Kimi Antonelli beat Max Verstappen to pole position for the United States Grand Prix, boosting his chances of sealing a maiden world championship in Sunday's race. The 20-year-old Mercedes driver is all but certain to become Formula 1's youngest ever champion, but could clinch the title with five rounds to spare if he wins in Austin and other results go his way.
It was perhaps the most unlikely of Antonelli's seven poles this season. He came from nowhere in Q3 to surge ahead of Verstappen, who had appeared for most of the weekend to be battling Ferrari for the front-row positions. Antonelli's pole time of 1:34.035s was 0.179s faster than Verstappen's.
Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar matched his best qualifying result in third, leaving Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton a disappointing fourth and fifth. George Russell will start sixth and needs to finish in the top eight to ensure Antonelli can't be crowned champion if he wins. Hamilton would also need to finish fifth or lower in that scenario.
"We got pole, so we will try to win tomorrow," Antonelli said. "Max has been very quick and Isack did an incredible job, so it won't be easy. Q3 was very tough with the wind. Very gusty and unpredictable, but happy to put it on pole."
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing