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United States Grand Prix Preview: Antonelli Leads the Pack to Austin

Round 18 arrives at Circuit of the Americas with Andrea Kimi Antonelli holding a commanding points lead.

circuit of the americas cota
Photo: Zach Catanzareti Photo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

At a glance

The 2026 United States Grand Prix is round 18 of the championship, held at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, USA.

Round
18
Circuit
Circuit of the AmericasAustin
Race start
Sun 25 Oct, 20:00 UTC

Can anyone stop Andrea Kimi Antonelli from tightening his grip on the title as Formula 1 arrives in Texas for round 18 of the 2026 season? The United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas brings us down the home straight of the year, with just five rounds remaining after the checkered flag falls on Sunday.

Weekend weather forecast, Austin
SessionLocal startWeatherTempRainWind
Practice 1 Practice 1Partly cloudy28°C0 mm / h14 km/h
Practice 2 Practice 2Clear29°C0 mm / h15 km/h
Practice 3 Practice 3Cloudy28°C0 mm / h17 km/h
Qualifying QualifyingPartly cloudy29°C0 mm / h17 km/h
Grand Prix Grand PrixCloudy27°C0 mm / 6 h13 km/h
Forecast as it stood when this post was published. Forecast: MET Norway, CC BY 4.0.

The Title Picture and Austin Form

Andrea Kimi Antonelli arrives at the Circuit of the Americas sitting on 340 points in the championship standings. George Russell trails his teammate by 102 points with 238, while Lewis Hamilton sits another nine points back on 229 for Ferrari. Max Verstappen holds fourth on 221 points, Charles Leclerc is fifth with 215, and Lando Norris rounds out the top six on 201. Further down the order, Oscar Piastri has 138 points, Isack Hadjar sits on 97, Liam Lawson on 75, and Pierre Gasly holds 41. Across the year so far, six different drivers have taken wins, led by Antonelli with eight, Russell with three, Verstappen with two, Norris with two, Hamilton with one, and Leclerc with one. In the constructors’ standings, Mercedes leads Ferrari by 134 points.

History here makes for interesting reading. Max Verstappen took victory at this circuit in 2025, 2023, 2022, and 2021 for Red Bull, meaning he has won four of the last six races held here. Charles Leclerc won for Ferrari in 2024, and Valtteri Bottas took the honors for Mercedes back in 2019.

Weather Outlook for the Weekend

The forecast points to dry conditions across all sessions for the rest of the weekend:

  • Practice 1 (Friday 17:30 UTC): 28°C, partly cloudy, wind 14 km/h
  • Practice 2 (Friday 21:00 UTC): 29°C, clear, wind 15 km/h
  • Practice 3 (Saturday 17:30 UTC): 28°C, cloudy, wind 17 km/h
  • Qualifying (Saturday 21:00 UTC): 29°C, partly cloudy, wind 17 km/h
  • Grand Prix (Sunday 20:00 UTC): 27°C, cloudy, wind 13 km/h

Practice 1 gets underway on Friday 23 October at 17:30 UTC.

Drivers' championship coming into the weekend
PosDriverWinsGapPts
1Andrea Kimi AntonelliMercedes8 wins8Leader340
2George RussellMercedes3 wins3102238
3Lewis HamiltonFerrari1 win1111229
4Max VerstappenRed Bull2 wins2119221
5Charles LeclercFerrari1 win1125215
6Lando NorrisMcLaren2 wins2139201
7Oscar PiastriMcLaren0 wins0202138
8Isack HadjarRed Bull0 wins024397
9Liam LawsonRed Bull0 wins026575
10Pierre GaslyAlpine0 wins029941
Recent winners at Circuit of the Americas
YearWinnerTeam
2025Max VerstappenRed Bull
2024Charles LeclercFerrari
2023Max VerstappenRed Bull
2022Max VerstappenRed Bull
2021Max VerstappenRed Bull
2019Valtteri BottasMercedes
United States Grand Prix Weekend preview 2026: top three were Andrea Kimi Antonelli, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton
Our results card. Free to share with a link back.

Timing data: Jolpica-F1. Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0). Charts and results card by Slip Stream GP.

Quick answers

When is the 2026 United States Grand Prix?

The race starts on Sunday 25 October 2026 at 20:00 UTC at Circuit of the Americas.

This report was written automatically with the help of AI (Google Gemini), from public timing data. Every number in the tables and charts comes straight from the data. Spotted a mistake? Tell me.

Last updated

Antonelli Circuit of the Americas Hamilton Mercedes Russell Verstappen

Pasindu Senavirathna

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