Red Bull’s Max Verstappen Snatches Pole at Circuit of the Americas While Rivals Struggle

19th October 2024

Hometown Haas F1 Team Impresses with 6th and 8th in Qualifying

Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

Red Bull's Max Verstappen stormed to pole position in Sprint Qualifying in Texas, delivering a stunning lap time of 1:32.833. Mercedes’ George Russell followed closely, just 0.012 seconds off the pace, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third, 0.226 seconds behind.

Verstappen secured pole in dramatic fashion, setting his fastest time with no time left on the clock, despite not leading in earlier sessions. Reflecting on the challenging sprint format, the Dutchman said: “We had a good day. Of course, sprint quali is always difficult—you do medium, medium, then soft, and you never really know how much you can push.”

Sprint qualifying consists of three sessions: Sprint Qualifying 1 (SQ1) lasts 12 minutes, followed by a 10-minute SQ2, and concludes with an 8-minute SQ3. Drivers must use medium (yellow-marked) tyres for the first two sessions before switching to soft (red-marked) tyres for the final run.

The Red Bull driver was pleased with his car’s performance, adding: “The whole day, the car was working quite well.” Looking ahead to the sprint, he said: "We will do the best we can tomorrow for the sprint, but of course, we know the most points are available on Sunday, so that’s where we really want to do well.”

Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

While Verstappen thrived, his teammate Sergio Perez struggled. Knocked out in SQ2, Perez will start the sprint from 11th. “I am just struggling too much early in the lap... some work to do there,” Perez admitted.

Drivers' Championship contender Lando Norris qualified 4th for McLaren but was left dissatisfied. “I’ve been struggling the whole day with the balance,” Norris explained, indicating an uphill sprint ahead. Meanwhile, his teammate Oscar Piastri was eliminated in SQ1 and will start from 16th. “It’s going to be tough to get to the points from where we are,” Piastri acknowledged.

Among the surprises of the day, Nico Hülkenberg impressed with a 6th-place finish, while his teammate secured 8th—an excellent result for Haas at their home race. Another standout was Williams’ rookie Franco Colapinto, who advanced to SQ3. Despite spinning out during the final session, he will line up 10th for the sprint.

Adding to the day’s upsets, Mercedes' Sir Lewis Hamilton finds himself out of position in 7th, sandwiched between the two Haas drivers—far from where the seven-time world champion would typically expect to start after competitive performances in previous sessions.

The Sprint kicks off later today (October 19th), offering drivers a chance to secure crucial points and momentum heading into the weekend. Once the dust settles, attention will shift to the all-important Grand Prix qualifying, where the final grid will be set for Sunday’s race.