2026 United States Grand Prix Qualifying Review

Linus O'Howell

2 hours ago

2 min read

After three practice sessions, who would come out on top in Qualifying around one of the best circuits in the world, the Circuit of the Americas?!

Q1

In Qualifying 1, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, and Valtteri Bottas were the six slowest drivers! Both Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll were comfortably slower than their teammates, whilst Carlos Sainz once again outqualified Alex Albon as Williams were nowhere! They were still clear of Cadillac, however, with Sergio Perez less than a tenth clear of Valtteri Bottas! Lando Norris topped Q1 for McLaren, with Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari in behind!

Q2

In Qualifying 2, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto, Fernando Alonso, and Oliver Bearman all failed to make it into the Top 10 shootout! Pierre Gasly was unlucky to miss out on a Q3 appearance by just 22 thousandths of a second, whilst Nico Hulkenberg was over 5 tenths clear of Audi teammate Gabriel Bortoleto (who will serve a grid penalty)! Franco Colapinto will also start from the back, meaning Fernando Alonso gets promoted up to starting 12th for Aston Martin, whilst Oliver Bearman ended up slowest in Q2 after getting his final lap time deleted for track limits! Leclerc was on top in Q2, less than a tenth clear of Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli!

Q3

In Qualifying 3, a 1:34.035 was enough for Andrea Kimi Antonelli to take his first Pole Position since July! Whilst Kimi Antonelli still needs a lot to go his way in order to win the World Championship today, Kimi is in prime position to add to his win total for the year! Max Verstappen will start alongside Antonelli on the front row, despite a frustrating Q3, whilst Isack Hadjar will start behind his teammate in a Red Bull 2-3! Despite topping all 3 practice sessions, Ferrari flopped once again, with Charles Leclerc half a tenth clear of Lewis Hamilton, whilst George Russell will only start from 6th after going slower in Q3 than he did in Q2! McLaren had a bit of a shocker, with Oscar Piastri outqualifying Lando Norris (due to Lando exceeding track limits), whilst Racing Bulls managed to get both cars into Q3, with only Arvid Lindblad doing a lap in the final session as Liam Lawson sat it out!