Verstappen seals pole position ahead of Norris and Leclerc in Austin Qualifying

Max Verstappen has seized pole position for the United States Grand Prix, the Dutchman’s initial lap in Q3 proving enough to secure him the top spot after running out of time to put in a second effort.

Having set the pace through Q1 and Q2, Verstappen looked to have continued that theme by going quickest during the opening laps of Q3 on an effort of 1m 32.510s. While he attempted to go again in the final runs, the Red Bull driver did not reach the line before the chequered flag fell, meaning that he would have to rely on his earlier effort.

It turned out to be enough, with his time putting him 0.291s clear of closest challenger Lando Norris in second. The McLaren driver was only six-thousandths ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third, while Mercedes’ George Russell slotted into fourth.

The other Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton claimed P5, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri seemingly experiencing a tricky session in P6. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli followed in P7, with Haas’ Ollie Bearman, the Williams of Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin rounding out the top 10.

After his impressive Sprint Qualifying performance on Friday, Nico Hulkenberg was unable to replicate this in Saturday’s Qualifying. The Kick Sauber driver exited Q2 in 11th, putting him one position ahead of Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson in 12th.

Yuki Tsunoda took P13 for Red Bull, with the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto just behind in P14 and P15.

There was early drama just a few minutes into Qualifying when a crash for Isack Hadjar brought out the red flags, leaving the Racing Bulls man down in 20th and last place.

Track limits proved to be the undoing of Lance Stroll and Alex Albon in the segment, with the deletion of their respective laps putting the Aston Martin and Williams drivers in 18th and 19th respectively, though a five-place grid penalty for Stroll will drop him to the back. The other names to exit early doors, meanwhile, were Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto (16th) and Haas’ Esteban Ocon (17th).

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Verstappen quickest as Hadjar brings out red flags

Hours on from an action-packed Sprint at the Circuit of The Americas, the attentions of the paddock shifted to Qualifying, which would decide the starting order for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix.

A queue had already formed in the pit lane ahead of the green light signalling the start of Q1, with Ocon leading the pack out for the 18-minute segment. Two drivers to emerge after the initial chain had dispersed were the McLaren pair of Norris and Piastri, both back in action after their earlier Lap 1 exit in the Sprint.

A red flag was thrown just minutes into the session when Hadjar hit the barriers, having lost the rear of the car before spinning off. The Racing Bulls driver was seen hitting the steering wheel in frustration following the incident, while work began to clear his stricken car from the track.

Once the session resumption time had been announced shortly afterwards – with just over 14 minutes left on the clock – another pit lane queue quickly developed. The majority of the field had bolted on soft tyres for their early runs with the exception of Hamilton, who had ran used mediums before also switching to the soft rubber.

There was a dicey moment for Norris as he tried to put a first timed lap on the board, the Briton going wide which forced him to abandon his effort. Leclerc, meanwhile, had gone fastest on a lap of 1m 33.525s, putting him 0.065s clear of Verstappen.

Norris’ next attempt was more successful but could still only place him in seventh, one position behind team mate Piastri. At the other end of the timesheets, the drivers at risk as the session entered its final minutes were Stroll, Colapinto, Albon and Bortoleto, along with Hadjar whose crash had brought an early end to his Qualifying.

The Mercedes pair of Russell and Antonelli caught the eye by briefly taking a 1-2, before Sprint winner Verstappen displaced the former at the top by one tenth on a lap of 1m 33.207s. Colapinto, meanwhile, had moved himself just out of danger to P15, pushing the previously improved Bortoleto back down to P16.

All eyes were then on Albon as the Thai driver tried to escape elimination. He promptly seemed to do so by putting his Williams into eighth place – but his lap time was then deleted for exceeding track limits, pushing him back to P19.

Another driver to have their effort erased for the same reason was Stroll, leaving the Canadian in 18th, which will become last place due to a five-place grid penalty. Bortoleto also failed to progress to Q2 in 16th, with Ocon in 17th while Hadjar – having been unable to rejoin the session – brought up the rear in 20th.

Knocked out: Bortoleto, Ocon, Stroll, Albon, Hadjar

Q2 – P1 again for Verstappen

Another 15 minutes went on the clock as Q2 got underway, the soft rubber again proving the tyre of choice for the field as they set to putting a time on the board. Verstappen looked to have continued his Q1 form forward, setting an early benchmark of 1m 32.701s.

Leclerc slotted into second, 0.168s away from Verstappen, with Norris third and Hamilton fourth following the initial runs. Piastri, meanwhile, was back in seventh, not a comfortable position for the McLaren driver to be in.

Further back, the names at risk were Lawson, Russell, Tsunoda, Colapinto and Gasly, the latter having yet to set a lap after his time was deleted due to track limits. Russell returned to the track earlier than most for his decisive lap, the Briton moving up to P6.

As the action picked up in the final minutes of Q2 – with just Verstappen opting to stay in the garage, seemingly feeling safe at the top – the other Red Bull of Tsunoda could not better his previous time, leaving him in P13, while Hulkenberg was also unable to progress in P11.

After getting a lap on the board, Gasly moved forward but only to P14 – ahead of team mate Colapinto – while Lawson also exited in P12.

Knocked out: Hulkenberg, Lawson, Tsunoda, Gasly, Colapinto

Q3 – Verstappen runs out of time – but still takes pole

The remaining 10 drivers readied themselves to battle it out in the decisive Q3, with Verstappen and the McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari duos joined by Sainz, Alonso and Bearman for the final shootout.

Most of the pack had opted for fresh soft tyres, while Piastri, Bearman, Alonso and Sainz had bolted on used sets. And once the first runs had been completed, Verstappen again went fastest to claim provisional pole on a lap of 1m 32.510s, going 0.394s clear of Norris.

Russell and Antonelli had slotted into third and fourth, with Bearman and Sainz beating Piastri while Alonso, Hamilton and Leclerc rounded out the order. The latter’s time was some four seconds off that set by Verstappen – and it soon became clear why, with replays showing the Ferrari completing a 360-degree spin into the final corner.

Attentions then turned to the all-important final runs, for which everybody was sporting fresh tyres. There was concern at Red Bull over whether Verstappen would reach the line in time to start his lap – a worry that came to fruition as the Dutchman indeed missed out, meaning that he would need to rely on his earlier effort.

As the others put their own laps in, Verstappen's first time proved unbeatable. Norris slotted into second place – 0.291s back from Verstappen – while Leclerc was not far behind in third. Russell and Hamilton were next in the order, with Piastri back in sixth on a tough day for the Australian. Antonelli, Bearman, Sainz and Alonso, meanwhile, completed the top 10 for the United States Grand Prix.

Key quote

“It was good," said polesitter Verstappen. "I think in every segment, the car was very strong. Just trying to put the lap together sometimes here can be very tricky. It’s very hot with very strong winds as well, and in the first sector, having that tailwind is challenging.

“The first run in Q3 was good, we managed to improve a little bit from Q2. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do my final run. It was a bit messy with the out laps, but luckily, we didn’t need it. For us, again, a very strong result.”

What's next

The 2025 United States Grand Grand Prix is set to begin at 1400 local time on Sunday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action from the Circuit of The Americas.