Where will Verstappen, Hamilton, Norris and Bortoleto start the US GP?

News Summary

• Max Verstappen starts the 2026 United States Grand Prix from second, alongside pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli, who beat the Red Bull driver by 0.179 seconds in qualifying.
• Lewis Hamilton starts fifth for Ferrari and Lando Norris eighth for McLaren, after the British driver lost his fastest Q3 lap for exceeding track limits.
• Gabriel Bortoleto starts 22nd and last for Audi, despite qualifying 13th, after power-unit component changes triggered a back-of-grid penalty.

Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Gabriel Bortoleto will start the 2026 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix from second, fifth, eighth and 22nd respectively, following Saturday’s (October 24) qualifying session and the application of three power-unit-related grid penalties at Circuit of The Americas.

Kimi Antonelli secured pole position with a lap of 1min34s035, beating Verstappen by 0.179 seconds. Isack Hadjar qualified third for Red Bull, while Charles Leclerc will start fourth ahead of Hamilton. Norris was relegated to eighth after losing his fastest Q3 lap for exceeding track limits, while Bortoleto’s hopes of a midfield start were ended by Audi’s decision to introduce additional power-unit components.

Where will Verstappen, Hamilton, Norris and Bortoleto start in Austin?

The four drivers face considerably different challenges in Sunday’s 56-lap race, with Verstappen positioned to attack Antonelli immediately at the start and Bortoleto forced to recover from the back of the field.

Qualifying times are taken from each driver’s final qualifying segment. Bortoleto’s time was recorded in Q2, while the other three times were set in Q3.

Verstappen and Hamilton are separated by just 0.097 seconds on their fastest qualifying laps, although Hadjar and Leclerc will start between them. Norris, meanwhile, faces a recovery drive after McLaren struggled to match Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.

The complete starting order has also been affected by penalties imposed on Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad. Those sanctions have promoted several midfield drivers, including Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly and Nico Hülkenberg.

Verstappen starts second as Red Bull targets another F1 victory

Max Verstappen will start the United States Grand Prix alongside Antonelli on the front row, giving the Dutchman an opportunity to challenge for the lead immediately into Turn 1.

Verstappen recorded a lap of 1min34s214 in Q3, finishing 0.179 seconds behind the Mercedes driver. The result reinforces Red Bull’s recent improvement after the team returned to winning form during the second half of the season, including victories in Malaysia and Singapore.

The Dutchman reported difficulties with grip during qualifying, but still managed to secure his place on the front row. His teammate Hadjar also delivered an impressive result, qualifying third and giving Red Bull two cars inside the top three.

Antonelli acknowledged the threat posed by both Red Bull drivers after qualifying.

“Max has been very quick, and also Isack did an incredible job in Qualifying,” Antonelli said. “It’s not going to be easy but we’ll try to get a good start and hopefully lead into Turn 1, and then we’ll try to set the pace, even though it’s going to be very tight.”

The opening corner at Circuit of The Americas offers a particularly important overtaking opportunity. The circuit climbs sharply from the start-finish straight towards a wide, uphill left-hander, allowing drivers to adopt different lines under braking.

For Verstappen, a strong launch could provide an opportunity to take the lead before Antonelli establishes his preferred race pace. However, Hadjar’s presence immediately behind creates an additional strategic dimension for Red Bull, particularly if the front-running cars remain closely matched over the opening stint.

Hamilton starts fifth after Ferrari fails to convert Austin practice pace

Lewis Hamilton will start fifth, immediately behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, after the Italian manufacturer failed to convert its promising practice performance into pole position.

Ferrari had appeared to be the team to beat during much of the weekend. Leclerc topped both Friday practice sessions, while Hamilton led Saturday’s FP3 with a lap of 1min34s893, raising expectations that Ferrari could secure its first Grand Prix pole of the 2026 season.

However, Mercedes and Red Bull found additional performance when qualifying reached Q3. Hamilton’s fastest lap of 1min34s311 left him 0.276 seconds behind Antonelli, with Leclerc 0.232 seconds off pole.

The seven-time world champion will start on the third row alongside George Russell, while Leclerc begins fourth beside Hadjar.

The qualifying result was particularly disappointing given the pace Ferrari had demonstrated earlier in the weekend. Antonelli ultimately denied Verstappen pole as Ferrari’s Austin qualifying hopes collapsed, leaving the Italian team to pursue its first victory of the season from the second and third rows.

Hamilton nevertheless remains close enough to the front to challenge for a podium if Ferrari can reproduce its long-run performance. The opening laps will be important, particularly with Russell alongside him and the two Red Bulls ahead.

Norris starts eighth after McLaren driver loses fastest Q3 lap

Lando Norris will start eighth for McLaren, four positions behind Leclerc and six behind Verstappen, after a difficult qualifying session that included the deletion of his fastest lap for exceeding track limits.

Norris initially appeared to have secured sixth place with a lap of 1min34s379, but the time was removed because the British driver exceeded the permitted track boundaries. His next-best legal lap of 1min35s049 left him eighth, immediately behind teammate Oscar Piastri.

The penalty proved particularly costly because Norris had been competitive enough to challenge Russell and Hamilton for a starting position on the third row. Instead, the McLaren driver will begin the race behind both Ferraris, both Red Bulls and both Mercedes cars.

Piastri starts seventh, having recorded a lap of 1min34s803. The Australian was 0.768 seconds behind Antonelli, while Norris’ best remaining legal lap left him 1.014 seconds away from pole.

The result highlights McLaren’s difficulties in Austin, particularly compared with its performance earlier in the championship. Both drivers face a challenge to return to podium contention, with the opening laps and tyre strategy likely to influence their recovery opportunities.

Bortoleto starts last despite qualifying 13th for Audi

Gabriel Bortoleto will start 22nd and last, despite qualifying 13th with a lap of 1min35s691 in Q2, following Audi’s decision to introduce additional power-unit components during the United States Grand Prix weekend.

The Brazilian initially received a 20-place grid penalty after Audi exceeded the permitted allocation of energy stores and control electronics units. Further component replacements increased the accumulated sanctions, triggering the regulations that require him to start from the back.

Bortoleto’s qualifying result had offered encouragement for Audi. Although he missed Q3, he qualified ahead of Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Haas driver Oliver Bearman, demonstrating sufficient pace to compete with several midfield rivals.

However, the component changes mean Bortoleto must start behind all 21 other drivers, transforming Sunday’s race into a recovery effort rather than a straightforward battle for points from the midfield.

His teammate Nico Hülkenberg starts 11th after recording a lap of 1min35s158 in Q2, giving Audi a considerably stronger starting position with its other car.

Colapinto will line up directly ahead of Bortoleto in 21st following his own ten-place grid penalty, while Arvid Lindblad drops to 14th after Racing Bulls exceeded its internal-combustion engine allocation.

The circumstances behind the three sanctions, along with a complete table of qualifying times and penalties, are detailed in GRANDE PRÊMIO’s report on the revised United States Grand Prix starting grid.

Full 2026 United States Grand Prix starting grid

The starting order below incorporates the penalties applied to Bortoleto, Colapinto and Lindblad, as published in Formula 1’s starting-grid classification.

Times are taken from each driver’s final qualifying segment. Lawson did not set a Q3 time. Bortoleto’s accumulated power-unit penalties require him to start at the back of the grid.

What time does the United States Grand Prix start today?

The 2026 United States Grand Prix begins at 15:00 local time in Austin on Sunday, October 25, with the drivers completing 56 laps of the 5.513km Circuit of The Americas.

Fans in the United Kingdom should be aware that the clocks moved back one hour on Sunday morning, meaning the race starts at 20:00 GMT rather than 21:00 BST. The full explanation is available in GRANDE PRÊMIO’s UK-specific Austin race-time guide.

Indian viewers will see the race begin at 01:30 IST on Monday, with streaming information available in the dedicated Indian start-time and live-streaming guide.

GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas this weekend, with breaking news, full coverage and real-time updates in its Formula 1 section.