Verstappen fends off McLarens for narrow Sprint pole in Austin

Max Verstappen timed it to perfection in Austin, snatching his 10th Sprint pole by the slimmest of margins over the McLarens in a tense qualifying duel that tees up a fiery 19-lap Sprint.

Sprint Qualifying 1:

Setting the grid for the fourth Sprint Race of the season, Sprint Qualifying around the Circuit of The Americas got off to a busy start, with 32°C heat throwing an added challenge into the works. 

With points on his mind coming into the United States Grand Prix weekend, Liam Lawson’s first chance to put himself in the best possible position to score arrived when the light went green at the end of the pitlane.  

Running on the mandatory medium compound tyre, a time of 1:34.603s placed the Kiwi into an eventual P5, allowing Lawson to return to the pitlane for the time being.

With one minute on the clock, the Kiwi rejoined the session as a precaution, which soon proved unnecessary when he advanced to SQ2 in P10.

Free Practice revealed a slight deficit between the McLaren teammates, with Oscar Piastri needing to make up ground on Lando Norris across the next 44 minutes to put himself in good standing for Saturday’s Sprint spectacle. 

Second last to join the SQ1 action, Piastri placed his McLaren into a comfortable second place before settling into P3 with a time of 1:34.292s.

Charging for a final run with just seconds on the clock, the Australian shaved over three-tenths off his former lap time to momentarily move into the top position, however, he was bested by Norris and Verstappen as he made his way back to the garage, preparing for SQ2.

As for the rest of the field, the 12-minute opening stage of Sprint Qualifying was initially headlined by the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton, a feat his teammate, fresh from a gearbox change, couldn’t match as Charles Leclerc slipped into the elimination zone.

Having only secured a lap 1.2 seconds off the pace, Leclerc was joined by Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto, and Gabriel Bortoleto in the bottom five as the field returned to the pitlane.

Sitting at the top of the timesheets, Max Verstappen bested Hamilton by 0.086s, with the McLaren duo tussling for the final top-three position in SQ1 as the track burst to life for one final flying run.

Pitlane queues caused late chaos in SQ1, with the desperate midfield competitors racing one another through the first sector, resulting in many drivers missing the cut-off to record a lap as the clock ticked down.

Leclerc’s final lap was impacted by the fight for track position, encountering traffic in his final sector, which left him in a nervous P12.

Yuki Tsunoda was one to lose out to the chequered flag after going wheel-to-wheel with Lawson into Turn 2, expressing frustration that was echoed by Bortoleto, whose skewed pit wall calculations also left him seconds from the line. 

As a result, both drivers were knocked out of SQ1, with Ollie Bearman, Colapinto, and Ocon the three remaining drivers to join them. 

At the head of the field, Lando Norris took the chequered flag as the fastest driver of the opening stage, giving him a boost of confidence heading into SQ2. 

Sprint Qualifying 2:

Wasting no time at the start of the second stage, the sole remaining Red Bull charged out of the pitlane to record a string of purple sectors on his initial flying run. 

Piastri opened his SQ2 campaign by setting personal best and fastest overall sectors across the 5.5km lap, with a time of 1:33.371s placing the Australian in P3, behind Verstappen and Norris.

That lap remained Piastri’s fastest of SQ2, allowing the McLaren driver clear passage into the final stage.

It was another lacklustre attempt from Leclerc, who was joined on the border of the top ten by his Ferrari teammate, however, the duo remained on track, burning fuel in anticipation for their final flyer.

With Leclerc dropping into the bottom five and Hamilton edging closer to the same fate, the pair launched for a last-ditch effort, although yellow opening sectors made it a nervous wait for the boys in red. 

Crossing the line with a time of 1:33.938s, the Monegasque clawed his way into P8, momentarily demoting Hamilton into the bottom five, before the seven-time world champion relegated his Mercedes replacement to P11. 

Missing out by just 0.006s, Kimi Antonelli wasn’t able to match his newly re-signed teammate’s pace in SQ2, bowing out in P11 ahead of Isack Hadjar, Gasly, Lance Stroll, and Lawson. 

Opting to complete one single run in SQ2, Lawson remained in the Racing Bulls garage for six minutes. 

When he joined the session, Lawson’s lap didn’t go the way he had hoped, with the Kiwi running wide at Turn 19, resulting in a lap deletion for exceeding track limits.

Faulting a slow-moving Ferrari on the racing line, had the #30 not run wide, Lawson still would have missed the cut-off for a place in SQ3, with his time of 1:34.316s initially placing him in P11.

Sprint Qualifying 3:

With the stakes higher when the final session kicked off, the mandatory soft tyre meant teams only opted to complete one flying lap in the fight for Sprint pole.

Not following that theory, however, were the Williams duo and George Russell, with the Mercedes driver setting a messy benchmark time of 1:32.888s, just 0.023s ahead of Sainz, as the rest of the field ventured out with four minutes to go.

Nico Hulkenberg flew through the first sector, already moving over a tenth clear of the Ferraris before slotting into the lead.

Norris quickly stole that accolade by four-tenths, with Piastri further demoting the standout Sauber despite falling over three-tenths short of his teammate and championship rival. 

A front row lockout wasn’t McLaren’s to keep, however, with the relentless Dutchman perfecting the lap and claiming purple sectors on his way to securing pole for the United States Grand Prix Sprint Race. 

With a time of 1:32.143s, Verstappen will lead the 250-metre charge to the first corner, having edged clear of Norris by just 0.071s to claim his 10th Sprint pole.

Piastri will share Row 2 with Hulkenberg, while Russell’s early gamble left him in P5 when the chequered flag waved.

The Mercedes driver will line up alongside Fernando Alonso, with the final four top-ten positions being filled by a mixed order of Williams and Ferrari drivers, with Sainz slotting into P7 ahead of Hamilton, Albon, and Leclerc, who continued to miss the mark in SQ3. 

The mixed grid builds the excitement for tomorrow’s Sprint spectacular, with the 19-lap showdown for the highly coveted eight additional points kicking off at 04:00 AEST on Sunday morning. 

Image: Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

USGP Sprint Qualifying Results:

2025 United States Grand Prix Schedule (AEST):

Saturday, October 18th:

Free Practice: 04:30 – 05:30

Sprint Qualifying: 08:30 – 09:14

Sunday, October 19th:

Sprint Race: 04:00 – 04:30

Qualifying: 08:00 – 09:00

Monday, October 20th:

Race: 06:00 – 08:00

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