F1: Verstappen wins pole for USGP Sprint Race

–by Mark Cipolloni–

After losing out on pole for the USGP on Friday because he had his fast lap deleted, Max Verstappen turned a lap of 1m34.538s to win pole for the Saturday Sprint Race.

It was an extremely tight qualifying session, with just 0.101s separating the top-4 drivers over a long lap distance and Max Verstappen overcame a spin to win the pole.

The McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri rounded out the top-5.

Sainz, Perez and Russell with Albon and Gasly rounding out the top 10.

“The last lap wasn’t great but we are still on pole, so the car is working well,” said Verstappen.

“Today should be great, so many teams quite close. Normally in the race we are quite okay, but this track is quite demanding. Tyre management is quite key around here. It’s going to be tough.”

“It’s so close, but I was happier today than with my lap yesterday, I think I got more out of it but so did the others,” said Norris. “It has been so close between Red Bull, Ferrari and ourselves all weekend. We’ve not done any long-running – it is a question for everyone. We are in with a shot, the pace is strong, only a tenth off so we are definitely in with a shot.”

This has been an incredibly tight weekend, four teams in the mix and plenty of variables. No one has any long run data, the tires are an unknown and there are points up for grabs. All of which should make this Sprint absolutely fascinating to watch.

SQ1 (Medium Tires)

Verstappen was fastest in SQ1 with a lap of 1m35.997s, nipping Leclerc by just 0.002s with the Williams of Alex Albon in third. Knocked out were both Haas cars (Hulkenberg and Magnussen), Valtteri Bottas n the Alpha Romero, Yuki Tsunoda in the AlphaTauri and struggling Logan Sargeant in the Williams.

SQ2 (Medium Tires)

Despite a 360-degree spin, Red Bull Honda ace Max Verstappen was fastest in SQ2 with a lap of 1m35.181s, beating the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc by 0.205s and Carlos Sainz Jr. by 0.361s. Knocked out were Daniel Ricciardo, Fernando ALonso, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll and Guanyu Zhou.

What a save! 😳#F1 #USGPpic.twitter.com/PJ2w7giixo

— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) October 21, 2023

SQ3 (Soft Tires)

Max Verstappen turned a lap of 1m34.538s to beat Leclerc by 0.055s and Lewis Hamilton by 0.069s. The McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri rounded out the top-5.

Sprint Race Qualifying Results