Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes won qualifying for the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin and will start from pole position on Sunday. He finished 0.179 s ahead of Max Verstappen and could seal the world championship in Texas.
The Italian set a time of 1:34.035 in the first run in Q3. As GrandPrix.com reports, he improved on his Q2 result by almost a quarter of a second. Verstappen recorded 1:34.214, and third was Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull (1:34.250). The gap between the two Red Bull drivers was just 0.036 s.
Qualifying: Ferrari without pole
Charles Leclerc is fourth and Lewis Hamilton fifth. Ferrari was the fastest team in practice but lost its pace in qualifying, as The Race describes. Both Red Bull drivers lost their second Q3 laps for exceeding track limits at Turn 19. However, this would not have changed their positions.
George Russell, Antonelli’s teammate and his only rival in the standings with a realistic chance, will start from sixth. According to Autosport, this is Antonelli’s seventh pole position of the season and his first since the summer break.
What must happen for him to become champion
Before the race, Antonelli leads the standings with 340 points. Russell has 238, Hamilton 229, Verstappen 221, Leclerc 215, and Norris 201 (ESPN). Antonelli’s lead over Russell is 102 points.
The Italian must win Sunday’s race. In addition, Russell must finish ninth or lower, and Hamilton fifth or lower, as Sky Sports reports. In that case, his lead would exceed 124 points, with five rounds left in the season. After a win, Antonelli would have 365 points.
The title would also set a record. Antonelli is 20 years old and would become the youngest champion in F1 history, surpassing Sebastian Vettel’s 2010 achievement.
Start and race
The race is 56 laps long. The first test will be the run to the first corner, where Verstappen and Hadjar could attack the leader. After taking pole, Antonelli said: „We have pole, so we will try to win tomorrow,” as quoted by F1 Fansite.
What it means
For Polish fans, the race in Austin could be the moment the championship is decided. The start is on Sunday, 25 October, in the evening Polish time. If Antonelli does not meet the conditions, the title fight will move on to the next round in Mexico.
