Formula 1 qualifying results: Starting grid for 2021 United States Grand Prix

By | October 24, 2021

Formula 1 is back in the U.S. after a one-year hiatus caused by COVID-19. 

Max Verstappen went the fastest in qualifying Saturday and secured the pole position for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Valtterri Bottas qualified fourth but will drop to P9 for the race because of a grid penalty. 

MORE: Watch Formula 1 live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

Verstappen will be busy battling Lewis Hamilton for the championship lead. Hamilton earned his 100th career victory two races ago at the Russian Grand Prix. He’ll look to continue his dominance in Texas, where he has won six times previously. The Red Bull driver leads the Mercedes driver by a slim six-point margin. 

Here’s how they’ll line up on the starting grid Sunday:

Formula 1 starting lineup for 2021 United States Grand Prix

Starting from the back of the grid will be Haas driver Mick Schumacher. Valtteri Bottas will start from P9 after being assessed a grid penalty during the qualifier.

Position Driver (Team)
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
4. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri)
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
8 Lando Norris (McLaren)
9 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
10. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
11. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
12. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin)
13. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo)
14. Fernando Alonso (Alpine)
15. George Russell (Williams)
16. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
17. Nicholas Latifi (Williams)
18. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo)
19. Nikita Mazepin (Haas)
20. Mick Schumacher (Haas)

What channel is the F1 race on Sunday?

  • Race: United States Grand Prix
  • Date: Sunday, Oct. 24
  • TV channel: ABC
  • Live stream: fuboTV

The ESPN family of networks will broadcast all 2021 F1 races in the United States using Sky Sports’ feed, with select late-season races heading to ABC.

ESPN Deportes serves as the exclusive Spanish-language home for all 2021 F1 races in the U.S.

What time does the F1 race start Sunday?

  • Date: Sunday, Oct. 24
  • Start time: 3 p.m. ET

The 3 p.m. ET start time for Sunday’s race means the 2021 United States Grand Prix will start at 2 p.m. local time. Lights out will likely take place just after 3 p.m. ET. ESPN’s prerace show usually airs in the hour before the start of the race.

Below is the complete TV schedule for the weekend’s F1 events at the United States Grand Prix. All times are Eastern.

Date Event Time TV channel
Friday, Oct. 22 Practice 1 12:30 p.m. ESPN2
Friday, Oct. 22 Practice 2 4 p.m. ESPN2
Saturday, Oct. 23 Practice 3 2 p.m. ESPN2
Saturday, Oct. 23 Qualifying 5 p.m. ESPNews
Sunday, Oct. 24 Race 3 p.m. ABC

Formula 1 live stream for United States Grand Prix

For those who don’t have a cable or satellite subscription, there are five major OTT TV streaming options that carry ESPN — fuboTV, Sling, Hulu, YouTubeTV and AT&T Now. Of the five, Hulu, fuboTV and YouTubeTV offer free-trial options.

Below are links to each.

For those who do have a cable or satellite subscription but are not in front of a TV, Formula 1 races in 2021 can be streamed live via phones, tablets and other devices on the ESPN app with authentication.

Formula 1 schedule 2021

In all, there are 23 scheduled races  in the 2021 F1 season, with the Portuguese Grand Prix sliding onto the docket the first week in March. The originally scheduled Vietnam Grand Prix was removed after the arrest of  Nguyen Duc Chung , while the Chinese Grand Prix is up in the air. It was originally scheduled for April 11 but will likely not take place this season.

All races will be broadcast in the U.S. on the ESPN family of networks, with the United States Grand Prix and Mexico City Grand Prix both airing on ABC. The Singapore Grand Prix was also removed from the schedule, with the Turkish Grand Prix returning to the schedule in its stead.

Please note: The on-the-hour start times do not include the broadcast start time, which is typically five minutes before the start of the race. Times do not include ESPN’s customary prerace shows.

MORE: Live stream F1 races all season on fuboTV (7-day free trial)

Here’s the latest schedule:

Date Race Course Start time TV channel Winner
March 28 Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain International Circuit 11 a.m. ESPN2 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
April 18 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari 9 a.m. ESPN Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
May 2 Portuguese Grand Prix Algarve International Circuit 10 a.m. ESPN Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
May 9 Spanish Grand Prix Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya 9 a.m. ESPN Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
May 23 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco 9 a.m. ESPN2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
June 6 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Baku City Circuit 8 a.m. ESPN Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
June 20 French Grand Prix Circuit Paul Ricard 9 a.m. ESPN Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
June 27 Styrian Grand Prix Red Bull Ring 9 a.m. ESPN Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
July 4 Austrian Grand Prix Red Bull Ring 9 a.m. ESPN Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
July 18 British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit 10 a.m. ESPN Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Aug. 1 Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring 9 a.m. ESPN Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Aug. 29 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 9 a.m. ESPN2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Sept. 5 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Zandvoort 9 a.m. ESPN2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Sept. 12 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza 9 a.m. ESPN2 Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren)
Sept. 26 Russian Grand Prix Sochi Autodrom 8 a.m. ESPN2 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Oct. 10 Turkish Grand Prix Intercity Istanbul Park 8 a.m. ESPN2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Oct. 24 United States Grand Prix Circuit of the Americas 3 p.m. ABC TBD
Oct. 31 Mexico City Grand Prix Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez 3 p.m. ABC TBD
Nov. 7 Brazilian Grand Prix Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace Noon ESPN2 TBD
Nov. 21 Australian Grand Prix Albert Park Circuit 1 a.m. ESPN News TBD
Dec. 5 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Jeddah Street Circuit 11 p.m. ESPN2 TBD
Dec. 12 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Yas Marina Circuit 8 a.m. ESPN2 TBD

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