Austin Qualifying Ordered to Run Backwards, Drivers Required to Reach Pole by Reverse Lap

Officials at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, have ordered that qualifying for the United States Grand Prix be run entirely in reverse, with every driver required to complete the lap counterclockwise and the pole position awarded to whoever crosses the line last. The directive was issued by the circuit's race management committee on the grounds that the Formula One season is nearing its conclusion and that the sport must be seen to move in every direction at once.

Teams were given forty minutes to reconfigure their garages. Mechanics have been instructed to reverse the seating positions in all cars, and the pit wall has been relocated to the far side of the grandstand so that engineers can observe their drivers approaching from the wrong end of the straight. Track marshals have been issued reversed flags and told to wave them in the opposite direction from the one they have always used.

Kimi Antonelli, who leads the championship with 340 points, was asked whether he intended to comply. He said: "The regulation is clear. Pole is the car that arrives last, so I will simply drive slower than everyone else and wait for the others to finish before I begin." George Russell, who is 102 points behind, described the arrangement as "the only fair outcome for a sport that has never once looked backwards."

Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, who have scored seven points between them this year, were reported to be pleased by the change. Race officials confirmed that both drivers are now expected to start from the front of the grid for the first time in the season, having been placed there under the new rule.

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