Formula 1 | Norris beats Verstappen to put McLaren F1 on pole in Austin

Max Verstappen took pole position for the United States Grand Prix Sprint, and he won this Saturday in the 100 kilometer race. The Red Bull driver seems to be the most energetic this weekend, but he was closely followed during the Sprint, first by Lando Norris, then by the Ferraris.

Indeed, we saw four teams show off this weekend, with Verstappen and Norris at the forefront in Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint, and the Mercedes in spirit during the first qualifying rounds of the Grand Prix. Ferrari was slightly behind on one lap, but the SF-24s were formidable during the Sprint.

With the end of Parc Fermé between the Sprint and qualifying, it is certain that the truths of yesterday will no longer be those of today, and surprises can always happen. Especially since unlike the Sprint Qualifying, the entire session will be done on soft tires.

And with the asphalt going well over 40 degrees this Saturday, preparing the car to put it in the right window is crucial. This is going to be one of the big challenges of this session.

Liam Lawson will have a 60-place penalty on the starting grid, while Guanyu Zhou will drop five positions due to part changes outside of their quotas.

Q1 – 18 minutes

Still frustrated that Liam Lawson defended himself against him during the Sprint, Fernando Alonso overtook the New Zealander at the exit of the pits. He then interfered with his preparation, and Lawson complained about it on the radio, but his engineer Pierre Hamelin told him not to worry or worry about it.

Alonso set the first benchmark in 1’34″496, ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon. Norris did better in 1’34″029, while Carlos Sainz failed to finish 0″075 behind the McLaren. Charles Leclerc was placed behind Bottas, and Oscar Piastri placed third.

Verstappen did better than Norris in 1’33″690, confirming his good form. Sergio Pérez set the same time as Norris and was therefore provisionally classified third. Leclerc’s time was withdrawn and the Monegasque returned to the pits .

Alex Albon took the fourth fastest time, immediately beaten by Franco Colapinto! Nico Hülkenberg set the second time, and George Russell did not do better than tenth, while Lewis Hamilton placed 14th.

Pierre Gasly took the best time in 1’33″550, and Esteban Ocon moved up to fourth place, immediately beaten by Lawson. Yuki Tsunoda placed himself just behind his new teammate. And the Japanese lost his time for non- respecting the track limits. Alonso moved up to 13th place.

Sainz improved to second place, and Leclerc took the best time in 1’33″241. Piastri also progressed, but only to seventh position, and Norris set the fourth fastest time. We can be surprised by Gasly’s time , still second after the passage of Ferrari and McLaren.

The stewards noted that Lance Stroll interfered with a driver. Verstappen took the best position in 1’33″046. Russell moved up to third, but Hamilton didn’t do better than 16th, and he will be eliminated!

Tsunoda moved up to seventh place, and Lawson took third fastest time, almost half a second ahead of Tsunoda! Alonso improved with the tenth fastest time. Zhou moved up to move ahead of Bottas while Hamilton’s lap was canceled, pushing him back to 18th.

Piastri took the tenth time, and Colapinto did not do better than 15th. Bottas took 18th place, and Magnussen moved up to seventh, while Stroll took 15th place. Pérez is ninth and Ocon 14th. Colapinto also lost a time.

Those eliminated from this Q1 are Albon, Colapinto, Bottas, Hamilton and Zhou.

Q2 – 15 minutes

After his third place in Q1, Liam Lawson will not set a time in this Q2, because he would risk eliminating Tsunoda, while the Japanese is aiming for a place in Q3. The New Zealander’s engineer congratulated him on his Q1 result: “You showed what you had to show”.

Verstappen set the first benchmark in 1’33″052, and Pérez set a time four tenths behind his teammate. This allowed Sainz to come in, but also Gasly who placed himself in front of the Ferrari! Leclerc finished with only the fifth provisional time.

With an Alpine without changes, Ocon took fifth place in front of Stroll, and Alonso came between them. Tsunoda placed fifth, immediately beaten by Hülkenberg and Magnussen. Norris set the best time in the second sector and took the lead of the session in 1’32″851. Piastri set the third time. Russell moved up to fourth.

Lawson offers the aspiration to Tsunoda, who specified instructions for his teammate: “Tell Liam to ride in the middle of the straight and move to the left at the end of the straight because I was collecting a lot of dust”.

Verstappen improved again in 1’32″584, two tenths ahead of Norris. Leclerc secured a place in Q3 with the third time, and Pérez placed fourth. Tsunoda improved and took the ninth time.

Gasly once again set a good time but has not progressed since his seventh place. Sainz moved up to second place, and Ocon did not do better than 11th. Hülkenberg did not do better than tenth and seemed to go a little beyond the track limits.

Magnussen moved back in front of Tsunoda and eliminated Hülkenberg, while Alonso moved up to ninth, eliminating Tsunoda. Stroll also improved but did not do better than 14th.

Those eliminated from this Q2 are Tsunoda, Hülkenberg, Ocon, Stroll and Lawson.

Q3 – 12 minutes

Nine drivers came out for a first attempt in the first three minutes of the session. Only Fernando Alonso does not seem to have enough sets of tires to make two runs in this Q3.

Russell set the first benchmark in 1’32″974, beaten by Norris in 1’32″330, but also by Piastri who slipped into second place. Sainz closed the gap and took second place, while Leclerc placed third.

Magnussen set a fairly distant time, while Gasly placed sixth, very close to Russell’s Mercedes. Verstappen finished with the second fastest time, 31 thousandths of a second behind Norris! And Pérez did no better than eighth, 0.899 behind Verstappen!

Pérez’s time was not even validated, because the Mexican went wide in a turn and saw his time canceled. With Lawson’s third place in Q1, the pressure will quickly mount on Pérez at Red Bull.

Fernando made his only lap in the middle of Q3, when the others were exiting the pits to prepare for the final run. The Aston Martin F1 driver finished eighth, ahead of Magnussen and behind Gasly.

Verstappen had a better first sector and Norris was not improving his lap, but Russell went out in the penultimate corner and triggered a yellow flag which canceled all drivers’ attempts!

The Mercedes driver was fine but his car was damaged, and above all, this created a status quo compared to the first run of Q3. Which allowed Lando Norris to maintain pole position ahead of Max Verstappen!

The two men will be on the front row in front of Sainz and Leclerc for an all-red second row. Piastri and Russell will be on the third row if the latter does not have any major changes to make following his exit from the track.

Gasly and Alonso will share the fourth row after this very good performance from the Alpine driver, and Magnussen will be ninth ahead of Pérez, who therefore did not have a time kept in Q3.