Norris takes pole in Austin after Russell’s crash, while Alonso capitalises to secure eighth with his lone remaining tyre set.
Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Sprint at the United States Grand Prix, and went on to claim victory in the 100-kilometre race on Saturday. The Red Bull driver appears to be the man to beat this weekend, although he was closely pursued in the Sprint, initially by Lando Norris and later by Ferrari.
Indeed, this weekend has seen four teams in the spotlight, with Verstappen and Norris leading the way in both the Sprint Qualifying and Sprint race, while Mercedes showed promise in the opening Grand Prix qualifying session. Ferrari, though slightly off the pace over a single lap, proved formidable in the Sprint with their SF-24s.
As Parc Fermé rules end between the Sprint and qualifying, it’s certain that yesterday’s truths may not hold today, and surprises could be in store. Adding to this unpredictability, the entire qualifying session will be run on soft tyres, unlike the Sprint Qualifying.
With track temperatures soaring past 40 degrees on Saturday, setting up the car within the right performance window becomes crucial. This will be one of the major challenges in this session.
Q1 – 18 minutes
Still frustrated by Liam Lawson’s defence during the Sprint, Fernando Alonso passed the New Zealander on his way out of the pits, subsequently impeding him during his preparation. Lawson voiced his displeasure over the radio, but his engineer, Pierre Hamelin, advised him to focus and not worry about it.
Alonso set the early benchmark with a time of 1’34″496, ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon. Norris soon bettered that with a 1’34″029, with Carlos Sainz falling just 0.075 seconds short of the McLaren. Charles Leclerc slotted in behind Bottas, while Oscar Piastri moved into third place.
Verstappen then went fastest with a 1’33″690, reaffirming his strong form. Sergio Pérez matched Norris’s time and provisionally placed third. Leclerc had his lap time deleted and returned to the pits.
Alex Albon momentarily grabbed fourth, only to be overtaken by Franco Colapinto. Nico Hülkenberg set the second-fastest time, while George Russell could only manage tenth. Lewis Hamilton found himself down in 14th.
Pierre Gasly set the fastest time of 1’33″550, with Esteban Ocon moving up to fourth, only to be immediately beaten by Lawson. Yuki Tsunoda placed just behind his new teammate, though his time was deleted for exceeding track limits. Alonso improved to 13th.
Sainz moved up to second, and Leclerc topped the timesheets with a 1’33″241. Piastri improved but could only manage seventh, while Norris moved into fourth. Gasly’s time, surprisingly, held up in second even after the Ferraris and McLarens had completed their laps.
The stewards noted that Lance Stroll impeded another driver. Meanwhile, Verstappen reclaimed the top spot with a time of 1’33″046. Russell moved up to third, but Hamilton couldn’t do better than 16th, meaning he’s set for elimination!
Tsunoda climbed to seventh, and Lawson secured the third-fastest time, nearly half a second ahead of Tsunoda. Alonso improved to take tenth place. Zhou also made progress, moving ahead of Bottas, while Hamilton’s lap was deleted, pushing him down to 18th.
Piastri posted the tenth-fastest time, and Colapinto could only manage 15th. Bottas slipped to 18th, while Magnussen jumped up to seventh, and Stroll took 15th place. Pérez finished ninth and Ocon 14th.
The drivers eliminated from Q1 are Albon, Colapinto, Bottas, Hamilton, and Zhou.
Q2 – 15 minutes
After securing third place in Q1, Liam Lawson opted not to set a time in Q2 to avoid the risk of eliminating his teammate Tsunoda, who was aiming for a spot in Q3. Lawson’s engineer praised his Q1 performance, saying, “You’ve shown what you needed to show.”
Verstappen set the initial benchmark with a time of 1’33″052, while Pérez clocked in four-tenths behind his teammate. This allowed Sainz to slot in between them, with Gasly impressively placing ahead of the Ferrari. Leclerc could only manage a provisional fifth.
In his unmodified Alpine, Ocon took fifth ahead of Stroll, with Alonso wedging himself between them. Tsunoda briefly held fifth but was quickly beaten by Hülkenberg and Magnussen. Norris, posting the fastest time in the second sector, took the top spot with a 1’32″851, while Piastri moved into third. Russell climbed to fourth.
Lawson provided a slipstream for Tsunoda, who issued specific instructions for his teammate: “Tell Liam to stay in the middle of the straight and move left at the end, as I was picking up a lot of dust.”
Verstappen improved again with a 1’32″584, two-tenths ahead of Norris. Leclerc secured his place in Q3 with the third-fastest time, while Pérez took fourth. Tsunoda improved to claim ninth.
Gasly set another strong time but remained seventh. Sainz moved up to second, while Ocon could only manage 11th. Hülkenberg stayed tenth but appeared to slightly exceed track limits.
Magnussen moved ahead of Tsunoda, eliminating Hülkenberg, while Alonso improved to ninth, knocking Tsunoda out. Stroll also improved but could only manage 14th.
The drivers eliminated in Q2 are Tsunoda, Hülkenberg, Ocon, Stroll, and Lawson.
Q3 – 12 minutes
Nine drivers headed out for their first attempts within the opening three minutes of the session. Fernando Alonso, however, appeared to lack enough tyre sets for two runs in this Q3.
Russell set the early benchmark with a 1’32″974, only for Norris to eclipse it with a 1’32″330. Piastri slotted into second, but Sainz closed the gap and took second place, pushing Leclerc down to third.
Magnussen’s time was relatively distant, while Gasly managed sixth, just behind Russell’s Mercedes. Verstappen finished his lap just 0.031 seconds off Norris, claiming second, while Pérez could only manage eighth, a full 0.899 seconds adrift of Verstappen!
Pérez’s lap time wasn’t even validated, as the Mexican ran wide in a corner, resulting in his time being deleted. With Lawson securing third in Q1, pressure on Pérez at Red Bull is set to intensify.
Fernando Alonso completed his only lap midway through Q3, while others were exiting the pits to prepare for their final runs. The Aston Martin driver finished eighth, ahead of Magnussen and just behind Gasly.
Verstappen set the fastest first sector, while Norris wasn’t improving his lap. However, Russell spun at the penultimate corner, triggering a yellow flag that nullified all drivers’ attempts!
Although the Mercedes driver was unharmed, his car sustained damage, and the incident froze the Q3 standings, allowing Lando Norris to retain pole position ahead of Max Verstappen.
The two will start on the front row, with Sainz and Leclerc forming an all-Ferrari second row. Piastri and Russell will line up on the third row, provided Russell doesn’t require significant repairs after his crash.
Gasly and Alonso will share the fourth row, following a strong showing by the Alpine driver, while Magnussen starts ninth ahead of Pérez, who failed to set a valid time in Q3.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes MCL38 | 1:33.616 | 1:32.851 | 1:32.330 |
| 02 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 | 1:33.046 | 1:32.584 | 1:32.361 |
| 03 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari SF-24 | 1:33.556 | 1:32.836 | 1:32.652 |
| 04 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari SF-24 | 1:33.241 | 1:32.962 | 1:32.740 |
| 05 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes MCL38 | 1:33.864 | 1:33.057 | 1:32.950 |
| 06 | George Russell | Mercedes W15 | 1:33.536 | 1:33.142 | 1:32.974 |
| 07 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault A524 | 1:33.550 | 1:33.162 | 1:33.018 |
| 08 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 | 1:33.973 | 1:33.429 | 1:33.309 |
| 09 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari VF-24 | 1:33.564 | 1:33.474 | 1:33.481 |
| 10 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 | 1:33.611 | 1:33.020 | |
| — | —————- | ————— | ———- | ———- | ———- |
| 11 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 | 1:33.795 | 1:33.506 | |
| 12 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas Ferrari VF-24 | 1:33.601 | 1:33.544 | |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault A524 | 1:33.986 | 1:33.597 | |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 | 1:34.033 | 1:33.759 | |
| 15 | Liam Lawson | RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 | 1:33.339 | – :—.— | |
| — | —————- | ————— | ———- | ———- | ———- |
| 16 | Alex Albon | Williams Mercedes FW46 | 1:34.051 | ||
| 17 | Franco Colapinto | Williams Mercedes FW46 | 1:34.062 | ||
| 18 | Valtteri Bottas | Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 | 1:34.152 | ||
| 19 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W15 | 1:34.154 | ||
| 20 | Guanyu Zhou | Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 | 1:34.228 |
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Hamilton Out in Q1 as Verstappen Leads US Qualifying Charge Hamilton Out in Q1 as Verstappen Leads US Qualifying Charge. f1 2024 Hamilton Out in Q1 as Verstappen Leads US Qualifying Charge
