Max Verstappen stormed to pole position for the United States Grand Prix from Lando Norris despite missing out on a final run in Qualifying.
Verstappen was still 0.291s ahead of Norris though as he continued his charge back into title contention and will be buoyed by championship leader Oscar Piastri only qualifying sixth.
Neither McLaren driver looked fully comfortable after the team were forced to make repairs to both cars after they collided with each other in a multi-car incident in the Sprint earlier on Saturday.
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Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris collide on the first corner after dramatic multi-car contact which forces both McLarens to retire at the US Grand Prix Sprint race!
Verstappen won the Sprint and is on course for a perfect weekend with a great opportunity to make inroads into his 55-point deficit to Piastri, who is 22 points in front of Norris, with lights out for Sunday’s race in Austin at 8pm (build-up from 6.30pm) – live on Sky Sports F1.
Charles Leclerc took third in Ferrari’s most competitive showing of the weekend, ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari suddenly hit form in Q2 and continued that into Q3 although Hamilton said he made several front wing changes throughout Qualifying to find a kinder balance.
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Isack Hadjar brings out the red flag during Q1 at the United States Grand Prix after going into the barriers
Kimi Antonelli qualified eighth from Haas’ Oliver Bearman, Williams Carlos Sainz – who was third in the Sprint – and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda failed to reach Q3 in 13th while Racing Bulls’ Hadjar had a massive crash early in Q1 and will start from the back.
Verstappen-Norris front row again in Austin
For a second successive day, Verstappen took pole position at the Circuit of the Americas but this time it was a more dominant performance as he topped all three parts of Qualifying.
Verstappen, who overtook Ayrton Senna to have the third most pole positions for a single team, was unhappy with the rear of his car during the Sprint but any changes Red Bull made to their car did not affect his one-lap pace.
A stunning first lap from Verstappen in Q3 put him nearly four tenths clear of Norris in second, so Red Bull gambled by leaving it late for the Dutchman’s final run.
However, they mistimed it and Verstappen did not cross the line in time to begin his last lap but it did not matter because Norris improved, but only to close the gap to 0.291s.
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Onboard Max Verstappen’s pole in Austin for the United States GP
“It was good. I think every segment, the car was very strong,” said Verstappen, who was 104 points behind in the Drivers’ Championship just four race weekends ago.
“Just trying to put the lap together around here is sometimes very tricky. It’s very hot, very strong winds as well – in that first sector having a tailwind is challenging.
“The first run in Q3 was good. Just managed to improve a little bit from Q2. Unfortunately I couldn’t do my final run. It was a bit messy with the out-laps, but luckily, we didn’t need it.”
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Max Verstappen felt a ‘strong’ Red Bull team performance helped him to pole in Austin
McLaren were perhaps put on the back foot due to lengthy repairs ahead of Qualifying from their Sprint collision as both drivers had not driven the car in anger since Friday.
Norris stated he was “worried” after Q1 as both McLarens were outside of the top 10 and was confused why the car was more of a “struggle”.
“Friday I was just quite comfortable and I don’t know if it’s just everyone else has improved a bit, or the wind has hurt us a bit more, but we were both struggling to put the laps in and be as quick as this guy [Verstappen],” he said.
“We were pushing and I’m still happy with P2. It could have been worse, But there was no chance we could have got on pole.”
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Mclarens show inconsistent performance as Lando Norris secures front row with Oscar Piastri only managing P6 after US GP qualifying
Piastri looked all out of sorts and was 0.574s off pole-sitter Verstappen and trailed Norris by three tenths again, similarly to Sprint Qualifying.
The Australian has not been on the front row since the Dutch Grand Prix in August and faces a battle to not lose further points to his championship rivals.
He told Sky Sports F1: “I didn’t really make any mistakes, just didn’t feel like I really got into a rhythm for the whole session, just struggled. We’ll go and have a look at why, obviously. But, yeah, that was obviously a battle.”
Sky Sports F1’s live United States GP schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the United States Grand Prix
Sunday October 19
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: United States GP build-up*
8pm: THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX*
10pm: Chequered Flag: United States GP reaction
11pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in North America for the United States Grand Prix in Austin, live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event with Sunday’s race at 8pm (build-up from 6.30pm). Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
