Lando Norris beat championship rival Max Verstappen to pole position at Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix as George Russell’s crash brought an anti-climatic end.
With the Sprint sessions done and dusted, all attention turned back towards the main action and the laps that would determine who lined up where for the Grand Prix.
Lando Norris headed the initial times with a 1:34.029s, less than a tenth ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, whose team-mate Charles Leclerc languished down the order.
However, Verstappen was soon out on track in the improved Red Bull and he went quickest in the opening two sectors to reduce the benchmark attempt to 1:33.690s.
Sergio Perez in the sister Red Bull, meanwhile, was bidding to sustain a more productive showing amid a point-less Sprint and he slotted into third, three-tenths down.
The times continued to drop as the opening stage unravelled, with Pierre Gasly going 0.140 seconds faster than Verstappen to place his Alpine at the top of the order.
Gasly’s spell heading proceedings would remain shortlived, however, as Leclerc, who saw his first run be deleted due to exceeding track limits, pumped in a 1:33.241s.
As the timer ticked down towards the end, the two Mercedes drivers were in the drop zone as George Russell was down in 17th place, while Lewis Hamilton was 18th.
But while Russell delivered a lap that was good enough to secure his passage to Q2, Hamilton was resigned to a premature elimination as he slipped to 19th position.
Both Williams drivers also exited – Alex Albon heading Franco Colapinto – with the two Sauber racers splitting Hamilton, who endured a second Q1 elimination in 2024.
Elsewhere, Verstappen ended the opening segment with a 1:33.046s to lead the session with a close two-tenth advantage over Leclerc and RB’s Liam Lawson in third.
READ MORE: Lando Norris denies 2024 a failure for McLaren without F1 Drivers’ title
Verstappen continues on top
The remaining 15 drivers took to the track to start Q2 and again it was Verstappen who seized the initiative with a 1:33.052s, as Gasly beat Sainz and Perez to second.
Norris soon showed McLaren’s potential, however, as he went two-tenths quicker than Verstappen, while team-mate Oscar Piastri managed to propel up to third place.
Leclerc was in the drop zone and under threat of not advancing through to the Q3 shootout, but the Monegasque produced a lap that saw him break into the top three.
Yuki Tsunoda was unable to replicate his earlier weekend exploits and missed out in 11th, alongside Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, who was shocked he didn’t make the cut.
Esteban Ocon, running without Alpine’s latest updates, was next to be eliminated, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Lawson, who has a 60-place grid drop, also out.
Verstappen appeared imperious heading into the all-important Q3 session as he retrieved first place with a 1:32.586s to go over two-tenths faster than Sainz’s Ferrari.
Lando Norris steals pole from Verstappen
But although Verstappen’s pace seemed ominous, the Dutchman was unable to equal Norris’ opening gambit in Q3, ending up 0.031s down on his championship rival.
Behind the two title contenders came Sainz and Leclerc in the two Ferraris, while Russell was bewildered at being five-tenths behind Norris as he lagged back in sixth.
Verstappen went quicker in the first sector on his last attempt but was denied the chance to beat Norris as Russell’s crash at the penultimate corner ruined his hopes.
Norris was heralded as the pole position victor in Austin against expectations, as Verstappen had to settle for second place. Sainz headed team-mate Leclerc in third.
Piastri completed the top five in the other McLaren, while Gasly was the highest-placed driver outside the leading sides as he seized an impressive seventh for Alpine.
Alonso was next up in eighth spot in the sole Aston Martin in Q3, with Kevin Magnussen’s Haas and Perez in the second Red Bull rounding out the top 10 in qualifying.
READ MORE: F1 2024 United States Grand Prix – Qualifying Results
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