Max Verstappen has taken pole for the United States Grand Prix. After blistering first run in Q3, a miscalculation meant Verstappen was too late to the line and could not set a second fast lap. Even so, the world champions’ initial run was enough to secure pole position by nearly three tenths of a second. The 47th of his career and one that sees him move into third behind Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher in the most poles for any team driver combination.
Helmut Marko later said the team had made some minor setup tweaks following the sprint but emphasised the consistency with which Verstappen has maximised his package.
Despite managing two flying laps in Q3, Lando Norris could only manage second. However, Norris has consistently had the upper hand on Oscar Piastri all weekend and was demonstrably quicker than his teammate throughout qualifying. He may have described the car as “a handful”, but with his title rival further down the order, Norris is well placed to make a dent in Piastri’s 22-point championship lead.
After spinning out of the final corner and only managing one flying lap in Q3, Charles Leclerc ended up an impressive third. Having endured a torrid weekend thus far, Leclerc was at a loss to explain the sudden turnaround in form but was nevertheless pleased at the eventual result. Leclerc later promised to be aggressive off the start, stating that he ‘has nothing to lose’.
George Russell had a trouble-free session that ended with him less than two hundredths of a second behind Leclerc in fourth. Lewis Hamilton recovered from a turn one lockup to secure fifth, one place ahead of Oscar Piastri. When asked about the underwhelming result, Piastri ruled out any major mistakes. However, the championship leader admitted to a lack of rhythm, an issue that was reinforced by McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, who also cited the unpredictable winds.
Kimi Antonelli made it into Q3 for the 13th time this year and will line up seventh, just in front of Ollie Bearman, who delighted the Haas pit wall with his best qualifying result of the season. A great showing given the fact that Bearman has never before competed at the Circuit of The Americas.
Carlos Sainz carried the Williams flag in ninth ahead of his compatriot Fernando Alonso.
There was no repeat of Nico Hulkenberg’s sprint qualifying heroics as he fell just short of Q3 in 11th. Liam Lawson will line up 12th ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who reported multiple cases of impediment throughout qualifying. Pierre Gasly will start 14th ahead of his teammate Franco Colapinto, who made it into Q2 for only the fifth time this season.
Gabriel Bortoleto could only manage 16th, 0.011s ahead of Esteban Ocon, who had no answer to his teammate’s one-lap pace. Lance Stroll looked to have gotten out of Q1, only to have his lap time deleted. He ended the session 18th, but has to serve a five-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Ocon in the sprint race.
Behind him, Alex Albon, who suffered a similar fate. After securing a spot in Q2 and knocking Franco Colapinto out in the process, Albon was found to have exceeded track limits at turn 15. He will therefore start 18th ahead of the session’s only casualty, Isack Hadjar, who crashed out during his first flying lap in Q1 and failed to get a time on the board. Having aimed for a points finish coming into this weekend, that task now looks all but impossible for the RB driver.
A long race lies ahead, but with Verstappen on pole, Norris in second, and Piastri down in the midfield, this year’s United States Grand Prix has the potential to blow this championship wide open.
