internal combustion engine and Alpine's Franco Colapinto a ten-place drop. Fernando Alonso is among those to benefit and, according to The Race, will start 12th.
It is Antonelli's first match point: according to Formula1.com, the 20-year-old will be crowned champion on Sunday if he wins, with Russell ninth or lower and Hamilton fifth or lower. He leads with 340 points from Russell (238) and Hamilton (229). Verstappen sounded combative ahead of the 21:00 CET start, saying P2 was "a good starting position for tomorrow".