Races › Round 18
2026 United States Grand Prix
Circuit of the Americas, Austin, USA · Oct 23 – Oct 25
Weekend schedule (your local time)
| Session | Starts |
|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Fri, Oct 23, 05:30 PM UTC |
| Practice 2 | Fri, Oct 23, 09:00 PM UTC |
| Practice 3 | Sat, Oct 24, 05:30 PM UTC |
| Qualifying | Sat, Oct 24, 09:00 PM UTC |
| Grand Prix | Sun, Oct 25, 08:00 PM UTC |
Austin preview: Antonelli's first shot at the title
The big one: Kimi Antonelli can be crowned world champion this weekend. The Mercedes driver leaves Singapore on 340 points, 102 clear of teammate George Russell (238). Lewis Hamilton is third on 229, with Max Verstappen (221) and Charles Leclerc (215) close behind.
How the maths works. After Austin there are five races left, and with no sprints remaining, the most anyone can score is 5 × 25 = 125 points. If Antonelli leaves Austin more than 125 points ahead of everyone, the title is his. In practice he needs to outscore Russell by about 24 points on Sunday, and Hamilton by about 15. A win with Russell off the podium would probably do it. A tie on points is settled by number of wins, and Antonelli has the most this season. How the championship is decided →
Verstappen is the wildcard. He won Singapore from lights to flag, and Red Bull have closed to within a handful of points of McLaren in the fight for third in the constructors’ standings. If he wins again in Austin, Antonelli’s job gets harder. Every point Verstappen takes is one fewer for the Mercedes pair.
What new fans should watch at COTA:
- Turn 1. A steep uphill climb into a wide hairpin. Drivers take very different lines into it, so expect chaos and overtakes on lap 1.
- The long back straight. This is where you’ll see 2026’s Overtake Mode and Boost at work. Watch for a chasing car suddenly closing in. What’s Overtake Mode? →
- Track limits. COTA’s wide kerbs tempt drivers to run wide. Lap times get deleted in qualifying, and penalties can follow on Sunday. Penalties explained →
New here? What each session means
Three practice sessions let teams fine-tune their cars. Saturday's qualifying decides the starting order, and the Grand Prix is where the points are scored.If you only watch one thing, watch the race. If you watch two, add qualifying.
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