After a tough Sprint race, both McLarens returned to action for qualifying at the F1 United States GP. Verstappen dominated under the Texas sun, securing pole position with a blistering lap ahead of Norris and Leclerc. Despite struggles earlier in the session, McLaren showed solid pace, with Norris taking P2 and Piastri set to start from 6th only.
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Q1
Both of the McLarens were ready for qualifying after their collision in the Sprint race.
Some minutes after the green flag Hadjar made a mistake and crashed at turn 6 – the Q1 was interrupted by the red flag. Leclerc topped after the first laps – 1:33.525 was the fastest time actually. The Papaya guys seemed quite weak during their shots.
Behind Verstappen, the Mercedes drivers showed strong times, Russell and Antonelli came 2nd and 3rd.
Out: Bortoleto, Ocon, Stroll, Albon, Hadjar
Q2
1:32.701 was Verstappen’s opener lap, which was the fastest in the start of the middle stage. The Dutchman was followed by Leclerc and Norris.
For the second time nobody could improve on their laps, in this way Piastri finished only 8th.
Out: Hulkenberg, Lawson, Tsunoda, Gasly, Colapinto
Q3
Verstappen started hard, 1:32.510 was the best time among the first flying laps. Norris and Russell were standing behind the Dutchman. Both Ferrari drivers made mistakes: Leclerc spun in the final corner, Hamilton braked too deep in the first one.
The second run showed Ferrari’s surprise: Leclerc jumped big in ranking and finished 3rd. Verstappen missed out the other flying lap, but nobody could beat him. The Red Bull driver set the pole ahead of Norris. Piastri was struggling, he has to start from the 6th on Sunday.
The full results of the qualifying according to FIA.com:
