# Antonelli takes US GP pole with F1's youngest title in sight

> Kimi Antonelli starts the US Grand Prix on pole and can become F1's youngest champion if he wins and Hamilton and Russell finish low, BBC Sport says.

By Subhajit | 2026-10-25 | Sports | Savvy VibeZ
Web page: https://savvyvibez.com/post/antonelli-takes-us-gp-pole-with-f1-s-youngest-title-in-sight

Kimi Antonelli will start Sunday's United States Grand Prix from pole position, and a win in Austin could make him Formula 1's youngest world champion. The Mercedes driver beat Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.179 seconds in qualifying, according to BBC Sport. It was a surprise, since the Ferraris had topped all three practice sessions.

## What Antonelli needs in Austin

The BBC reports that the 20-year-old Italian becomes champion on Sunday only if he wins the race, Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton finishes lower than fourth and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell finishes lower than eighth. Hamilton qualified fifth and Russell sixth, so both start close enough to matter.

The maths still lean against it. Antonelli himself said it would take "something catastrophic to happen to the others," per the BBC. He leads Russell by 102 points and Hamilton by 111, with eight wins in 17 races and seven poles this season, so the title looks like a question of when and not if.

## The age record

On Sunday Antonelli will be 20 years and 61 days old. Sebastian Vettel holds the youngest-champion record, set at 23 years and 133 days when he won his first title in 2010, the BBC notes. A win would beat it by more than three years. An Antonelli title would also make him the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

## Who else is on the grid

Isack Hadjar was third, just 0.036 seconds behind Verstappen, with Charles Leclerc fourth and Hamilton fifth, 0.044 seconds back. Leclerc blamed tyre grip fading as the track cooled. Hamilton was realistic about the race, saying it is hard to overtake at the circuit even when you start second.

Russell said he made a couple of mistakes in the final session. Lando Norris was upset after his best lap was deleted for breaching track limits, and the fastest McLaren was still 0.768 seconds off pole. Arvid Lindblad takes a five-place grid penalty for using too many engine parts.

## Our take

This is analysis, not reporting. Pole helps, but Verstappen said his race pace has looked stronger than his qualifying, and Ferrari have a habit of being faster on Friday than on Sunday. We would not bet on the title being settled this weekend. Verstappen's own view, per the BBC, is that if it does not happen here, it will happen in Mexico City next weekend or Sao Paulo the weekend after.

Antonelli says he is enjoying himself more than usual and has friends around to play cards in the evenings. That sounds like a driver who has accepted the pressure and is not hiding from it.

Picture credit: Formula 1 (formula1.com)