Verstappen Holds Off McLarens to Take Sprint Pole in Austin
- Damian Hall
- Oct 18
- 2 min read
For the second consecutive year, Max Verstappen will start the Sprint from pole at the Circuit of the Americas, narrowly beating Lando Norris of McLaren by just 0.071s in a tense Sprint Qualifying session. The Red Bull driver posted a best lap of 1:32.143, ensuring he will lead the grid once again in Austin after dominating from pole at the same event last year.
“It’s been a nice qualifying. Throughout all the segments we were quite close, just about putting it all together, which is not easy when you go to the soft compounds,” Verstappen said after securing pole.
“Excited for tomorrow, happy for today. This has been a very good day for us. I’ll try and have a good start. I hope we have good pace in the Sprint but we’ll find out tomorrow.”
Norris pushed Verstappen all the way, briefly topping the timesheets before the Red Bull driver’s late improvement in the final sector edged him out by the slimmest of margins. The McLaren looked sharp throughout all three segments, with Norris continuing to underline his growing confidence and consistency at the front.
His teammate Oscar Piastri, also driving for McLaren, completed the top three, three tenths behind after another strong qualifying performance that kept both McLarens firmly in the mix for the Sprint.
The Rest of the Grid
Behind the top three, Nico Hulkenberg of Sauber delivered a standout lap to take fourth, a surprise result that briefly saw him top the timing sheets in the closing minutes. George Russell finished fifth for Mercedes, while Fernando Alonso placed sixth for Aston Martin after another composed performance from the veteran Spaniard.
Carlos Sainz led the Williams charge in seventh, ahead of Sir Lewis Hamilton, who placed eighth for Ferrari after a difficult middle sector cost him a few tenths. Alex Albon secured ninth for Williams, and Leclerc rounded out the top ten for Ferrari after an untidy final run.
Kimi Antonelli finished eleventh for Mercedes, followed by Isack Hadjar in twelfth for Racing Bulls and Pierre Gasly in thirteenth for Alpine. Lance Stroll was fourteenth for Aston Martin, with Liam Lawson fifteenth for Racing Bulls.
Further back, Ollie Bearman took sixteenth for Haas, ahead of Franco Colapinto in seventeenth for Alpine. Yuki Tsunoda was eighteenth for Red Bull, while Esteban Ocon finished nineteenth for Haas, and Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the field in twentieth for Sauber.
Comments