USGP – Syndication Server

Leclerc explains ‘winning bet’ on Verstappen-Norris fight at COTA

Charles Leclerc says he made a winning bet by predicting how Max Verstappen and Lando Norris would battle at the start of the United States Grand Prix. Ferrari dominated at COTA after Leclerc went from fourth on the grid to take the lead out of Turn …

Charles Leclerc says he made a winning bet by predicting how Max Verstappen and Lando Norris would battle at the start of the United States Grand Prix.

Ferrari dominated at COTA after Leclerc went from fourth on the grid to take the lead out of Turn 1, and Carlos Sainz undercut Max Verstappen for second place. Leclerc made his gains as Verstappen and Norris both went wide at the first corner, and says he had expected the two title rivals to get caught up fighting one another.

“I knew that Max and Lando would be very aggressive towards each other,” Leclerc said. “I mean, they are fighting for the championship. I got a good start. I saw that Max was going towards the inside as well as Lando and I was like, ‘I’m just going to prepare the exit of the corner,’ which was obviously a winning bet. From that moment onwards, then I could focus on my own race.”

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Leclerc led home Sainz for a one-two as Ferrari closed to within eight points of Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, and the Monegasque says it was a comfortable run to the flag once he pulled away early on.

“It feels really good as every victory feels special for its own reason, and obviously from the start I felt really good with the car,” he said. “I was quite confident from yesterday because even though there were quite a lot of fights yesterday, the car felt great and we knew that we had a good race pace.

“We were a little bit more skeptical about qualifying, but P4 was good. I mean, we were in that [fight for] P1. Then after that start, when I got out of Turn 1 into first, I knew that it was all about trying to use the pace of the car that we had yesterday and trying to take care of those tires. The car felt great. From that moment onwards, it was a bit of a lonely race, but it’s a good kind of lonely. I hope we can reproduce that in the future.”

After a run of competitive races at tracks that were expected to suit Ferrari, Leclerc also believes the performance at COTA bodes well for the rest of the season.

“We rely on very small gaps that could make a big difference,” he said. “It’s very difficult to predict where we will be in the next few races. However, we’ve said since two or three races ago in Monza, in Baku, in Singapore, we brought a few upgrades and we were always waiting for Austin because it was going to be the real test for those upgrades. It seems to be working all good.

“That is positive for the future. It doesn’t mean that we’ll be having every Sunday the way it’s been today, but it means that we are working in the right direction and that can only be positive. I hope we can reproduce these kind of results more often.”

McLaren complains about a lot lately – Verstappen

Max Verstappen says he doesn’t sympathize with McLaren’s arguments over Lando Norris’ penalty in the United States Grand Prix amid multiple complaints this season. Norris was handed a 5s time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage …

Max Verstappen says he doesn’t sympathize with McLaren’s arguments over Lando Norris’ penalty in the United States Grand Prix amid multiple complaints this season.

Norris was handed a 5s time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage when overtaking Verstappen around the outside at Turn 12, despite the Red Bull driver also going off track in the incident. With McLaren also vocal about Red Bull’s car design this weekend following an FIA request to remove a device that can change ride heights, Verstappen was dismissive of the Norris penalty.

“No, I don’t [sympathize],” Verstappen said. “I mean, they complain about a lot lately anyway, but it’s very clear in the rules. Outside the white line, you cannot pass. I’ve been done for it as well in the past.

“I think it’s quite clear: you can’t overtake outside of the white line. I mean, I got done for it also here in, I think, 2017 or whatever it was. I lost my podium like that. I just remained calm, tried to do the best I could after that to bring the car to the end because it was not easy with the tires and the situation that I was in. But overall, I still really enjoyed that battle that we had.”

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Verstappen overtook Norris at the start into Turn 1 with a move down the inside that also saw both drivers run wide, but he says losing a position to race-winner Charles Leclerc was not overly damaging to his final race result.

“There was a gap on the inside, so I went for it. That corner is very wide, so it gives you a lot of opportunity of going very wide or try to go really tight. I chose for that option, and I still came out second! Started second, came out second out of Turn 1.

“This time, of course, it was Charles in front. I think it worked out quite well for me because Charles was faster, so he just pulled away. From there, I just tried to do my own race.

“I just tried to do the best I could, to be honest. My balance wasn’t great. I was just not really… I was not able to attack the corners. [Norris] was putting [on] a lot of pressure, but around here, it’s quite a cool track to defend. There are a lot of possibilities. It makes it good for racing.”

Despite not having the pace to fight for victory as Ferrari secured a one-two, Verstappen leaves Austin having extended his championship lead over Norris to 57 points.

“That is definitely the positive,” he said. “I did hope for a little bit more performance today, so that’s what we have to analyze why today we were just not that good. I think everyone was a little bit better or at least the same as yesterday, and it felt like we were definitely worse. I need to understand why that was, because I don’t know at the moment.”

Norris hurt by penalty inconsistency amid battle with Verstappen at U.S. GP

Lando Norris says the inconsistency of stewarding decisions is frustrating after losing third place over overtaking Max Verstappen off the track in the United States Grand Prix. Verstappen overtook Norris at the start of the race with a move up the …

Lando Norris says the inconsistency of stewarding decisions is frustrating after losing third place over overtaking Max Verstappen off the track in the United States Grand Prix.

Verstappen overtook Norris at the start of the race with a move up the inside into Turn 1 but it forced both drivers off track at the corner exit as the Red Bull completed the move. That incident wasn’t noted by the stewards, but Norris was then handed a five-second time penalty later in the race when he overtook Verstappen around the outside at Turn 12 and the championship leader’s defense again saw both drivers leave the track.

“It’s tough,” Norris said. “There’s different alterations of things. It’s a tough job to steward these kinds of things. For me, whatever I did, I did. For me the point that is incorrect is what Max did, which is defend his position by going off the track, and would effectively be keeping his position, which is not correct.

“He went off the track by defending, and has overdefended and made a mistake, and therefore has gained from that. At the same time, because of that, I’ve had to go off the track. It’s impossible for people to know if I could have made it [stick] on the track or I couldn’t. You can’t steward that kind of thing.

“But those are the rules. They seem to change, because it seems like it’s quite inconsistent from say what happened in Austria, where Max didn’t get a penalty and went off the track, gained an advantage. There’s again inconsistency, but it’s tough.

“For me, it’s just a rushed decision. They don’t hear or understand our points, which they should do after the race. They just want to make a decision at the time, so you don’t alter points and podiums and things like that. Therefore it’s a rushed decision, and they don’t hear my point of discussion or my team’s point or Max’s point, which I don’t think is maybe the most correct thing.

“Today it was a penalty. Not a lot I can do apart from just accept that. I tried, we both tried, it was a great battle, I really enjoyed it, it was tough. Max drove very well and defended very well, but he ended up on top, so congrats to him.”

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Norris dropped from third ahead of Verstappen to fourth behind him as a result of the penalty, and says it’s particularly tough fighting with the Dutchman because of how hard he races, believing there were multiple occasions when the Red Bull driver’s moves could have been penalized.

“I think both times Max went off the track, he had a lot of commitment to keep me behind,” the McLaren driver said. “The thing is with Max, you’ve got to commit. People don’t understand that kind of thing. With Max, you can’t just go half-hearted.

“Turn 1 is a bit harder to say, whether it’s I didn’t commit enough, but the fact that he committed so much speed … he again went off the track. I mean I can’t just dive up the inside of someone, run off, and then keep the position in normal running. But for some reason, it’s completely OK in lap one on Turn 1. It’s a tough one … It hurts today.”

However, Norris made clear his disappointment was in the uncertainty created by the stewarding, rather than with Verstappen himself for the fight they had.

“I think Max drove very well,” he explained. “It’s very hard to do what we’re doing. It’s hard when you’re side by side, you’re completely on side of the track, to guess where your braking marker is. You’re going quicker than you have before, because you used the battery. The tires are older, there’s different bumps, a lot of dirt…

“We’re battling and fighting hard, so I respect the battle that we had. It was a good one, it was enjoyable. I think it was respectful. I think Turn 1, I didn’t do the correct thing, but I felt like what happened at the end of the race was more my side. Otherwise, it was a good battle, and I enjoyed it. We just didn’t come out on top because I didn’t do a good enough job.

“A bit of clarity [is needed]. But look, if I defended better in Turn 1 and wasn’t driving like a muppet… I should have led after Turn 1, and we shouldn’t have had this conversation in the first place.”

Leclerc leads Ferrari 1-2 at COTA as Norris, Verstappen clash for third

Charles Leclerc romped to victory at the United States Grand Prix ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz in a dominant Ferrari one-two after title rivals Max Verstappen and Lando Norris controversially clashed late in the race in the battle for the podium. …

Leclerc started fourth from the grid but set up his straightforward victory with a great launch to take the lead immediately from polesitter Norris and front-row starter Verstappen.

Norris launched well from the line but failed to defend the inside sternly enough from Verstappen, who barged down his inside on the brakes, taking both drivers to the outside edge of the track. It earned Verstappen position on Norris but left the door wide open for Leclerc — whose strong start had already got him ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz — to claim the apex and pass both for the lead on exit.

The Monegasque put more than a second on the field in just the first lap, aided in part by Sainz moving up to third and harrying Verstappen hard for position, and he had no trouble rebuilding that margin almost immediately after the safety car restart on lap six following Lewis Hamilton beaching his car at the exit of Turn 19.

The Ferrari set a metronomic pace with the clear air of the lead. By lap 23 he had stretched his advantage to more than 10s, by which time a low-risk one-stop strategy came into view.

With his tire change completed on lap 26, the road to the checkered flag was cleared of its final obstacle, and Leclerc was unhindered in his sprint to a dominant victory.

“I’m very happy,” he said. “It hasn’t been a n easy weekend. Until now I have been struggling a bit with the feeling with the car, but I had the confidence in the race that the feeling would be better, and it was the case.

“We had mega pace [in the first stint], then the second stint was all about managing behind. The pace of the car this weekend was really good.”

While Leclerc put victory beyond doubt early, Sainz had to be more ambitious to secure second. He looked feisty early in his battle with Verstappen, but an engine problem after the safety car restart dropped him too far from the Dutchman to challenge him in the first stint by the time some switch changes restored his car to competitiveness.

Ferrari rolled the dice on an early stop, bringing him in for a set of new hard tires on lap 21. It guaranteed the Spaniard a massive undercut advantage over Verstappen, and though the Dutchman had a four-lap tire advantage after his own stop on lap 25, Sainz was even faster on hard rubber in the second stint, putting second place beyond doubt to secure Ferrari’s first one-two finish since the Australian Grand Prix.

The score puts Ferrari just eight points behind Red Bull Racing on the teams’ title table and 48 points behind leader McLaren.

“Congratulations to the whole team and to Charles for an amazing result — a result that puts us exactly where we want to be in the fight for the constructors right now,” Sainz said. “I knew the race was going to be decided at the start. Unfortunately I got the worst of it and I couldn’t get the lead.

“Even though the pace from then on was really good and I was all weekend really fast, track position was key, and I had to settle for P2, which anyway was a good race.”

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The battle for third went down to the wire between Verstappen and would-be title rival Norris, culminating in a controversial altercation at Turn 12 on lap 52 of 56.

Norris was struggling with graining in the opening stint, but his rubber cleared up after lap 20, allowing him to extend his sole pit stop to lap 31, giving himself a six-lap tire offset on Verstappen.

He rejoined 6s in arrears but closed to within reach of DRS on lap 44, setting up a grandstand finish.

Verstappen had a clear pace deficit but was steadfast in defense. His car positioning was inch perfect in the key overtaking zones of Turn 1 and Turn 12 to negate the DRS advantage, tempting Norris only through esses, where passing is impossible.

Twice, on laps 47 and 51, they diced side by side, with Norris setting himself up on the outside of Turn 12 to take Verstappen side by side all the way through the final sector, but both times he was rebuffed.

It took until lap 52 for the McLaren to break the Red Bull Racing car’s advantage, a better exit from the Turn 11 hairpin to draw level with his rival down the back straight. Verstappen pinned him to the outside and ran deep into the corner, putting both cars off the track, but Norris kept his foot in and exited ahead.

Verstappen argued he’d been passed off the track. Norris contended that he was ahead at the apex, with his team telling him not to hand back the place. Stewards sided with Red Bull Racing, penalizing Norris 5s for gaining an advantage off the track, reversing their positions after the flag and promoting Verstappen back onto the podium.

“For me it was quite a difficult race,” he said. “I never really had the pace to attack. I was just understeering a lot, struggling on the braking, so that also made defending quite difficult, because if someone wanted to go for a move, I couldn’t really brake that late.

“I tried everything I could to keep [Norris] behind. At the end, to be on the podium is a great result.”

Norris finished a dejected fourth, losing another two points to Verstappen in his increasingly forlorn drivers title chase. Teammate Oscar Piastri was classified fifth, 1.5s further back.

George Russell completed a herculean recovery drive from pit lane to sixth, passing the lackluster Sergio Perez for the position on the final lap, with Nico Hulkenberg following in a lonely but lucrative eighth for Haas.

Liam Lawson finished a superb ninth in his first race of the year for RB ahead of similarly excellent rookie Franco Colapinto, who scored the final point of the race for Williams.

Kevin Magnussen was called to a late unscheduled stop, dropping him out of the points to 11th ahead of Pierre Gasly, who has also been on track for a top-10 finish only to find his car poorly suited to the hard tire in the final stint.

Fernando Alonso finished 13th ahead of the frustrated Yuki Tsunoda. Lance Stroll finished 15th ahead of Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon and Zhou Guanyu.

Sprint points at COTA ‘huge’ for Haas – Komatsu

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu says the points the team has already scored at the United States Grand Prix are huge in its fight for sixth place in the constructors’ championship. Kevin Magnussen finished seventh and Nico Hulkenberg eighth in …

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu says the points the team has already scored at the United States Grand Prix are huge in its fight for sixth place in the constructors’ championship.

Kevin Magnussen finished seventh and Nico Hulkenberg eighth in Saturday’s Sprint race to give Haas three points and move it level on points with RB in the standings. Haas is ranked ahead of RB in sixth place due to its higher finishes in grands prix so far this season – a pair of sixth places – and Komatsu says it was an extremely satisfying result even before today’s main event.

“Honestly, scoring P7 and P8 in the Sprint is amazing,” Komatsu told SiriusXM. “We are the fifth quickest car and if you look at our pace at the end of that Sprint against [Sergio] Perez, he wasn’t quicker. That was really satisfying, I think we managed it very well, so that shows that our race pace is good.

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“Qualifying to be honest, we were all a bit deflated and a little bit disappointed because again Nico should have been in Q3, but he locked up twice into Turn 1. And it wasn’t a small mistake, it’s four tenths and five tenths. Then when you look at his Sector 3 he’s again one of the quickest, so the potential is there, and with Nico’s side we didn’t maximize it. So that’s very frustrating to be out in Q2.

“Kevin, I think we have to give him credit. He adapted to the new package very well. He had the old package until the Sprint, so between the Sprint and qualifying we upgraded his car because Nico’s data was very positive. Kevin said with the new package the car is definitely quicker, but still you’ve got to adapt to it, and he’s done it very, very well.

“Getting into Q3 was good, and in Q3 he was already three tenths up but then we got the yellow flag from [George] Russell so he couldn’t better his lap time. But it was a good effort. And I’m really looking forward to the race because I think we have a good race car.”

Komatsu says the result is even more important because Haas was focusing on its performance for Sunday’s grand prix rather than the shorter race.

“It’s huge, absolutely huge. Also at the beginning of the season, or to be honest just coming here for a Sprint weekend, we really focused on the race because the Sprint is only the top eight that scores points, so it’s really difficult to score points. So to actually have both cars in the top eight – P7 and P8 – is testament to everyone’s effort.

“It’s really satisfying. Just a bit disappointing that we couldn’t back it up in qualifying, but I guess it’s good to be a bit disappointed with P9 and P12, and we can definitely go for points with both cars.”

Positives of Red Bull’s pace outweigh Verstappen’s frustration

Max Verstappen says the positive signs from Red Bull’s pace at the United States Grand Prix outweigh any frustration over missing out on pole position. Victory in the Sprint was Verstappen’s first win of any kind since the Sprint at the Austrian …

Max Verstappen says the positive signs from Red Bull’s pace at the United States Grand Prix outweigh any frustration over missing out on pole position.

Victory in the Sprint was Verstappen’s first win of any kind since the Sprint at the Austrian Grand Prix back in July, and he duly looked set for pole position again after topping both of the first two parts of qualifying on Saturday. However, Lando Norris was quickest on the opening runs in Q3 and then George Russell crashed to end the session early, leaving Verstappen to settle for second on the grid.

“I was a good amount up but already my first lap in Q3 I missed Turn 19,” Verstappen said. “I don’t know what happened there. I just turned in, braked a bit late, tried to carry more speed, I had to downshift one more time and lost quite a bit there which would already have been enough for pole.

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“So I knew the second lap there was time to find for free, but never really got to that corner. That happens. In qualifying, it is not always in your control. In general for us, this whole weekend so far has been a lot more positive, we could at least fight for pole.

“I’m overall happy. I’m not frustrated. … I felt quite decent today. We made a few changes on the car and hopefully that will help again for the race, and then hopefully we can try and do the same.

As he goes in search of his first grand prix win since Spain — nine races ago — Verstappen puts the stronger showing at COTA down to a combination of track characteristics and a more compliant Red Bull car.

“First of all, Singapore has never been a good track for us,” he said. “All the low-speed corners and the bumps, our car just doesn’t really work on that. It’s a very different track layout. Plus, I think we made the car more stable, so you can attack corners a bit better. That then also helps the tires out a bit, so I think that has been the main improvement.”

Suspension issue triggers miserable day at COTA for Hamilton, Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton says a suspension problem ahead of the Sprint race was the catalyst for a “terrible” day as he dropped out in Q1 at the United States Grand Prix. Mercedes looked quick throughout the Sprint Shootout on Friday evening but a yellow flag …

Lewis Hamilton says a suspension problem ahead of the Sprint race was the catalyst for a “terrible” day as he dropped out in Q1 at the United States Grand Prix.

Mercedes looked quick throughout the Sprint Shootout on Friday evening but a yellow flag on Hamilton’s final lap prevented him from having a chance of setting the fastest time. A largely uncompetitive run to sixth place in the Sprint was put down to a suspension issue, but Hamilton believes there was an issue with the car’s configuration after that as he finished 19th in qualifying.

“It’s been pretty terrible,” Hamilton said. “The car felt great yesterday, so obviously came really optimistic for today. Something failed on the front suspension literally as we pulled away from the line for the formation lap, and I had that through the race. They figured that out, they changed the corner, and it felt like a mess, obviously, through qualifying.”

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With the Sprint weekend taking on a different format that gives teams just one practice session, Hamilton said the failure is frustrating given the pace Mercedes has shown.

“I don’t know what the result… This shouldn’t happen, and it’s obviously not planned,” he said.

“I was about to qualify [on] pole yesterday, so it’s not a mental problem. When the suspension is failing or breaking, and things aren’t coming together, I mean today … you’ll have to ask the team what happened with the suspension. I know the guys are working as hard as they can; they did the change.

“Any performance we bring is positive. All of a sudden [yesterday] we were looking really quick. I don’t know where that went, but we’ll keep pushing.”

Hamilton says a fightback drive is unlikely in Sunday’s race, as he will start from 18th due to Liam Lawson’s grid penalty.

“There’s not going to be a lot going on. I started in karts with a pretty bad go-kart and used to come through the field, so I’ll see if I can do that tomorrow.”

Norris couldn’t repeat best pole lap of career in U.S. GP qualifying

Lando Norris says his pole position lap at the United States Grand Prix was the best of his career, and that he didn’t think he could better it when he went out for his final run. Max Verstappen was fastest in Q1 and Q2 having won the Sprint race, …

Lando Norris says his pole position lap at the United States Grand Prix was the best of his career, and that he didn’t think he could better it when he went out for his final run.

Max Verstappen was fastest in Q1 and Q2 having won the Sprint race, but Norris then set the provisional pole position time on the first attempts in Q3. George Russell’s crash while the final laps were in progress meant the opening times set the grid, and Norris doesn’t believe he could have improved anyway.

“The best probably of my career, I think,” Norris said. “It was just a very nice lap. I kind of set the bar too high, because on my second lap, I was like, ‘Guys, I don’t think I’m going to improve much here.’

“I got everything out of the car. We changed a good amount from the Sprint race into qualifying today now, and definitely took a step forward. But man, I was still struggling a lot. I just knew I had to risk a little bit more and give it that little extra, and it just came together perfectly.

“Definitely not a lap that I could have repeated, so I’m very happy because I really wasn’t expecting to be here today.

“It was a bit everywhere, honestly. Of course the high speed is a little bit where we struggle a touch compared to the Red Bulls especially. Max has been extremely quick in the first sector and the high speed. Trying to limit that a little bit more was a good start.

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“And then just the braking, the final sector, from [Turn]s 12 to 16, as soon as one part goes wrong, it can all fall away quite quickly. Again just hooked everything up the first time all weekend, and probably the last. It just came together perfectly. It was a very, very good lap. I’d probably say quite confidently the best of my career.”

Norris started the Sprint in fourth, but a good first corner led to him running second for the majority of the race before his pace faded and an error on the final lap cost him a place to Carlos Sainz. Although he admits tires are a big concern, the McLaren driver is hopeful he won’t suffer a repeat given the setup work the team did before qualifying, and is expecting a close fight between multiple teams for the win on Sunday.

“I don’t think it was as bad as what it was,” he said. “I think certain events led to such a thing. We improved the car quite a bit. We were definitely not contending anywhere close to pole yesterday, and today, we did.

“We’re still a bit off, but we’re in a good position. Our pace relative to Max over yesterday and today is probably a bit more similar. I probably expected the Ferraris and Mercedes to be a bit quicker today, but maybe they just got a bit more out of the car earlier on in the weekend, and we’ve been able to take a bigger step forward between the Sprint and now.

“Maybe we’ve caught up a bit, but it’s going to be a tough race. Ferrari were very quick in the race today with the degradation. Max is Max, so they’re going to be fast. I’m excited. I think it’s going to be a good battle and a good one to watch.”

Norris pinches U.S. GP pole after Russell crash ends qualifying

Lando Norris took pole position from Max Verstappen after a high-speed crash for George Russell truncated qualifying before the final laps could be completed. Russell’s crash compounded a woeful afternoon for Mercedes, coming after three-time …

Verstappen had topped all three qualifying segments on his way to what looked likely to be a largely straightforward pole before a peach of a lap from title challenger Norris put the McLaren car on provisional pole by 0.031s. It was the most convincing lap the Briton has strung together all weekend, having lamented his modestly upgraded McLaren hasn’t had the pace to match Verstappen or the Ferrari drivers this weekend.

Verstappen was first of the pair to return to the track for the final runs of the hour and blitzed the first split, setting a purple time to put himself 0.172s ahead. Norris, meanwhile, couldn’t improve on his own time at the first interval.

The duel was interrupted by Russell, who lost control of his car high speed at Turn 19 and spun into the barriers. With both Verstappen and Norris behind him on the track, both drivers were forced to abandon their laps, allowing Norris to claim an unexpected pole. It’s the Briton’s fifth pole from the last seven grands prix and keeps his slim title hopes alive, now trailing Verstappen by 54 points after the morning’s Sprint.

“It was a beautiful lap,” he said. “We’ve been on the back foot pretty much all weekend. I had to do something, and today I did that.

“I was not going to go much quicker than what I did — when you just do a lap and think, ‘It’s going to be tough to beat that.’ I put everything out on the line. It’s what we needed to do.”

Verstappen rued a mistake at Turn 19 on his first lap that left him needing his second lap to take pole but was nonetheless pleased by his updated car’s performance.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish the lap, otherwise we had a really good shot,” he said. “We’re on the front row at least, and we had the potential to be first, so that’s very good.

“It seemed that we were competitive, so we made some minor changes on the car, which felt nice. … I hope that will also be positive for tomorrow.”

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Carlos Sainz also had a shot at pole spoiled, having been on a much better second lap after an unconvincing first run, fractionally up on Norris’s time in the first sector and less than 0.1s down in the second before Russell’s crash. The Spaniard qualified fifth for the sprint but finished the short race a punchy second and believes third on the grid would give him the chance to improve that result in the grand prix.

“That was the target, to do a step in qualifying compared to yesterday,” he said. “Yesterday we were P5, today we are P3, so we’ve done a good step in the right direction.

“I think we’ve done some good progress. We should be in the fight tomorrow.”

His teammate, Charles Leclerc, qualified fourth ahead of Oscar Piastri and the crashed-out Russell.

Pierre Gasly had an impressive session to qualify seventh ahead of Fernando Alonso and Kevin Magnussen. Sergio Perez will start 10th after having his first lap deleted for exceeding track limits, though the time would have been good enough for only eighth, having been 0.9s slower than his teammate’s front-row effort.

Yuki Tsunoda will start 11th, missing out on Q1 by just 0.045s.

Nico Hulkenberg, having qualified sixth for the sprint, managed just 12th for the grand prix after locking up into the first corner and spoiling his lap. Esteban Ocon will line up 13th ahead of Lance Stroll in 14th, both drivers shaded by more than 0.3s by their Q3-bound teammates.

Liam Lawson qualified 15th on his first full-time grand prix weekend without a time in Q2, having carried a back-of-grid engine penalty into the session. The Kiwi was impressively quicker than teammate Tsunoda in Q1 and was deployed to give the sister car a slipstream in Q2 before returning to his garage.

Williams teammates Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto, eliminated in Q1, will therefore line up 15th and 16th ahead of Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas in 17th.

Hamilton will start 18th in by far his worst qualifying result at COTA. The Mercedes driver, having never qualified lower than fifth at the Austin circuit, was only 0.121s short of a spot in Q2 but a massive 0.618s slower than teammate Russell and 1.108s off top spot in the opening qualifying stanza. The damage was almost all done in the middle sector, where he lost half a second to the front-runners running wide at Turn 12.

Zhou Guanyu will start 19th for Sauber ahead of the penalized Lawson.

Norris cleared of Sprint penalty, but Ferrari’s COTA pace ‘worrying’

Lando Norris avoided a penalty after the Sprint but says the performance potential that Ferrari has at the United States Grand Prix is “worrying.” The McLaren driver is trying to close the gap to Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship but had …

Lando Norris avoided a penalty after the Sprint but says the performance potential that Ferrari has at the United States Grand Prix is “worrying.”

The McLaren driver is trying to close the gap to Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship but had to settle for third place behind race-winner Verstappen and Carlos Sainz on Saturday. Both Ferraris nearly got past Norris and he admits the performance seen on Friday has translated so far into race pace that is likely to be tough to beat.

“It was still a tough race,” Norris said. “The start was obviously good, and it gave me quite a bit of hope at the beginning of achieving something strong, but just not the pace today. The whole weekend actually we’ve been quite a long way off.

“I don’t think we were shocking compared to Max, but the Ferraris were just another level. They were quick yesterday; they both just didn’t get the most out of their quali laps, but their potential was worrying.

“So I was a bit like, ‘Maybe that’s just quali and [in] the race they will be a bit further off,’ but they were just as quick today. Qualifying we have things to work on, and the race we clearly have a lot more to work on. Not bad, but we’re not quickest, and we’re not quick enough.”

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Norris was under investigation for allegedly driving erratically late in the Sprint, both as he lost a position to Sainz and then as he defended from Charles Leclerc, but the stewards opted to take no further action.

“There did not appear to be any significant changes of direction under braking, and the move at Turn 15 was a legitimate defending move by the driver of Car No. 4,” the stewards’ decision read. “In Turn 1, Car No. 4 locked up under braking and went wide, losing a position.”

Leclerc acknowledged both the incident and Ferrari’s performance after the Sprint, believing the team can look to mount a more serious challenge for victory on Sunday.

“I think our race pace was really strong today,” Leclerc said. “We had quite a lot of fighting, which is part of racing in a Sprint race, so it was a very high-adrenaline Sprint race. My approach of trying to save a little bit more in the first five or six laps didn’t pay off, and that was it.

“At the end [I started to push]. We were very fast, but then there was a DRS train in front with Carlos having the DRS of Lando, and a close call on the last lap with Lando, so all-in-all P4 is the way it is. It’s a Sprint race and we’ve learned a lot for tomorrow.”