'It's not going to be easy': Antonelli on chances of winning in Austin after surprise pole

Austin: Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli said he will face a challenge from Red Bull at the United States Grand Prix on Sunday after taking a surprise pole in qualifying here in Austin.

Antonelli beat Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.179 seconds to top the Q3 timesheets, posting 1m.34.035s for his seventh pole of the season at the Circuit of the Americas. He has a chance to script history in Austin by becoming the youngest-ever F1 champion, and he not only needs a win of his own but also a few results to go his way.

With Red Bull and Ferrari posing a challenge in Austin, even a race win for Antonelli is not straightforward, as Verstappen and his teammate Isack Hadjar start behind the title leader.

Antonelli was pleased with the qualifying but rather knew that it won't be easy to win the race. “I’m very happy. It was a good qualifying. Having a clean run helped to build momentum. We didn’t make mistakes, and I’m very happy with that.

“I felt good in the car, especially in Q3. It was tricky with the wind because the balance was changing quite a lot from corner to corner, but that last lap was looking good.

“I pushed a little bit more and just lost it, which was a shame, but still very happy with the result and looking forward to tomorrow.”

The 20-year-old Italian admitted the challenge he is set to face from the two Red Bulls behind at the start. “We’ll try to win,” he explained. “Hopefully we’ll get off the line well, and then hopefully we can set the pace and win the race, but it’s not going to be easy.

“Red Bull and Max have been very strong, and also Isack has been up there in Qualifying. It’s not going to be easy out there, but we’re ready to do our best.”

Antonelli has a first chance to win his maiden F1 title in Austin and break Sebastian Vettel's record for being the youngest F1 champion. For that, he not only needs a win of his own but also would hope that teammate George Russell finishes ninth or lower and Lewis Hamilton ends up outside the top four.

That would guarantee him the F1 2026 title with five more races to go after the US GP, or else his challengers will live to fight for another day, but the writing is on the wall with Antonelli having a 102-point gap from his nearest rival, Russell, as of now, and only 150 points remain on offer in all six races scheduled.

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