AUSTIN, Texas – Max Verstappen secured pole position for the United States Grand Prix sprint race, beating McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Verstappen set an impressive lap time, outpacing Norris by 0.071 seconds. This victory in qualifying for the sprint race intensifies the competition in the fight for the championship.
Although Saturday’s sprint race awards few points, the pressure on the McLaren drivers increases, especially after their recent confrontation at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Nico Hülkenberg, from Sauber, achieved a commendable fourth place, followed by George Russell and Fernando Alonso. Ferrari, which had a spectacular victory on the same circuit the previous year, had a less outstanding performance, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in eighth and tenth place respectively. Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon, from Williams, will share positions with Hamilton after an outstanding performance. Kimi Antonelli, from Mercedes, failed to advance to SQ2. Isack Hadjar, from Racing Bulls, placed 11th, ahead of Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll. Liam Lawson did not register a time in SQ2 and will start the sprint in 15th place. Yuki Tsunoda failed to get past the first qualifying session, finishing in a disappointing 18th place. Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto, and Gabriel Bortoleto failed to advance in qualifying.It worked well. But I still expect tomorrow to be a tough battle in the sprint, but that’s exactly what we want to see.
Max Verstappen