Antonelli's Seventh Pole Edges Verstappen; Grid Reshuffled by Engine Penalties
Kimi Antonelli secured his seventh pole of 2026 at COTA with a 1m34.035s, 0.179s clear of Max Verstappen and just ahead of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar. Three drivers face grid penalties; the front row's advantage hinges on Overtake Mode deployment into Turn 1 and aggressive undercut windows on Sunday.
Pole and Front Row Decided on First Runs
Kimi Antonelli claimed pole position at the United States Grand Prix, edging out Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar in Q3 .[1] Antonelli's time of 1m34.035s put Verstappen 0.179s back and Hadjar a further 0.036s behind .[1] Antonelli locked in his fastest lap on his first Q3 run and aborted a second attempt ,[1] while both Red Bulls reached Q3 on a single set of soft tyres .[1] Charles Leclerc qualified fourth, 0.232s back, with Lewis Hamilton fifth at 0.276s .[1] George Russell rounded out the top six, 0.441s away .[1]
Ferrari topped all three practice sessions and Q2 but then qualified fourth and fifth .[1] Lando Norris went top in Q1 with a 1m35.029s on used softs, 0.171 clear of Leclerc; Verstappen was third, Hadjar fourth, Hamilton fifth and Antonelli sixth .[1] In Q2, Leclerc took the lead with 1m34.198, with Antonelli second 0.080s back on his saved softs, and Russell third at 0.107s .[1]
Three Grid Penalties Reshape the Order
Franco Colapinto, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Arvid Lindblad all face grid penalties at the 2026 United States Grand Prix .[2] Colapinto takes a 10-place grid penalty after Alpine fitted him with his fourth Control Electronics unit; the limit is three for the season .[2] Audi's Bortoleto will serve a 20-place grid penalty due to needing two separate 10-place penalties for a fourth Control Electronics unit and fourth Energy Store, both restricted to three in the pool .[2]
Lindblad has a five-place grid penalty after Racing Bulls fitted a sixth internal combustion engine; as it is his second breach, the penalty is five places rather than the 10 places imposed for the first offence .[2] This means Bortoleto is set to start from the back of the grid, while Colapinto will drop ten places and Lindblad five places .[3]
Strategy and Overtake Mode Shape Sunday
COTA has two designated Straight Mode areas (Turns 11-12 and the start/finish straight) and an Overtake Mode detection point on the exit of Turn 20, with activation available on the following lap if within one second of the car ahead .[5] The circuit's combination of high-speed sweeping corners, elevation changes, long straights, and technical final sector rewards cars that balance aerodynamic load with straight-line efficiency; the new 2026 rules add a strategic layer to overtaking, particularly into Turn 1 and Turn 12 .[4] The main overtaking opportunities remain into the wide Turn 1 and the heavy-braking Turn 12 hairpin .[4]
High tire degradation conditions create opportunities for both a two-stop strategy and a powerful undercut, though the risk lies in going too early .[1] The front row's advantage will rest on clean Overtake Mode deployment on lap one and the window to execute an early stop without handing track position to cars with fresher rubber in the final stint.
Related reading
- [1]Antonelli seizes pole position ahead of Verstappen in Qualifying at the United States GP (formula1). Accessed 2026-10-24.
- [2]Lindblad, Colapinto and Bortoleto to take grid penalties for United States Grand Prix (formula1). Accessed 2026-10-24.
- [3]F1 results: United States Grand Prix 2026 - qualifying (Circuit of The Americas) (planetf1). Accessed 2026-10-24.
- [4]Three F1 drivers face major grid penalties at the United States Grand Prix (planetf1). Accessed 2026-10-24.
- [5]COTA circuit guide: key facts ahead of the 2026 United States GP (f1livepulse). Accessed 2026-10-24.
- [6]COTA Explained: Inside the Circuit of the Americas Lap (formuladream). Accessed 2026-10-24.
- [7]2026 F1 United States GP | Qualifying results (pitdebrief). Accessed 2026-10-24.