OFFICIAL GRID: Kimi Antonelli wins pole as Verstappen starts alongside for 2026 United States Grand Prix

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Kimi Antonelli will begin the 2026 United States Grand Prix from pole position at Austin, with Max Verstappen starting alongside him on the front row. The second of the front-row battle slots comes with Red Bull’s Verstappen joined by team mate Isack Hadjar in third place on the grid.

Charles Leclerc starts fourth for Ferrari, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in fifth and sixth respectively. The starting order sets up a decisive run for the title in Austin, with Hamilton in Ferrari’s other car and Russell alongside the Mercedes title contender.

The next portion of the grid is led by an all-McLaren fourth row: Oscar Piastri starts seventh and reigning World Champion Lando Norris lines up eighth. Liam Lawson, driving for Racing Bull, begins ninth, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly completes the top 10 in 10th.

One of the notable grid disruptions comes from Racing Bull driver Arvid Lindlad. Although he qualified ninth, Lindlad will start from P14 after receiving a power unit (PU) penalty.

Further down the order, grid drops are also confirmed for Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto after both took on new PU components. Colapinto will start 20th, while Bortoleto starts 21st.

There is also a pit-lane start for Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. He will begin the race from the pit lane following PU and set-up changes after Qualifying.

The 2026 United States Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 15:00 local time.

With the grid now set, Mercedes’ pole-sitter Antonelli will lead the field into the first phase of the race in Austin, followed by Verstappen and the rest of the official starting order as announced for the event.