Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli earns surprise pole for the US Grand Prix as he chases the F1 title

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Kimi Antonelli came to the United States Grand Prix with his eyes on a Formula 1 season championship getting closer with every race.

On Sunday at the Circuit of the Americas, he'll have the clearest view possible of the path to get there. And it could come fast.

Mercedes' championship leader earned a surprise pole position on Saturday, edging Red Bull's Max Verstappen. If he can turn that into a victory, and his closest rivals falter, the 20-year-old Italian could win the season title and become F1's youngest champion ever.

Verstappen was the favorite for pole. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton looked faster than Mercedes through all three practice sessions.

Then Antonelli put in a late-afternoon wonder lap at COTA to earn his first pole position since Belgium, a span of seven races..

“It was surprising,” Antonelli said. “I’m just going to try to do the best race I can, try to win and see what happens.”

The math for a season championship requires some help but achievable.

First he must win. If he does that, and Mercedes teammate George Russell finishes ninth or lower, and Hamilton finishes outside the top four, Antonelli will be champion.

Hamilton will start fourth, with Russell sixth.

“Just get a good start and see from there what we can do,” Antonelli said.

That's the first job. He'll be battling Verstappen into the first corner, an uphill, left turn switchback that can wreak havoc on the field and often does. Verstappen is likely to be his usual aggressive self into the first turn.

Verstappen is a four-time champion who has won four times at COTA. He also won the previous two races in Malaysia and Singapore and is trying to chase every victory he can in a season when the championship is out of reach.

Verstappen didn't offer Antonelli any advice about how to approach the race so close to the championship. He has won titles in seasons that went to the final laps, and others where he dominated.

“He doesn’t need that. He knows what he’s doing, If it doesn’t happen this weekend, it will happen next weekend, or the next weekend,” Verstappen said. “When it’s official, go celebrate.”

Antonelli's championship does appear inevitable as the season heads into the final six races.

Antonelli leads Russell by 102 points and Hamilton by 111. He built the large lead through the first half of a remarkably consistent season that included five wins in the first six races.

Russell and Hamilton will be trying to hang on Sunday to keep the championship going another week. Russell started the season as Mercedes' No. 1 driver. He won the first race but couldn't keep up.

“It’s a long race and a lot happens here in Austin," Russell told Sky Sports.

And Leclerc didn't count himself out of winning. He noted his victory at COTA in 2024 from the second row of the starting grid.

“I strongly believe we had the pace to be fighting at the front,” Leclerc said. "The last time I started from fourth here I won. I hope we can do the same tomorrow.”

The entire field struggled through all three practice sessions and qualifying to keep the cars on the track, enough so that it will be worth watching to see if any get warnings in Sunday’s race.

Race officials deleted more than 200 lap times across Friday's two practices. On Saturday, Leclerc lost a time that would have given him a clean sweep of all three sessions.

Cadillac’s American reserve driver Colton Herta took part in Friday practice to earn another point toward being licensed to race in F1 in hopes of joining the grid next season.

The team could give him more practice sessions over the next five races. He has at least 38 of the 40 license points required.

Herta left IndyCar this season to join the Formula 2 junior series to restart his goal of racing in Formula 1. If he is able to join Cadillac for next season — Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez are the team's current drivers — Herta would be the first American driver in F1 since Logan Sargeant, who was dropped by Williams in the middle of the 2024 season.

See AP’s full auto racing coverage here

Pole winner Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, center, of Italy, poses with second place qualifier Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, left, of the Netherlands, and third place qualifier Red Bull driver Yuki Isack Hadjar, of France, followiing qualifying for the Formula One United States Grand Prix auto race in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (Dustin Safranek/Pool Photo via AP)

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car into a turn during the third practice session for the Formula One United States Grand Prix auto race in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli, of Italy, poses for a photo after winning the pole position for the Formula One United States Grand Prix auto race in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (Dustin Safranek/Pool Photo via AP)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car out of a turn during the first practice session for the Formula One United States Grand Prix auto race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli of Italy prepares for the second practice session for the Formula One United States Grand Prix auto race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Vryn)

Saudi Arabia reopened its main airport for international flights, more than two weeks after deadly strikes by Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels knocked the facility out of service. Earlier Sunday, the kingdom said it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile and a drone fired by the Houthis.

Meanwhile, a massive Israeli military operation underway this weekend in the occupied West Bank — in response to an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three in Hebron on Friday — has displaced hundreds of Palestinians over the weekend and put major restrictions on Palestinian movement.

It comes just days ahead of Israel's tense election on Tuesday, a vote widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the wars and the hard-right turn Israel has taken both domestically and on the world stage.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Sunday. Read our full coverage here.

The King Khalid International Airport said it has opened terminals 1 and 2 for domestic and international flights, starting Sunday.

The airport announcement came as the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen continued to fire drones and missiles toward the Saudi capital.

Saudi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said they intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile and a drone fired by the Houthis early on Sunday.

In early October, Houthi strikes hit a complex housing two other terminals, killing 17 people and wounding over 330.

Last week, the Riyadh airport opened to limited domestic flights.

The Israeli military carried out a massive military operation in the occupied West Bank over the weekend, displacing hundreds of Palestinians and placing major restrictions on Palestinian movement.

The operations came in response to an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday.

The operation comes as Israel enters the final days before a tense election, the first since the 2023 Hamas-led attacks and ensuing wars in the region.

The vote is largely seen as a referendum on current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership and security policies during the past three years of war.

The Israeli military announced early Sunday that most Palestinian workers with permits will not be allowed to enter Israeli communities for work in the occupied West Bank on Sunday and Monday, and several crossings will also remain closed until after Israel’s elections on Tuesday.

The AID Coalition, a U.S.-based nonprofit focused on strengthening Israel’s democracy, says tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad are expected to fly in for the vote.

Israeli law generally requires citizens to vote in person in the country, with narrow exceptions for diplomats and certain official emissaries abroad.

Israel has more than 7.3 million registered voters, but polling suggests a tight race. Previous elections have turned on thin margins. It’s unclear what effect these voters from abroad might have, but many liberal Israelis who don’t support Netanyahu have left the country in recent years, suggesting that those returning to cast ballots would not support him.

Iran’s foreign minister vowed on Sunday that new threats of war will not budge Iran from its policies.

“Today, again war is being spoken about, but I am thinking about post-war status, whether a war occurs or not, our policies will remain in place,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a group of diplomats in Tehran.

He also warned the U.S. against renewing strikes on Iran and repeated past statements that Tehran is ready to cooperate with neighboring Arab nations in the Persian Gulf.

“Everything has changed in our region," he said. "After the recent war, nothing will be like the past.”

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

A demonstrator wearing a mask depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends an anti-government rally ahead of the country's general election, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A demonstrator wearing a mask depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends an anti-government protest ahead of Israel's general election, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Saudi-led coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki speaks during a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Baraa Anwer)