US Grand Prix 2026 predictions: Kimi Antonelli can win the world title in Austin on Sunday 25 October. We don’t think he will. Our three calls: 1) Max Verstappen wins. 2) Antonelli doesn’t win, so the title waits for Mexico. 3) The brave one: Isack Hadjar makes it two Red Bulls on the podium. Our podium: Verstappen, Antonelli, Hadjar. We’ll grade this prediction after the race. Prediction record: 0/0 (our first card).
Why: Verstappen won the last two Grands Prix from pole (the Bahrain GP in Malaysia at Sepang, and Singapore) and four of the last five US Grands Prix in Austin (2021, 2022, 2023, 2025). Antonelli leads George Russell by 102 points (340 to 238) and can only clinch in Austin by winning. Toto Wolff, asked whether Mercedes’ Sepang upgrade had delivered: “I don’t think so yet.” Hadjar finished third in Baku and qualified third at Sepang, ahead of both Mercedes (1:35.558 to Antonelli’s 1:35.631 and Russell’s 1:35.871).
Tell us your podium in the comments.
More F1 stories: https://www.thesecondgrid.com
Sources (as of 21-22 Oct 2026): formula1.com results, qualifying, standings and driver pages (2026 rounds 1-17); formula1.com 2026 US GP schedule; Motorsport.com, Toto Wolff on the Mercedes upgrade (11 Oct 2026); Autosport, “How can Antonelli become F1 world champion at the US GP” (11 Oct 2026); Wikipedia, 2021-2025 United States Grand Prix.
Track map: Circuit of the Americas centreline from bacinger/f1-circuits (MIT licence), drawn by The Second Grid – an illustration.
Footage: FORMULA 1 (2026 Singapore GP qualifying, Sprint and race highlights; 2026 Bahrain GP in Malaysia race and qualifying highlights; 2026 Azerbaijan GP race highlights; 2025 United States GP Sprint highlights).
Music and sound design: original, The Second Grid.
#F1 #USGP #Verstappen #Formula1
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