Ferrari’s perfect run through practice at the United States Grand Prix did not translate into a front-row starting position, leaving supporters frustrated after Charles Leclerc qualified fourth and Lewis Hamilton sixth at the Circuit of the Americas which inevitably affected the Italian side’s chances o Sunday.. The Scuderia had topped every practice session in Austin, raising genuine expectations of a first pole position of the season before Mercedes and Red Bull moved ahead when qualifying reached its decisive phase.
The contrast was particularly striking because Ferrari had appeared to set the benchmark throughout the build-up to qualifying. Charles Leclerc led both Friday sessions, while Lewis Hamilton completed the clean sweep by going fastest in FP3 on Saturday. After such a strong sequence, the final Q3 result represented a significant change from what Ferrari fans had watched during practice.
Ferrari’s United States GP qualifying challenge fades in Q3
Leclerc had started the weekend by putting Ferrari at the front in FP1, when the SF-26 showed encouraging pace around Austin. He remained quickest in FP2, reinforcing the impression that the Maranello team could become a serious pole contender after introducing its updated car for the United States Grand Prix.
The competitiveness continued into Saturday as Hamilton topped FP3. With three Ferrari practice victories from three sessions, expectations grew around the updated SF-26 package being used at COTA and the possibility that either Leclerc or Hamilton could challenge for the front of the grid.
Qualifying produced a different hierarchy. Kimi Antonelli secured pole position for Mercedes with a 1:34.035, finishing 0.179 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen. Leclerc was Ferrari’s fastest driver in fourth with a 1:34.267, leaving him 0.232 seconds away from pole, while Hamilton recorded a 1:34.613 to qualify sixth, 0.578 seconds behind Antonelli.
Hamilton questioned the pace Mercedes and Red Bull were able to find during Q3. The seven-time world champion felt both rivals had made another step in the final phase of qualifying while Ferrari had been unable to produce a comparable improvement. The detailed gaps and progression through the session can also be explored through the F1 Qualifying Pace & Sector Comparison.
Ferrari fans vent after practice promise disappears
The result quickly prompted frustration among Ferrari supporters on Reddit. The reaction was driven less by fourth and sixth positions in isolation than by the difference between Ferrari’s commanding practice form and its inability to remain at the front once the grid was decided.
One supporter sarcastically portrayed the swing in performance as Ferrari having misled its fans, while another admitted believing that Austin might finally produce a different outcome before concluding that the familiar pattern had returned. Others were considerably less surprised, pointing to previous weekends in which strong Ferrari practice sessions had failed to deliver the same advantage in qualifying.
Another fan suggested supporters should have learned not to read too much into Ferrari’s practice pace, while one used the familiar idea of being fooled twice to describe the disappointment. The mood was also summed up by supporters who joked that Ferrari looking strong in free practice before falling short later had become one of Formula 1’s recurring certainties.
Why the Austin frustration feels familiar for Ferrari
Austin is not the first qualifying session this season in which Ferrari supporters have been left wanting more from Leclerc and Hamilton. Neither Lewis Hamilton nor Charles Leclerc has secured a pole position so far in the 2026 Formula 1 season. Both Ferrari drivers have qualified as high as second place, with Hamilton achieving that result three times and Leclerc four times.
That history helps explain why the reaction at COTA was particularly sharp. Ferrari had not merely shown flashes of speed during the weekend; it had topped FP1, FP2 and FP3, including Leclerc’s FP2 benchmark that strengthened expectations around the SF-26.
Yet when the decisive laps arrived, Antonelli and Verstappen occupied the front row while both Ferrari drivers were left behind them. For supporters who had watched the Scuderia control every practice session, fourth for Leclerc and sixth for Hamilton turned a highly encouraging build-up into another qualifying result that failed to match the promise shown earlier in the weekend.
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