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Kimi Antonelli wins 2026 US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas

Mercedes driver secures victory in Austin ahead of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar

By , Editor

· 2 min read

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

Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Formula One United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The Mercedes driver finished ahead of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar in the race results.

Key takeaways

  • Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas
  • Max Verstappen finished second and Isack Hadjar third
  • Antonelli started from pole position in qualifying
  • Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth and fifth

Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Formula One United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. depor.com reported the full race results and standings after the event. The Mercedes driver took the chequered flag ahead of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.

Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes took pole position at the United States Grand Prix, where he could wrap up his maiden F1 world championship. Antonelli needed to win Sunday’s race if he wanted to clinch the world championship this time around, along with other results going his way. History tells us that qualifying is extremely important at Circuit Of The Americas, with 11 of the 13 races at the Texas track so far having been won by a driver starting on the front row. Antonelli’s lap time saw him claim pole by 0.179 seconds ahead of Red Bull star Max Verstappen, with Isack Hadjar in third also putting on a strong showing. After topping all three practice sessions, it was disappointment for Ferrari when it came to the times that mattered, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton only good enough for P4 and P5. George Russell started sixth as his ultra-thin title chances were about to be ended, while McLaren also had a tough afternoon in Austin, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris down in P7 and P8. The Racing Bulls duo of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson rounded out the top 10, the former set for a grid penalty ahead of Sunday’s race, and the latter failing to set a time in Q3.

There are a couple of changes to the way qualifying works this year, not quite as sweeping as the new technical regulations most drivers and fans hate so much. Firstly, there are now 22 cars on the grid, so instead of five cars exiting after Q1 and Q2, six are eliminated. That still leaves 10 for the pole shootout in Q3. The other notable change lies in the timings - Q3 now gets an extra minute and lasts for 13 rather than 12.

The Circuit of the Americas hosted the inaugural United States Grand Prix at the venue in 2012, when Lewis Hamilton won for McLaren. The 2023 United States Grand Prix was the eighteenth round of the 2023 Formula One World Championship and the fifth Grand Prix weekend of the season to utilise the sprint format. The 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix was the sixteenth round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship.

The next round of the 2026 Formula One World Championship follows the United States Grand Prix. depor.com published the full race results and standings after the Austin event.

2026 US Grand Prix qualifying front row

Position

Driver

Team

Gap to pole

1

Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

--

2

Max Verstappen

Red Bull

0.179 seconds

3

Isack Hadjar

Racing Bulls

--

4

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

--

5

Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

--

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