AUSTIN, Texas — The grid is set for the F1 Sprint race here at the United States Grand Prix.
And when the lights go out tomorrow, Max Verstappen will be at the front of the field.
The Red Bull driver snatched pole position from Lando Norris right at the end of SQ3, keeping his comeback effort in the Drivers’ Championship race alive. The winner of tomorrow’s F1 Sprint race will bank eight points towards their season total and with Verstappen trailing second-place Norris by 41 points — and championship leader Oscar Piastri by 63 points — every point counts.
Here is the full grid for the F1 Sprint race at the United States Grand Prix:
Row |
Position |
Driver |
Team |
Position |
Driver |
Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren |
| Row 2 | 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 4 | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber |
| Row 3 | 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | 6 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin |
| Row 4 | 7 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Williams | 8 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari |
| Row 5 | 9 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 10 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| Row 6 | 11 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 12 | Isack Hadjar | VCARB |
| Row 7 | 13 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 14 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin |
| Row 8 | 15 | Liam Lawson | VCARB | 16 | Oliver Bearman | Haas |
| Row 9 | 17 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 18 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull |
| Row 10 | 19 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | 20 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber |
As it happened: F1 Sprint qualifying at the USPG
Eight minutes were put on the clock, and the ten remaining drivers were left to fight it out for pole position.
Mercedes sent Russell out first, followed by the Williams duo of Albon and Sainz. But with the teams having satisfied the C3 medium tire requirements in both SQ1 and SQ2, the C4 softs were now bolted on for the final segment of qualifying.
Russell was the first to set a time on the soft compound, coming across with a 1:32.888 to set the standard. Albon came next with a 1:33.099, which was good for P2 but only for a moment, as Sainz then posted a 1:32.911.
Hülkenberg was next on the attack, and opened his effort by going purple through Sector 1, and he was ahead of Russell’s pace after Sector 2. When the Sauber driver crossed the line, his effort was good for provisional pole, as he was purple through Sector 3 despite a late wobble through Turn 20. His lap time of 1:32.646 was more than two-tenths ahead of Russell.
But he would not stay in P1.
Norris rocketed through the Circuit of the Americas and posted a 1:32.214, taking P1 away from the Sauber driver and putting himself on provisional pole for the moment. Piastri and Verstappen had a chance to respond, but Piastri came up short with a 1:32.523.
Verstappen, however, did not come up short.
The Red Bull driver snatched pole position at the death from Norris with a time of 1:32.143, just 0.071 seconds ahead of the McLaren driver.
As SQ2 opened, ten minutes were put on the clock, and the majority of the grid did not wait. Lance Stroll was among a bevy of drivers that rocketed out of their respective garages when the green light was on pit lane, but the first lap time was posted by Verstappen, a 1:33.163 to set the benchmark.
George Russell cut the beam with a 1:33.462, nearly three-tenths off Verstappen’s pace. But then it was over to McLaren for a response. Oscar Piastri crossed the line ahead of his teammate with a 1:33.889, good for P2, but then it was Lando Norris who topped them all with a 1:33.224 to top the timing sheets for the moment.
With three minutes remaining, the five drivers at risk for elimination were: Stroll, Hülkenberg, Hadjar, Lawson, and Gasly.
Norris, Verstappen, Piastri, Russell, and Carlos Sainz Jr. formed the top five at that point.
With 90 seconds remaining in SQ2 13 of the 15 remaining drivers were on the track. Only Norris and Verstappen remained on pit lane, perhaps satisfied that they were through to SQ3. Four drivers — Hülkenberg, Hadjar, Lawson, and Gasly — had yet to set a lap time.
Lawson was the first of those to cross the line, with an effort that only put him into P11, eliminating him from contention. Stroll could only manage a lap good for P14, also knocking him out of qualifying.
To add insult to injury, Lawson’s lap time was then deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 19.
There was a nervous moment for Ferrari right at the end of SQ2, as both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc needed to find a little more time to advance. Both did, with Leclerc in P8 and Hamilton in P10, just 0.006 seconds ahead of Kimi Antonelli in P11.
Antonelli, Hadjar, Gasly, Stroll, and Lawson were the five drivers eliminated in SQ2.
Norris, Verstappen, Piastri, Russell, Hülkenberg, Sainz, Albon, Leclerc, Alonso, and Hamilton moved on to SQ3.
SQ1 opened with just 12 minutes on the clock, so the teams wasted little time rolling out of pit lane. With just nine minutes remaining in SQ1, more than half the grid was on the track, laying down opening laps on their C3 medium tires.
Isack Hadjar was the first to cut the beam with a time of 1:34.856, but the lap times began to tumble from there. Nico Hülkenberg — who posted a stunning P2 in the only available hour of practice earlier in the day — came across with a 1:34.758 to move to the top of the timing sheets shortly after Hadjar’s initial gambit.
Within minutes, Hülkenberg had been pushed down the table, with Liam Lawson, Carlos Sainz Jr., and Fernando Alonso besting the Sauber driver’s effort.
As the clock hit five minutes remaining, it was none other than Max Verstappen who was at the front of the field, having pumped in a lap of 1:34.140. That put him at the front, followed by Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, and Kimi Antonelli rounding out the early top five.
As the clock hit four minutes remaining, 19 of the 20 drivers had posted a lap time, with only Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto yet to post a time. His initial effort was deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 19. Slowly, the drivers rumbled out of their respective garages for their final efforts of SQ1, with the traffic on pit lane resembling I-35 into downtown Austin.
The five drivers in the drop zone were Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto, and Bortoleto.
That traffic proved costly, as several drivers failed to get back to the start/finish line before the clock hit zero, leaving drivers such as Yuki Tsunoda, Leclerc, and Ocon unable to set another time.
Bortoleto was denied a chance to set a time at all, due to the traffic on pit lane.
When the dust settled at the end of SQ1, Oliver Bearman, Colapinto, Tsunoda, Ocon, and Bortoleto were the five drivers eliminated.
While all five were frustrated, Tsunoda might have been the most frustrated of the five, as replays showed a brush with Lawson that may have forced the Red Bull driver wide as he raced back to the start/finish line.
At the front end of the field, Norris topped the timing sheets ahead of Verstappen, Piastri, Hamilton, and Hülkenberg.
The FIA noted after SQ1 that an incident involving Hadjar, Tsunoda, Alex Albon, Norrs, Verstappen, Hülkenberg, Antonelli, George Russell, and Lance Stroll for failing to follow race director’s instructions (maximum delta time) had been noted and will be investigated after the session.
