Max Verstappen continues his perfect weekend in Austin as he takes pole position for the United States Grand Prix, with championship leader Piastri in sixth.
Q1
The red flag was out early on after Isack Hadjar had crashed into the barrier at turn 6, making it the second time in his career that he’s been knocked out in the first part of qualifying.
A couple of drivers were caught out by track limits in Q1, with both Lance Stroll and Alex Albon being knocked out for it, despite each having times that would’ve been good enough to get through to the next part of qualifying. Their deleted times helped Tsunoda and Colapinto, each of whom had a shaky performance in Q1.
McLaren looked pretty poor by their standards in the early portions of qualifying, potentially lacking data for a setup following each car’s DNF on lap 1 during the sprint. Only time would tell if this level of performance continued.
ELIMINATED
16. Gabriel Bortoleto – Kick Sauber +0.086
17. Esteban Ocon – Haas +0.097
18. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin +0.501
19. Alex Albon – Williams +0.651
20. Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls NO TIME
Q2
Turn 6 continued to cause issues for some in Q2, with Franco Colapinto having a snap of oversteer at the same corner that Isack Hadjar crashed out at in Q1.
McLaren’s pace had improved in Q2, as demonstrated by Norris finishing the session in third, however Piastri still appeared to struggle somewhat, finishing the second part of qualifying in eighth and half a second behind Verstappen in first.
A number of drivers struggled to improve on their banker times in their second runs, including Hulkenberg, whose second lap, while slower, was deleted for track limits, and Tsunoda, who encountered traffic issues all throughout Q2.
ELIMINATED
11. Nico Hulkenberg – Kick Sauber +0.096
12. Liam Lawson – Racing Bulls +0.122
13. Yuki Tsunoda – Red Bull +0.228
14. Pierre Gasly – Alpine +0.413
15. Franco Colapinto – Alpine +0.806
Q3
Verstappen put in a phenomenal early lap to take provisional pole position, going just under four tenths ahead of Norris in second, while Piastri on used tyres was 9 tenths behind in seventh.
The Ferraris struggled on their opening laps, with Hamilton going deep into turn 1 and Leclerc spinning at the final corner, but fortunately for them they would each have an opportunity to right their wrongs.
Red Bull had made a blinder by sending Verstappen out too late for him to be able to set a final flying lap, but it would turn out that he wouldn’t need another, as Norris’ improved time was still just under three tenths slower as he just squeezes ahead of Leclerc to take second place.
The championship leader Oscar Piastri continued to struggle even on new tyres, only going fast enough for sixth place, slower than both Ferraris and George Russell.
Qualifying Results
1. Max Verstappen – Red Bull 1:32.510
2. Lando Norris – McLaren +0.291
3. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari +0.297
4. George Russell – Mercedes +0.316
5. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari +0.402
6. Oscar Piastri – McLaren+0.574
7. Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes +0.604
8. Ollie Bearman – Haas +0.629
9. Carlos Sainz – Williams +0.640
10. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin +0.650
