Max Verstappen beat Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to take pole position in the US Grand Prix Saturday sprint race.
Norris led the first two segments of qualifying, but the reigning champion’s ferocious laps at the scorching heat of the Circuit of the Americas took him out of the lead for good. Verstappen set purple times in the first and last sectors, setting a benchmark of 1 minute 32.143 seconds and taking Norris to the top of the grid by just 0.071 seconds.
“It was a great qualifying,” he said. “I think we were pretty close through all the segments, just trying to put everything together when it mattered.”
This result is important for Red Bull Racing. Red Bull Racing arrived in Austin assuming the circuit and its generous, long, medium-speed corners would favor McLaren. Verstappen said race pace was still uncertain after just one practice session, but he was hopeful he could convert.
“Today… was a very good day,” he said. “We’re expecting a tough fight in the sprint tomorrow, but that’s exactly what we want to see.
“I hope I can have a good pace in the race, but we’ll find out tomorrow.”
Norris’ session-best middle sector wasn’t enough to beat Red Bull’s pace, but it was enough to get him ahead of teammate Piastri. His best lap was 0.38 seconds behind pole position and 0.309 seconds behind his sister car, but his best time was still fast enough to keep him third on the grid despite the margin.
Nico Hulkenberg was Sauber’s first top 10 finish of the year, regardless of qualifying format, and finished in a shocking 4th place, 0.502 seconds behind.
George Russell followed in fifth place, making Mercedes one of only three drivers to complete two fast laps on a single set of tires during the eight-minute SQ3 session.
Fernando Alonso will line up in sixth place, ahead of Carlos Sainz, who also completed two laps in SQ3.
For Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton was eighth, followed by Alex Albon, whose two-lap strategy wasn’t fast enough to extend the grid, and a disappointing Charles Leclerc in 10th.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli missed out on advancing to SQ3 by just 0.006 seconds from Hamilton, who was improving late, and was placed 11th on the grid. The Italian may have lost his shot after the left-hander locked up at Turn 11 heading into the back straight.
Isaac Hajjar was eliminated in 12th place, ahead of Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll.
Liam Lawson would have had his only lap deleted for running wide at Turn 19, so he would have been tied for 15th, but his time would have been fast enough for just 14th. However, the Kiwi lamented that he was stopped by the Ferrari drivers on that one attempt, ruining his lap before he could cross the track limit.
Oliver Bearman was knocked out in 16th place, ahead of Franco Colapinto, with the Haas driver unable to leave the pit lane in time for the start of the final flying lap. The Haas driver was among a group of cars penalized for being caught in the pit lane or on their out laps.
That list also included Yuki Tsunoda, who finished 18th after losing a battle for track position with Liam Lawson on the final lap.
Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Bortleto were similarly stuck in traffic on the final lap, qualifying 19th and 20th.
It was a particularly painful experience for Bortleto. His first lap was deleted after he veered too far off the track at Turn 19, but that lap would have been enough to earn him one place on the grid.
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