The Red Bull Grand Prix of the United States 2026 has been thrown into chaos even before lights out, with three riders penalised—reshaping both the grid and race expectations at the Circuit of the Americas.
Big names, including Marc Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi, and Luca Marini, will all face setbacks heading into Sunday’s crucial Grand Prix.
The most significant blow comes for Marquez, who must serve a Long Lap Penalty during the race following his Sprint incident with Fabio Di Giannantonio.
After being overtaken earlier in the lap, the Ducati star attempted an aggressive move at Turn 12—but lost the front and collided with Di Giannantonio, forcing the latter out of the race.
Although Marquez recovered to finish P17, the consequences now carry into Sunday.
Starting from P6, the eight-time world champion must execute a near-perfect race strategy to overcome the time loss and stay in contention at one of his strongest circuits.
Meanwhile, qualifying drama has reshuffled the starting order.
Both Bezzecchi and Marini were penalised two grid places each after being found guilty of impeding Marquez during Q2—riding slowly on the racing line and disrupting his flying lap.
- Bezzecchi drops from P2 to P4
- Marini falls from P9 to P11
The penalties are especially costly for Bezzecchi, who had initially secured a front-row start and entered the weekend as the championship leader.
The revised grid now sees Pedro Acosta promoted to P2, Francesco Bagnaia moving onto the front row, and behind them, Bezzecchi leads the second row alongside Joan Mir and Marquez.
Credit Photo : MotoGP
