US GP: Red Bull respond to bib drama with Max Verstappen F1 Sprint pole

Amid the off-track bib saga, Red Bull delivered on the track as Max Verstappen took F1 Sprint pole at the US GP.

Max Verstappen put his upgraded Red Bull RB20 on Sprint pole in Austin, while Mercedes’ George Russell, who went early and was looking set to withstand the late runners, was forced to settle for a spot on the front row.

Max Verstappen back on pole for US GP F1 Sprint

Armed with just one hours’ worth of free practice knowledge, it was time for the drivers to tackle qualifying for the US Grand Prix F1 Sprint in Austin.

Pirelli medium tyres were mandated for the SQ1 and SQ2 segments, before softs came into play for the Sprint pole shootout.

The drama started early as Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas was released into the path of Sergio Perez in the Red Bull, a very near miss in the pit lane, while Perez’s team-mate Verstappen wasted no time in going P1, though he was quickly displaced by Haas’ Kevin Magnussen on a 1:34.4.

The times came thick and fast in the scramble to make SQ2, as Lewis Hamilton moved his Mercedes into P1 with a 1:33.8, Leclerc and Norris completing the top three. Esteban Ocon, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu and Sergio Perez were in the elimination zone with just minutes remaining.

Alex Albon miraculously came out of a spin at the penultimate turn still moving in the right direction, but that was his SQ1 exit confirmed, as he dropped out with Zhou, Bottas, Ocon and, in a major shock, Piastri after a costly track limits breach saw his final attempt deleted. Leclerc topped the session from Hamilton.

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Onto SQ2 and a 1:33.274 from Sainz was the time to beat as Verstappen set off on his first flying lap and push for a spot in the Sprint pole shootout.

P2 had to do for Verstappen, though he was a mere 0.016s short of Sainz’s benchmark, having given those track limits boundaries a lot of respect on his way round.

Kevin Magnussen was complaining of a “dangerous” VCARB exiting the garage, while Verstappen was not happy with the RB20 ride as the final laps came in.

Perez, Fernando Alonso, Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were out. Gasly meanwhile was noted for potentially impeding Colapinto on the in-lap to the pits through the esses. No further action would be taken.

But it was now SQ3 time as the soft tyres came into play. Who would be on Sprint pole in Austin?

Hamilton thought he was out there too early in his bid for the P1 grid slot, team-mate Russell going half a second clear of team-mate Hamilton and onto provisional pole in the opening runs for the Mercedes drivers.

But as the end-of-session runners took their shot, Verstappen snatched US GP F1 Sprint pole, Russell joining him on the front row.

It marks Verstappen’s first pole position of any kind since the Austrian Grand Prix at the end of June following Red Bull’s mid-season slump.

SQ3 times

1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:32.833
2 George Russell Mercedes +0.012
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.226
4 Lando Norris McLaren +0.250
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.256
6 Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team +0.350
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.545
8 Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team +0.565
9 Yuki Tsunoda RB +0.969
10 Franco Colapinto Williams +1.573

SQ2 times

1 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:33.274
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.016
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.096
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.118
5 George Russell Mercedes +0.270
6 Lando Norris McLaren +0.292
7 Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team +0.514
8 Franco Colapinto Williams +0.678
9 Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team +0.720
10 Yuki Tsunoda RB +0.778
11 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.970
12 Liam Lawson RB +1.010
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.089
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.147
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin NO TIME

SQ1 times

1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.647
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.193
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.261
4 Lando Norris McLaren +0.272
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.462
6 George Russell Mercedes +0.478
7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +0.677
8 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.686
9 Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team +0.756
10 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.789
11 Franco Colapinto Williams +0.959
12 Liam Lawson RB +0.970
13 Yuki Tsunoda RB +0.999
14 Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team +1.178
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.218
16 Oscar Piastri McLaren +1.234
17 Esteban Ocon Alpine +1.270
18 Alexander Albon Williams +1.407
19 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber +1.501
20 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber +2.825

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