AUSTIN, Texas — Max Verstappen has taken pole position for the Sprint at the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas.
The Dutchman turned in a stunning lap during the final moments of Sprint Qualifying to defeat McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Norris set the pace through the session, having topped SQ1 and SQ2 before initially looking to have repeated this feat in SQ3. But it was Verstappen who went fastest of all, the Red Bull driver’s effort of 1 minute and 32.143 seconds putting him 0.071 seconds clear of Norris.
“It was nice to finish on pole for the Sprint. In practice, we were fine tuning the car and understanding the track,” Verstappen said. “The track got even bumpier which made it more difficult to drive so we kept making some little adjustments to the car. In Sprint Qualifying it was a little bit better.
“Of course, we went through the compounds and onto the soft tire on the final run and we only had one go with it and it paid off. The grip actually improved quite a bit on the soft tire compared to the medium tire. For us it was all about putting it together and the wind was also changing around quite a bit. To be first was good, it was close and I expect it to also be close tomorrow. We know that in the race the McLarens step it up so it will be tough.”
Piastri was just over three-tenths off Verstappen’s time in third, while Nico Hulkenberg caught the eye by slotting his Kick Sauber into fourth. Mercedes’ George Russell followed in fifth, ahead of the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.
