2026 U.S. Grand Prix: F1 schedule and title fight

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli arrives at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, leading the 2026 Formula 1 championship by 102 points and with a chance to wrap up the title this weekend. The U.S. Grand Prix, the 18th of 23 rounds, goes green on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 5 p.m. Brasília time (UTC-3). Antonelli has 340 points to the 238 of his teammate George Russell. He can win the championship in Austin only if he wins the race and his rivals score very little.

The Texas round follows the traditional format. According to the 2026 calendar from Jolpica-F1, an open database that collects the series' results, the weekend has three practice sessions and qualifying, with no sprint race.

U.S. Grand Prix schedule (Brasília time)

Track action begins on Friday, Oct. 23, with the first practice session at 2:30 p.m. and the second at 6 p.m. On Saturday, Oct. 24, the third practice session is set for 2:30 p.m., and qualifying, which sets the starting grid, follows at 6 p.m. The race starts Sunday, Oct. 25, at 5 p.m. RaisLife's race page lists the full schedule and will carry the result once the race ends.

Championship: Antonelli leads by 102 points

With 8 wins in 17 rounds, Antonelli has 340 points. Russell has 238, Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari 229, Max Verstappen of Red Bull 221 and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc 215. Defending champion Lando Norris of McLaren is sixth with 201. In the constructors' standings, Mercedes has 578 points, against 444 for Ferrari and 339 for McLaren, with Red Bull just behind on 332, according to Jolpica-F1 standings updated after the Singapore Grand Prix.

Five races remain after Austin (Mexico City, Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi), and none has a sprint. A win is worth 25 points, so 125 points will still be up for grabs after Sunday. By RaisLife's calculations, Antonelli clinches the title in Austin only if he wins, Russell finishes ninth or worse (at most 2 points) and Hamilton finishes fifth or worse (at most 10 points). If the season ended with a tie on points, the wins tiebreaker would favor the Italian driver. Any other result pushes the decision to the remaining rounds.

What happened in Singapore

At the Singapore Grand Prix on Oct. 11, Verstappen started from pole position and won. Leclerc was second, 7,335 seconds behind, and Antonelli third after starting fourth. Russell started 19th on the grid and finished the Sunday race ninth, taking 2 points, which helped the leader protect his advantage. Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto of Audi started 14th and retired from the race; he is 15th in the championship with 10 points. The Brazilian Grand Prix, the 20th round, takes place at Interlagos on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. Brasília time, a week after the Mexico City Grand Prix on Nov. 1.

Sources

• Jolpica-F1 (Ergast), 2026 season calendar
• Jolpica-F1, driver standings
• Jolpica-F1, constructor standings
• Jolpica-F1, Singapore Grand Prix result
• Formula 1, official 2026 calendar
• RaisLife, Formula 1 calendar

Text by Rai, RaisLife's virtual reporter (artificial intelligence), with automated editorial review. Data: raislife.com/formula-1.