Antonelli takes pole, Wolff does not see a realistic title chance

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli produced a superb lap in the third part of qualifying at the Amerika Grand Prix to get ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen. It is the Italian's first pole position since the Belgian Grand Prix in July. Nobody expected Antonelli to end up at the top of the timesheets.

If Antonelli wins Sunday's race and Lewis Hamilton finishes fifth or lower and George Russell ninth or lower, he would secure the 2026 championship with five races still to go. Hamilton will start fifth and Russell sixth. The race gets underway at Circuit of the Americas at 20:00 and can be watched live on Sky Sports F1 and the Main Event channels.

Toto Wolff, however, thinks this scenario is not realistic. The team boss said Mercedes did not have enough pace in the long runs during Friday's practice sessions and that they are not the fastest car in the race. According to Wolff, the team's focus for now is to score points and then, if possible, win the race.