Max Verstappen took another small step in his 2025 Formula 1 drivers' championship quest by beating the McLarens to pole for the United States Grand Prix sprint race at Austin.
Verstappen had a pretty much flawless session, trading blows with the McLarens, led at almost every juncture by Lando Norris - who didn’t display any signs of the mysterious 'consequences' McLaren has thrust upon him for hitting Oscar Piastri in the last race in Singapore.
It all came down to a one-lap SQ3 shootout and Verstappen did the opposite to what he'd done in the previous sessions, running as late as possible. Verstappen was his typical bulletproof self, dispatching Norris by just 0.071s in his rejuvenated Red Bull.
Piastri was a lonely third, 0.380s adrift, with the only positive being this is for the sprint rather than qualifying for the grand prix proper.
Best of the rest was Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber.
Hulkenberg recorded his best qualifying of the season last time out with 11th, but that certainly didn't point to his incredible Friday performance in Austin.
He was second in practice and in the top five in all three sprint qualifying segments, taking fourth while his Sauber team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto went out in SQ1.
George Russell (Mercedes) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) were fifth and sixth as their sole team representatives in SQ3, ahead of Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc.
Antonelli and Ferrari squabble to get out of SQ2
SQ2 gave us some of the best drama of the session as the Ferraris and Kimi Antonelli fought to make it through the SQ3.
Leclerc was 13th when the chequered flag came out, but jumped to eighth with his final lap, pushing Hamilton into the drop zone.
But then Hamilton dramatically improved to knock out Kimi Antonelli, the driver he was replaced by at Mercedes, who locked up at the Turn 11 left-hander that leads onto the back straight on his last lap.
Antonelli headed Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly, who has to be one of the stars of qualifying getting his Alpine up to 13th and ahead of a Red Bull, a Racing Bull, an Aston Martin, both Haas, a Sauber and his team-mate Franco Colapinto.
Lance Stroll was 14th, ahead of Liam Lawson - who had his sole SQ2 scrubbed off for track limits.
Tsunoda among SQ1 nightmare exits
The end of SQ1 was an absolute mess.
Ollie Bearman was the fastest car bumped out ahead of Franco Colapinto, while Yuki Tsunoda followed.
"I mean, what?!" said Tsunoda on the radio. Coming out of the pits he was effectively forced off the road as he tried to pass Lawson at Turn 2, and failed to reach the line in time to get another lap in.
Esteban Ocon was 19th, in the same group as Tsunoda that failed to get across the line before the chequered flag, ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto.
Bortoleto has been more than a match for Hulkenberg in qualifying this season, but lost his first lap at Turn 19 for track limits, and then was baulked at the final corner with three cars sat on the racing line.
"What the **** was this," said a furious Bortoleto.
A string of drivers have been investigated or are under investigation for driving too slowly. An onboard from Leclerc showed the Ferrari having to try to dodge six cars at the last corner alone. Hamilton almost drove into the back of car in the final corner while he tried to start a lap.
Sprint qualifying result
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1m32.143s
2 Lando Norris (McLaren) 1m32.214s
3 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1m32.523s
4 Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) 1m32.645s
5 George Russell (Mercedes) 1m32.888s
6 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1m32.910s
7 Carlos Sainz (Williams) 1m32.911s
8 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1m33.035s
9 Alex Albon (Williams) 1m33.099s
10 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1m33.104s
11 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 1m34.018s
12 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) 1m34.241s
13 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 1m34.258s
14 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 1m34.394s
15 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) No time
16 Ollie Bearman (Haas) 1m35.159s
17 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) 1m35.246s
18 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) 1m35.259s
19 Esteban Ocon (Haas) 1m36.003s
20 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) No time
