Arabic version: أنطونيلي يحصد مركز الانطلاق الأول في جائزة الولايات المتحدة الكبرى

According to ABC News, Formula One championship leader Kimi Antonelli has taken pole position for the United States Grand Prix, giving the 20-year-old Italian a chance to clinch the world title.

Antonelli beat Max Verstappen, winner of the past two races, by 0.179 seconds. Isack Hadjar qualified third in the second Red Bull, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton took fourth and fifth. George Russell will start sixth.

Australia’s Oscar Piastri qualified seventh, one place ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Ferrari had led all three practice sessions, but its pace dropped in qualifying.

Antonelli leads the championship by 102 points, with a maximum of 150 still available to his rivals. To secure the title in Texas, he must win Monday’s race AEST, with Russell finishing lower than ninth and Hamilton lower than fifth.

The race is Antonelli’s first opportunity to wrap up the championship. ABC Sport will live-blog the event, which starts at 7am AEDT on Monday.