Verstappen Imposes His Law in Austin: Pole Position Ahead of Norris

Verstappen Secures Pole Position at the United States Grand Prix

Max Verstappen dominated the qualifying session for the United States Grand Prix, securing pole position ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Championship leader Oscar Piastri had a difficult session, qualifying in sixth place. Verstappen set a time of 1:32.510 at the start of Q3, enough to secure the first position. Red Bull did not send him out on the track for a final attempt, but it was not necessary. Norris finished 0.291 seconds behind Verstappen’s time at the Circuit of the Americas. The front row will give Verstappen and Norris the chance to reduce the distance with Piastri in Sunday’s qualifying. “It was good. I think in every segment the car was very strong. Trying to do a lap here can sometimes be tricky. Also, it’s very hot, a lot of strong wind. And then, in the first sector, having a tailwind is a challenge. The first lap in Q3 was good. I managed to improve a little bit compared to Q2. Unfortunately, then I couldn’t do my last run. It was a bit messy with the out laps, but fortunately… we didn’t need it. So, for us, again, a very strong result,” said Verstappen after qualifying. Norris commented that the team had difficulties matching Verstappen’s pace.

“Yesterday, I felt quite comfortable. And I don’t know if it’s that everyone else has improved a bit or if today’s wind hurt us a bit more, but we both had a lot more difficulty today making the laps and being as fast as this guy. So we were pushing. And I’m very happy with second place. It could have been worse, but there was no chance we could get pole today,” said Norris.

Lando Norris

Verstappen had already cut eight points from McLaren by winning the sprint race. The victory in the sprint race means that Verstappen arrives at Sunday’s main race 55 points behind Piastri and 33 points behind Norris. Verstappen will seek to replicate his start in the sprint, with a clean start that allows him to have a good race to turn 1. The championship leader, Piastri, struggled throughout the day and finished half a second behind Verstappen’s time. The Australian driver, whose form has been inconsistent since the summer break, will face a complicated race on Sunday to minimize the damage, with Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton starting between him and Norris. Andrea Kimi Antonelli was seventh for Mercedes ahead of qualifying star Oliver Bearman, who will start eighth for Haas. Carlos Sainz, who achieved a popular third place in Saturday’s sprint race, qualified ninth ahead of his Spanish compatriot Fernando Alonso. The session featured a red flag, with Isack Hadjar suffering a heavy accident in the early moments of Q1. The French rookie emerged unscathed from the accident, but will start from the back of the grid.