Verstappen delivers stunning lap to take US GP Sprint pole

The Dutchman edged Norris by seven hundredths of a second with his lap of 1m32.143s to claim his third consecutive Sprint pole at the Circuit of the Americas and his tenth Sprint pole of his career.

Norris looked like he had done enough to take the Sprint pole, having topped every session of the day prior to SQ3. However, his time wasn’t enough to hold onto the top spot, although it was good enough to remain ahead of teammate Piastri.

“It’s been a nice qualifying,” Verstappen said after the session.

“It was about putting it all together when it mattered, which was not easy. It worked out well, I still expect it to be a tough battle tomorrow.”

The Red Bull driver said the conditions weren’t easy, with hot temperatures and gusty winds playing a factor in the session.

“The wind is coming up and down,” he said. “It’s very gusty. The track is very bumpy… in qualifying you have to leave a few margins here and there. For us, it’s been a very good day.”

Nico Hulkenberg went two spots better than his Sprint Qualifying performance last year at Austin, impressing with a surprising fourth place in his Sauber.

His time was two tenths quicker than the Mercedes of George Russell and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, who was also impressive in sixth place.

Carlos Sainz was seventh for Williams, with teammate Alex Albon finishing ninth, the pair split by the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton in eighth.

Charles Leclerc ended the session in tenth, recovering from his gearbox issues earlier in the day in FP1, with Ferrari doing enough to get him out for Sprint Qualifying.

The Ferrari drivers had to battle to secure their places in SQ3, with Leclerc and Hamilton both sneaking into the final session with their last laps as the clock expired.

Their late charge came at the expense of the second Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who was knocked out of SQ3 by just six thousandths of a second to Hamilton.

Liam Lawson also missed out on a spot in the final stage of Sprint Qualifying after his best time was deleted for exceeding track limits.

Replays showed the Kiwi attempting to avoid Hamilton’s Ferrari at Turn 19, which caused him to run wide, leaving him fuming over team radio.

His teammate Isack Hadjar joined him on the sidelines, along with Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll.

SQ1 was marred by heavy traffic, catching out several drivers, with Yuki Tsunoda the biggest casualty of the session.

Tsunoda immediately complained over the radio as he exited the pitlane for his final run, warning he wouldn’t make it in time for a push lap as cars jostled for position on track ahead of him.

His concerns proved correct, with the Red Bull driver failing to cross the line before the chequered flag.

He was joined by both Haas drivers and the Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto in missing a final flying lap due to the congestion, while the Alpine of Franco Colapinto was also eliminated in the opening stage of Sprint Qualifying.

Cars will return to the track for the Sprint at 12:00pm local time on Saturday (4:00am AEDT Sunday).