The Texas sized shootout for pole can to an abrupt end Saturday evening as Lando Norris claimed the top position ahead of Max Verstappen thanks in part to a blistering lap from the McLaren driver and an untimely crash for the Mercedes of George Russell in the waning seconds of Q3. With times frozen as the safety car took to circuit, Verstappen was unable to complete his final flying lap, leaving him second ahead of the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz for Sunday’s race.
HIGHLIGHTS: Catch the qualifying action from Austin as Norris takes spectacular pole while Russell crashes out
Q1 Results:
The big storyline of Q1 was the shock exit of Lewis Hamilton. Just hours after his top-6 finish in the Sprint Shootout, Hamilton and the Mercedes team found themselves severely on the back foot as they were unable to find pace. The lack of speed wasn’t limited to Hamilton, as George Russell soon found himself in the bottom five with his teammate as the minutes clicked down in the session.
Further up the grid, Charles LeClerc put himself at the top of the sheets before Verstappen jumped the Ferrari for the quickest time, and in a shock to some, Liam Lawson in his first qualifying session back with the RB squad put his machine third as Hamilton, now sitting 19th overall, was unable to put in a final lap and was out again in the first session. Lawson will be taking a 60-place grid penalty for changes to his RB and will start last, promoting Hamilton to 18th for Sunday’s race, his lowest qualifying in the United States to date.
Drivers out in Q1:
- 16th: Alex Albon (Williams)
- 17th: Franco Colapinto (Williams)
- 18th: Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber)
- 19th: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
- 20th: Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber)
Q2 Results:
Once again, Verstappen held the advantage in qualifying from his rivals as he hit the track first and set the quickest lap before being pushed down the order by Lando Norris, who set a lap two-tenths clear of the Dutchman. With all fifteen cars on track – including the RB of Liam Lawson (there were questions he would participate due to the engine change penalties he was going to be taking) – it wasn’t long before Esteban Ocon, the Aston Martin’s of Stroll and Alonso, and Charles LeClerc found themselves at risk to join Lawson as a Q2 victim.
However, as Verstappen returned to the top of the time sheets, LeClerc quickly set the third quickest time behind Norris as Alonso dropped in a lap good enough for ninth. Echoing his performance in the Sprint Qualifying, Kevin Magnussen put in a top ten performance to the detriment of teammate Hulkenberg, guaranteeing his spot in Q3.
Drivers out in Q2:
- 11th: Yuki Tsunoda (RB)
- 12th: Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
- 13th: Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
- 14th: Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- 15th: Liam Lawson (RB)
Q3 Results:
With the final session underway, Lando Norris took to the circuit quickly and set a blistering time of 1:32.330s for his first run as Verstappen, on a quick lap of his own, faltered in the final sector for the second quickest time.
Carlos Sainz and Charles LeClerc shared the provisional second row ahead of the McLaren of Oscar Piastri as Sergio Perez, at the moment eighth quickest, found himself at the mercy of exceeding track limits, deleting his lap and sending him back to tenth.
With the final moment of qualifying winding down, all drivers were on track for their final laps as Verstappen looked to be going quicker than Norris until drama took over the circuit. George Russell, the lone Mercedes in the top ten, lost control of the rear of his W15 on the quick left-handed turn 19, sending him off the circuit and into the wall at the end of the gravel trap.
Despite being physically unharmed, the G-force sensor in Russell’s helmet registered enough force to prompt an immediate double yellow flag and safety car deployment, ending the session before Verstappen and overs were able to complete their final laps.
With the field frozen, Lando Norris safely claimed his fourth pole in five races ahead of Verstappen, the Ferrari’s of Sainz and Charles LeClerc. Oscar Piastri and George Russell would share the third row as Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, Kevin Magnussen, and Sergio Perez would fill out the final positions.
It will be lights out for the second time tomorrow, tune in for a Texas-sized battle at 14:00 local time as Lando Norris looks to keep Max Verstappen from victory in hopes of cutting into the Dutchman’s championship lead.
Free Practice 1 Report – CLICK HERE
Sprint Qualifying Report – CLICK HERE
Sprint Shootout Report – CLICK HERE
FORMULA 1 PIRELLI UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX 2024 Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (Local Circuit) |
| Oct. 18th | Practice 1 | 12:30 – 13:30 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 16:30 – 17:14 | |
| Oct. 19th | Sprint | 13:00 – 14:00 |
| Qualifying | 17:00 – 18:00 | |
| Oct. 20th | Race | 14:00 |
Qualifying Results:
Pos | No | Driver | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | Norris | 1:33.616 | 1:32.851 | 1:32.330 | 16 |
2 | 1 | Verstappen | 1:33.046 | 1:32.584 | 1:32.361 | 17 |
3 | 55 | Sainz | 1:33.556 | 1:32.836 | 1:32.652 | 19 |
4 | 16 | Leclerc | 1:33.241 | 1:32.962 | 1:32.740 | 20 |
5 | 81 | Piastri | 1:33.864 | 1:33.057 | 1:32.950 | 19 |
6 | 63 | Russell | 1:33.536 | 1:33.142 | 1:32.974 | 15 |
7 | 10 | Gasly | 1:33.550 | 1:33.162 | 1:33.018 | 20 |
8 | 14 | Alonso | 1:33.973 | 1:33.429 | 1:33.309 | 18 |
9 | 20 | Magnussen | 1:33.564 | 1:33.474 | 1:33.481 | 17 |
10 | 11 | Perez | 1:33.611 | 1:33.020 | 17 | |
11 | 22 | Tsunoda | 1:33.795 | 1:33.506 | 14 | |
12 | 27 | Hulkenberg | 1:33.601 | 1:33.544 | 12 | |
13 | 31 | Ocon | 1:33.986 | 1:33.597 | 15 | |
14 | 18 | Stroll | 1:34.033 | 1:33.759 | 14 | |
15 | 30 | Lawson | 1:33.339 | 11 | ||
16 | 23 | Albon | 1:34.051 | 8 | ||
17 | 43 | Colapinto | 1:34.062 | 6 | ||
18 | 77 | Bottas | 1:34.152 | 9 | ||
19 | 44 | Hamilton | 1:34.154 | 6 | ||
20 | 24 | Zhou | 1:34.228 | 9 |
