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F1 2026 United States Grand Prix starting grid set after three penalties

Kimi Antonelli takes pole position ahead of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar at Circuit of The Americas.

By , Sports writer

· 2 min read

Kimi Antonelli
Kimi Antonelli (file photo) Photo: Kuyper / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Three grid penalties have reshuffled the starting order for the 2026 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at COTA. Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad all lose positions.

Key takeaways

  • Kimi Antonelli starts from pole position in the Mercedes
  • Gabriel Bortoleto starts last after a 60-place penalty
  • Franco Colapinto drops to 21st and Arvid Lindblad to 14th
  • Antonelli will be crowned F1's youngest-ever world champion on Sunday if he wins with Lewis Hamilton lower than fourth and George Russell lower than eighth

Kimi Antonelli starts from pole position for the 2026 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas, Crash.net reported. The Mercedes driver heads Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar on the front row after three grid penalties changed the starting order for Sunday's race in Austin.

Explainer

Antonelli is joined on the front row by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, according to Crash.net. Isack Hadjar lines up third in the other Red Bull, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in fourth and Lewis Hamilton in fifth. George Russell starts sixth in the second Mercedes, ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

When and where is it?

The race takes place at Circuit of The Americas in Austin. The qualifying session happened on Saturday, October 24, Grande Prêmio reported.

Who is taking part?

The grid includes drivers from Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Racing Bulls, Alpine, Audi, Aston Martin, Haas, Williams and Cadillac. Liam Lawson starts ninth for Racing Bulls despite a penalty for team-mate Arvid Lindblad, The Race reported.

How does it work?

Three drivers received power-unit-related grid penalties after qualifying. Gabriel Bortoleto will start at the very back of the grid after being hit with a 60-place penalty, Crash.net reported. Franco Colapinto starts 21st following a ten-place penalty, and Arvid Lindblad falls to 14th after a five-place sanction, Grande Prêmio reported.

Bortoleto drops to 22nd after additional Audi component changes

— Grande Prêmio

Why it matters

Antonelli will be crowned F1's youngest-ever world champion on Sunday if he wins with Lewis Hamilton lower than fourth and George Russell lower than eighth, Crash.net reported. It is his seventh pole position of the 2026 season and his first since July, The Race reported.

What happens next

The race is held on Sunday at Circuit of The Americas.

2026 United States Grand Prix starting grid

Position

Driver

Team

1

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

2

Max Verstappen

Red Bull

3

Isack Hadjar

Red Bull

4

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

5

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

6

George Russell

Mercedes

7

Oscar Piastri

McLaren

8

Lando Norris

McLaren

9

Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

10

Pierre Gasly

Alpine

11

Nico Hulkenberg

Audi

12

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

Background

The United States Grand Prix has been held on and off since 1908 and has taken place every year at Circuit of The Americas in Austin since 2012, except in 2020, Wikipedia reported. Bortoleto qualified 14th for Audi but will start last after the team fitted a new internal combustion engine, turbocharger, exhaust, MGU-K and power unit ancillary component, Crash.net reported.

Sources

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