United States Grand Prix qualifying results: Kimi Antonelli inches closer to a title

(Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images AUSTIN, Texas — Kimi Antonelli has taken pole position for the United States Grand Prix, and inched closer to a maiden Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.Read on for how the qualifying hour unfolded.AUSTIN, Texas — Lewis Hamilton topped the timing sheets in the final hour of practice before qualifying for the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, ahead of Max Verstappen and teammate Charles Leclerc. And with Leclerc having led the way during both FP1 and FP2, is a Ferrari pole in the future here in Austin?Or will Verstappen, or another of Ferrari’s rivals, steal their thunder?Ferrari brought an upgrade package to the United States Grand Prix, one that Leclerc described as a “small step in the right direction” to SB Nation and the rest of the assembled media during his availability on Thursday. But while Leclerc cautioned that he did not “expect anything hugely significant” from the new components, results from the first three hours of practice indicate that Ferrari is indeed firmly in the mix for Saturday’s qualifying session.But Verstappen and the rest of the grid are always lurking.Qualifying gets underway at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, and we will be following all the action live both here and on the brand-new SB Nation app. So follow along and join in the conversation in the F1 Community!USGP provisional starting gridHere is the provisional starting grid for the United States Grand Prix, which will be filled in as the hour unfolds.RowPositionDriverTeamPositionDriverTeamRow 11Kimi AntonelliMercedes2Max VerstappenRed BullRow 23Isack HadjarRed Bull4Charles LeclercFerrariRow 35Lewis HamiltonFerrari6George RussellMercedesRow 47Oscar PiastriMcLaren8Lando NorrisMcLarenRow 59Arvid LindbladVCARB10Liam LawsonVCARBRow 611Pierre GaslyAlpine12Nico HülkenbergAudiRow 713Gabriel BortoletoAudi14Franco ColapintoAlpineRow 815Fernando AlonsoAston Martin16Oliver BearmanHaasRow 917Esteban OconHaas18Lance StrollAston MartinRow 1019Carlos SainzWilliams20Alex AlbonWilliamsRow 1121Sergio PérezCadillac22Valtteri BottasCadillacNote: Lindblad, Colapinto, and Bortoleto are facing grid drops due to changed components. USGP qualifying: How it happenedHere is how the qualifying hour unfolded. All updates are in track time (U.S. Central Time).Q35:01: They cannot catch him.Kimi Antonelli has taken pole position for the United States Grand Prix, and moved one step closer to the title.4:56: Cars are roaring out for the final push laps of qualifying here in Austin.4:55: Even sitting on provisional pole, Antonelli reports he is “struggling” into Turn 1. 4:52: Oh hello. Antonelli! He’s on provisional pole after the first set of laps in Q3.Remember, with a win and results elsewhere, he could mathematically clinch the title tomorrow …4:48: Q3 underway. Lawson has climbed out of his car. With Lindblad in P9, Lawson will at least start ninth, and VCARB probably does not think he can get much higher than that so they’ll save some tires for tomorrow.4:43: Leclerc, Antonelli, Russell, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Hamilton, Hadjar, Lindblad, and Lawson are the ten through to Q3. Q24:40: Lawson finds the lap he needs to advance. Gasly, Hülkenberg, Bearman, Bortoleto, Colapinto, and Alonso out at the end of Q2. 4:39: Verstappen, Norris, and Hadjar are still in the garage, looks like they’re satisfied with what they have done in Q2. 4:38: Final push laps of Q2 underway.4:35: Reminder that three of those drivers — Lindblad, Colapinto, and Bortoleto — are facing big grid drops.4:34: Five minutes left in Q2. Lindblad, Gasly, Colapinto, Bearman, Alonso, and Bortoleto the six at the bottom. 4:32: Some times are coming in. Verstappen leads the way with a 1:34.471, followed by Norris with a 1:34.539.4:30: Bortoleto asking for the gap to Hülkenberg, sounds like he wants to give his teammate a tow so Hülkenberg can get into Q3, while Bortoleto is facing a massive grid penalty.4:26: Hearing some power units roaring right now. Hamilton, Bortoleto, and Leclerc among those headed out. 4:25: Green light, 15 minutes on the clock, Q2 underway here in Austin. Quiet on pit lane to start. 4:23: Alonso did make it to Q2 but … since his car was on fire at the end of Q1 we will wait to see if he takes to the track for Q2. 4:22: Ocon, Piastri, Russell, Antonelli, and Colapinto will be investigated after the session for failure to follow race director instructions (maximum delta time).4:21: Norris, Leclerc, Verstappen, Hadjar, Hamilton, Antonelli, Bortoleto, Lawson, Hülkenberg, Russell, Lindblad, Piastri, Colapinto, Gasly, Bearman, and Alonso are the 16 through to Q2, in that order.Q14:20: Ocon, Stroll, Sainz, Albon, Pérez, and Bottas are the six drivers out.4:18: Gasly has been shown a black-and-white flag for driving too slowly.4:18: Clock hits zero. Stroll, Sainz, Ocon, Albon, Pérez, and Bottas in the bottom. Norris jumps to P1 with a fantastic lap at the end of Q1.4:17: Closing in on the end of Q1. Gasly on a push lap and looks like he’ll find the time he needs to get through to Q2.4:14: Under four minutes to go in Q1. Colapinto, Ocon, Albon, Pérez, Bottas, and Gasly the bottom six. Gasly had a lap time deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 9. 4:12: Five minutes left in Q1 and your top ten are: Leclerc, Verstappen, Hadjar, Hamilton, Norris, Lawson, Piastri, Bortoleto (who is facing a massive grid drop), Hülkenberg, and Antonelli.4:10: Hadjar reporting that he is lacking grip in Turns 7 and 11.4:09: Russell told to do a double cool-down. 4:08: Hamilton pumps in a 1:35.355 and the team tells him he is “safe,” and that he can come in. Ferrari seemingly confident right now. 4:06: Bearman is being told to “ignore” his left rear tire temp. Take that for what it is worth, which is, admittedly, not much without any context to consider. 4:05: Leclerc sets a new benchmark with a 1:35.200. Ocon, Alonso, Bearman, and Stroll round out this very, very early top five. 4:04: Some early times have come in and Bearman has set a benchmark of 1:37.254.4:02: Several drivers have already taken to the track including Leclerc and Hamilton.4:00: Green light here in Austin, and Q1 is underway. 3:56: Q1 is now just four minutes away and counting. Race officials note that the “track surface is slippery in track Sector 2.” So do with that what you will.3:44: We are just about 15 minutes away from Q1. Here at the track the air temperature is 29.9 degrees Celsius (85.8 degrees Fahrenheit) with a track temperature of 41.3 degrees Celsius (106.3 degrees Fahrenheit). There is very little wind (what there is will be a headwind into Turn 1) and absolutely no rain in the forecast.