Ferrari headed into Qualifying for the 2026 F1 United States GP as the team to beat after leading every practice session in Austin. Charles Leclerc topped both Friday sessions, setting a 1:35.291 in FP2 as the team’s upgrades appeared to work well. Lewis Hamilton then went fastest in FP3 with a 1:34.893, the only driver to break into the 1:34s. Leclerc lost a quicker 1:34.819 to track limits and finished third behind Max Verstappen.
Kimi Antonelli arrived in Austin leading the Drivers’ Championship, with the chance to clinch the title on Sunday. The Mercedes driver finished fourth in FP3 with a 1:35.196, ahead of teammate George Russell. Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto all faced grid penalties for power unit changes.
Q1: Norris goes fastest at the flag as Williams struggle
Cadillac and Haas led the queue as Qualifying 1 began at the 2026 F1 United States GP, with most of the field on softs. McLaren split its strategy by putting Oscar Piastri on mediums, while Mercedes started both cars on the yellow-walled tyre.
Charles Leclerc set the early benchmark with a 1:35.200, 0.15 seconds clear of teammate Lewis Hamilton. Track limits soon struck again, with Pierre Gasly losing a lap at Turn 9. Alex Albon set personal best sectors but ran out of grip in the final sequence. Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin also caught fire at one point, with Valtteri Bottas noticing as he pulled up behind.
Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Isack Hadjar, Hamilton and Antonelli stayed in the pits with their times looking safe. Lando Norris went back out on softs and snatched P1 at the flag. Nico Hülkenberg climbed to ninth, while Ollie Bearman and Alonso held on as nobody below them improved.
Out in Q1: Ocon, Stroll, Sainz, Albon, Pérez, Bottas
Q2: Leclerc leads as Racing Bulls snatch late Q3 spots
Antonelli, Russell and Piastri started Qualifying 2 at the 2026 F1 United States GP with an extra set of softs in hand. All three had saved the red-walled tyre by getting through Q1 on mediums. Hamilton, Leclerc and Verstappen all opted for used softs on their opening runs.
Hamilton set the first benchmark with a 1:34.833, but Verstappen went more than three tenths quicker. Norris moved up to second, just 0.068 seconds behind the Red Bull. The Ferraris sat only fifth and seventh after the opening runs.
Gabriel Bortoleto’s grid penalty left him free to help his teammate. With two minutes left, the Brazilian dropped back to tow Nico Hülkenberg down the back straight. The slipstream lifted the German to ninth, but late improvements pushed him down to 12th. Russell and Antonelli both went top on fresh softs before Leclerc snatched P1 with a 1:34.198. Verstappen finished fourth on used softs, ahead of Norris, Piastri and Hamilton.
The Racing Bulls pair saved their best for last. Lindblad and Lawson both found time on their final laps to snatch places in Q3, leaving Gasly just short in 11th. Bearman crossed the line 13th but lost his final lap to track limits, dropping him to 16th.
Out in Q2: Gasly, Hülkenberg, Bortoleto, Colapinto, Alonso, Bearman
Q3: Antonelli seizes pole for the 2026 F1 United States GP as Ferrari fall short
Liam Lawson climbed out of his Racing Bulls car before Qualifying 3 for the 2026 F1 United States GP began. The team had always planned for one driver to sit out if both made it through, saving tyres for Sunday. Russell led Antonelli out on new softs, while Hadjar reached Q3 on just one set of softs.
Antonelli took provisional pole on the first runs with a 1:34.035, built on a superb middle sector. Verstappen sat 0.179 seconds behind, with Hadjar third, just 0.036 seconds off his teammate. Leclerc was fourth, three tenths back, as Ferrari no longer looked like the team to beat. Russell and Hamilton sat fifth and sixth.
Lindblad stayed in the garage for the final runs. He finished ninth but will drop to 14th on the grid with his five-place penalty. Mercedes went out early once again, with Russell leading Antonelli onto the track.
Antonelli went purple in the middle sector before aborting his lap as he had a huge slide out of Turn 13, while Verstappen lost half a second in the same section. Nobody at the front improved, handing Antonelli pole for the 2026 F1 United States GP. Hamilton climbed to fifth behind Leclerc, while Norris lost a lap to track limits and dropped to eighth. Russell finished sixth, one place behind Hamilton, with Piastri seventh.
Antonelli will clinch the title on Sunday if he wins, with Russell ninth or lower and Hamilton fifth or lower.
