Max Verstappen took pole position for the sprint race at the United States Grand Prix ahead of championship rivals Norris and Piastri.
SQ1
Charles Leclerc had something of an awkward first session, finding her myself in the bottom five after everyone’s provisional laps were set. He was able to squeak through after making a second attempt, but only in 13th place.
Red Bull appeared to make a tactical blunder with Yuki Tsunoda, as they sent him out incredibly late for his final lap, along with plenty of traffic around him. Unable to get ahead of the traffic as they all raced to get to the start/finish line, he was unable to do so in time and was unable to set a new time, leaving him stranded in the knockout zone.
ELIMINATED
16. Ollie Bearman – Haas +0.015
17. Franco Colapinto – Alpine +0.102
18. Yuki Tsunoda – Red Bull +0.115
19. Esteban Ocon – Haas +0.859
20. Gabriel Bortoleto – Kick Sauber NO TIME
SQ2
Ferrari were looking poor throughout SQ2, and both Leclerc and Hamilton appeared lucky to squeeze through to SQ3, with Hamilton only able to avoid the elimination zone by just 6 thousandths of a second.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli was the one who lost out by Ferrari’s last minute improvements, having initially been on the bubble, before getting shuffled down to 11th after each Ferrari’s late heroics.
Liam Lawson was one of four drivers who opted to only set one lap time, and while his time would only have been good enough for a provisional 11th, he went wide at the penultimate corner, losing his lap time and finishing SQ2 in 15th.
ELIMINATED
11. Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes +0.006
12. Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls +0.229
13. Pierre Gasly – Alpine +0.246
14. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin +0.382
15. Liam Lawson – Racing Bulls NO TIME
SQ3
There was only enough time for everyone to set one lap in SQ3, so there was plenty of debate between the teams as to when to send their drivers out.
Williams and Mercedes opted to send their drivers out early on, with Russell leading Sainz and Albon for a provisional top 3.
Nico Hulkenberg was the next to set a time, where he was able to set a time to take provisional top spot, while Leclerc and Hamilton behind were still struggling to get strong times, each qualifying either side of Albon.
Hulkenberg’s time on top spot was short lived, as Norris snatched it away by over four tenths. Piastri was next to cross the line, and would go three tenths slower, while Verstappen, the last to set a lap, went fastest by 71 thousandths ahead of Norris.
Qualifying Results
1. Max Verstappen – Red Bull 1.32.143
2. Lando Norris – McLaren +0.071
3. Oscar Piastri – McLaren+0.380
4. Nico Hulkenberg – Kick Sauber +0.502
5. George Russell – Mercedes +0.745
6. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin +0.767
7. Carlos Sainz – Williams +0.768
8. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari +0.892
9. Alex Albon – Williams +0.956
10. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari +0.961
