Home F1 US GP: Verstappen beats Russell by 0.012s to F1 sprint pole

F1, US GP, Max Verstappen — AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 18: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 18, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202410180678 // Usage for editorial use only //

US GP: Verstappen beats Russell by 0.012s to F1 sprint pole

18/10/2024

Max Verstappen was back on top with a F1 sprint pole in US GP by 0.012s from George Russell, with Charles Leclerc in third.

SQ1 –

The start of F1 US GP sprint qualifying in Circuit of the Americas started with a track limits for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez but the Mexican managed to recover then on. But it wasn’t fortunate for McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, whose track limits came right at the end.

He improved to seventh but a track limits at Turn 19 saw him drop to 16th and out with a 1m34.881s time, missing out by 0.016s eventually. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon – without the updates – saw himself in 17th with a 1m34.917s lap.

Williams’ Alexander Albon had a big save after a half spin when on a push lap towards the end. But it cost him a place in SQ2 as he was 18th with a 1m35.054s lap, as he led the Kick Sauber pair of Valtteri Bottas (1m35.148s) and Zhou Guanyu (1m35.193s).

The Top 3 places saw Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc lead the way on the medium tyres with a 1m33.647s lap ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with the Brit finding good time after a scrappy FP1 session.

SQ2 –

The second part of F1 US GP sprint qualifying saw Perez unable escape the drop zone this time to be knocked out by Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda by a good margin after his 1m34.244s lap to be 11th for the Saturday’s race.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was 12th but track limits saw his lap being deleted to drop to 15th. But he was promoted to 14th after lap deletion for Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson as well, where neither had a time.

Joining the no-time list was Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll in 13th behind Alpine’s Pierre Gasly (1m34.363s) in 12th, who was noted for impeding Williams’ Franco Colapinto. At the front, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz (1m33.274s) led from Verstappen and Hamilton.

SQ3 –

The start of the final F1 US GP sprint qualifying saw a delay for Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg after the team found a water leak problem. They managed to fix it, as Colapinto had a spin on his first run which he managed to catch and make it in the pits.

The final run saw Russell held onto his top spot but only until Verstappen beat him by 0.012s to take F1 sprint pole in US GP with a 1m32.833s lap against 1m32.845s lap. Leclerc rounded out the Top 3 with a 1m33.089s lap.

He had a small moment to lose time, as he led a close pack of McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m33.083s) and Sainz (1m33.089s) behind him. Hamilton (1m33.378s) wasn’t happy with his lap to be just seventh behind Hulkenberg (1m33.183s) in sixth.

The Top 10 was rounded out by Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (1m33.398s), Tsunoda (1m33.802s) and Colapinto (1m34.406s), who managed to stick a lap on a stricken tyre.