Verstappen Clinches Pole in Thrilling Sprint Qualifying at 2024 F1 United States Grand Prix

F1 United States Grand Prix: A Rundown of Friday's Sprint Qualifying

Catch up on everything from the sprint qualifying session at the 2024 F1 United States Grand Prix.

Our live updates for today have concluded, but be sure to return tomorrow for the Sprint race, scheduled for 7pm BST.

Max Verstappen emerged as the top contender in the sprint qualifying, narrowly securing the pole position over George Russell by a slim margin of just 0.012 seconds.

The session at the Circuit of the Americas was closely contested, with just 0.2 seconds separating the top five drivers during the sprint qualifying.

The initial drivers to take to the track in SQ3 were from Mercedes, with Russell securing the temporary pole position.

Lewis Hamilton was poised to surpass it following an explosive start in Sector 1, but he erred approaching Turn 12.

Following that, Russell's leading time remained unbeaten until Verstappen managed to surpass it.

The man from the Netherlands aims to secure another sprint win for his resume this Saturday.

Access the complete analysis by clicking here.

2024 Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix – Results from the Sprint Qualification Session

In a thrilling turn of events, it appeared that Russell was on track to secure pole position, but in a dramatic last moment, Verstappen snatched the top spot. He narrowly beat Russell's Mercedes by a mere 0.012 seconds.

Leclerc secures a third-place finish, surpassing Norris and Sainz, as Hulkenberg manages to qualify ahead of a visibly disappointed Hamilton, who ends up in seventh place.

"Let's be real, fellas… that performance was subpar," Hamilton communicates via the team intercom.

The seven-time world champion seems dissatisfied with Mercedes regarding the timing of his race.

Russell kicks off impressively, establishing an initial standard with a time of 1 minute and 32.845 seconds.

Hamilton finishes behind his Mercedes counterpart by half a second, as the Silver Arrows pair exits the race earlier than their competitors.

Meanwhile, Colapinto loses control of his Williams, spinning out at Turn 15, which spoils his lap.

SQ3 has officially begun. The question on everyone's mind is, who will emerge victorious in the quest for the leading spot?

Sainz edged out Verstappen to claim the quickest lap in the second qualifying session.

A surprise twist during the sprint qualifying round as Perez is knocked out in SQ2, joined by:

11) Perez

12) Lawson

13) Gasly

14) Stroll

15) Alonso

Verstappen secures the second position for his Red Bull, narrowly trailing Sainz by just 0.016 seconds.

Perez, who is part of the Red Bull team, finds himself in 10th place, lagging almost a second behind and ranking as the slowest among drivers who have finished a lap to this point.

At the beginning of SQ2, Sainz takes the lead for Ferrari.

He leads the pack at Hamilton, clocking the quickest lap to date, while his colleague Leclerc secures the third spot and Russell, in the other Mercedes, follows closely in fourth position.

Norris from McLaren ranks fifth in speed during his initial attempt.

Vehicles are returning to the circuit for the latter segment of the sprint qualifying session.

Stunningly, Piastri has been knocked out in 16th position following the removal of his quickest lap time.

He has been removed together with:

16) Piastri

17) Ocon

18) Albon

19) Bottas

20) Zhou

On his second attempt against the clock, Perez elevates his position into the top-10, securing the seventh spot.

This should ensure his successful advancement.

Perez is facing intense scrutiny to progress to SQ2 following the disqualification of his initial SQ1 lap due to exceeding track boundaries.

This puts the Red Bull racer in last place at 20th, without a recorded lap time.

Hamilton leads the initial rounds of SQ1, edging out Ferrari's Leclerc, McLaren's Norris, and Sainz in the second Ferrari, with his Mercedes teammate Russell landing in fifth place.

Currently, focus shifts to the race track events and the pivotal fight for the initial pole position available in Austin this weekend. Who will emerge victorious?

The signal at the pit lane's end is green, marking the beginning of SQ1.

In his first public discussion on Red Bull's ride-height mechanism, team leader Christian Horner revealed to Sky Sports, "Each vehicle possesses a mechanism to tweak what is referred to as the front section of the floor, known as the bib. Our device is situated right at the front, ahead of the footwell. It's been a part of our setup for more than three years.

To access it, you must remove the pedals, other body panels, and piping. Thus, similar to making adjustments elsewhere on the vehicle, tweaking a rear roll bar would be simpler than reaching that specific part.

"This is included in the exterior packaging at the chassis' front section."

Horner further stated, "We're under constant observation, with cameras and officials monitoring our vehicles. In the past three years, our car has undergone more examinations than any other in the pit lane. This leaves us completely at ease."

Amidst the pause in racing activities, the controversy over Red Bull's contentious ride height mechanism continued to unfold.

At the FIA team representatives press conference held on Friday, McLaren CEO Zak Brown persisted in criticizing Red Bull.

"Brown mentioned that a decision was made to finalize it, while also acknowledging feedback from the team indicating the impossibility of making adjustments to it once the car is completely ready for the race. He noted that the car isn't always in its fully prepared state for racing in parc ferme and on Sunday mornings, suggesting that this issue requires further examination.

"Why is it necessary to seal an item that's inaccessible during parc ferme or after-parc ferme situations? I still have queries that require clearer explanations."

Who's geared up for the excitement of the qualifiers?

The Sprint Qualifying session is scheduled to begin in less than 30 minutes, determining the starting positions for Austin's sprint race on Saturday.

This represents the initial sprint race since the one held in Austria, dating back to July.

Carlos Sainz led the performance charts in the sole Formula 1 practice round of the weekend at the United States Grand Prix.

As the sprint format makes its comeback at the Circuit of the Americas this weekend, teams were allotted just an hour of track time to perfect their configurations before the sprint qualifying session set for later today.

From the start, Ferrari showed strong performance, with Sainz and Charles Leclerc posting impressive times while using the harder compound tires.

Max Verstappen was in the lead as the final 20 minutes approached, having set his fastest lap on soft tires early on, but Carlos Sainz outperformed him, finishing 0.253 seconds faster.

Access the complete report by clicking here

Complete results from Friday's practice session

The checkered flag has been waved, marking the end of this weekend’s sole hour of practice.

Sainz takes the lead, finishing at the top in a Ferrari one-two, followed closely by his teammate Leclerc.

Verstappen holds the third position, leading over the McLarens driven by Norris and Piastri, as well as Hamilton's Mercedes.

Sainz outpaces Verstappen, securing the fastest lap with a time of 1 minute and 33.602 seconds, leading the pack by a margin of 0.253 seconds.

Alonso secures the third position, leading Hamilton, Gasly, Lawson, and Albon.

As FP1 nears its end, numerous drivers are opting for soft tyres. Anticipate significant shifts in the standings as the session concludes…

Zhou has come back to the pit lane, informing his team that his Sauber is experiencing a "loss of power." He currently holds the 19th position in the FP1 standings.

Perez finishes a new lap on soft tyres, bettering his time to move in front of Sainz. Yet, he remains 0.783 seconds behind the pace set by his teammate Verstappen.

The remaining leading competitors have not yet debuted with a set of soft tires.

Subscription Offer

Sign up for our Formula 1 Newsletter

Receive the newest updates, behind-the-scenes content, special features, and exclusive offers from the world of Formula 1 straight to your email.

For additional details, refer to our Privacy Policy.

Recent Updates

Further Updates

Site Navigation

CrashNet

©1999-2024 by Crash Media Group

Copying or replicating any portion of the text, images, or illustrations in any manner is strictly forbidden.