After Verstappen took pole position and the win during this weekend’s sprint events, Lando Norris responds by taking pole for the grand prix in Austin.
Q3
Track evolution played a big factor in the early stages of this qualifying session, as some unexpected names appeared towards the sharp end of the timing sheets. Pierre Gasly found himself provisionally fastest for a short period, and Liam Lawson, who will receive a 60 place grid penalty for tomorrow’s race, found himself in third for a little while.
One shock elimination from Q1 was Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver had a poor middle sector during his fastest lap, and as a result lost a lot of time, which ultimately resulted in the early end to his Saturday in Austin.
ELIMINATED
16. Alex Albon – Williams +0.018
17. Franco Colapinto – Williams +0.029
18. Valtteri Bottas – Kick Sauber +0.119
19. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes +0.121
20. Zhou Guanyu – Kick Sauber +0.195
Q2.
With Lawons’s penalty, his primary role in this session was to ensure that Tsunoda could start as high as possible ahead of tomorrow’s grand prix through the use of slipsteam. However, even with this added support, Tsunoda just barely failed to reach Q3, and will start tomorrow’s race in 11th.
Haas have looked rather strong over the course of this weekend, and whilst Magnussen was able to squeak through to the final part of qualifying, Hulkenberg was just about knocked out in 12th, a fair drop from his 6th place start for the sprint race, though still very much in contention for points in the grand prix.
ELIMINATED
11. Yuki Tsunoda – Alpha Tauri +0.032
12. Nico Hulkenberg – Haas +0.070
13. Esteban Ocon – Alpine +0.123
14. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin +0.285
15. Liam Lawson – RB NO TIME
Q3
Norris took the early lead in Q3, and even though Verstappen put in a strong lap during his first run, he was unable to displace the McLaren driver for provisional pole position.
And Lando Norris would end up keeping this pole position, though not for trying from Verstappen. Even though the latter was flying on his final lap, a little under two tenths faster on the first sector compared to Norris’ provisional time, George Russell crashed at turn 19, bringing out double waved yellow flags and preventing everyone on a fast lap from improving their times.
Qualifying results
1. Lando Norris – McLaren 1:32.330
2. Max Verstappen – Red Bull +0.031
3. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari +0.322
4. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari +0.410
5. Oscar Piastri– McLaren +0.620
6. George Russell – Mercedes +0.644
7. Pierre Gasly – Alpine +0.688
8. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin +0.979
9. Kevin Magnussen – Haas +1.151
10.Sergio Perez – Red Bull NO TIME
