Lando Norris risks losing ground to Max Verstappen in his bid to be crowned world champion after seeing his rival take pole position for Saturday’s sprint race in the United States.
Norris, who trails Verstappen by 52 points heading into the concluding six rounds of the campaign, will line up three places behind Verstappen for the 19-lap dash after he qualified a disappointing fourth at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas.
Verstappen has not won since the Spanish Grand Prix, nearly four months ago, but he pulled out an impressive lap in the closing seconds to beat Mercedes’ George Russell to top spot by just 0.012 seconds.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will line up from third, one place ahead of Norris, with Lewis Hamilton seventh.
Follow live updates from the United States Grand Prix with The Independent
F1 US Grand Prix LIVE: Max Verstappen on pole for the sprint!
Super lap from Max Verstappen! He takes pole position, 0.012 secs quicker than George Russell in second!
Charles Leclerc comes home third, with Lando Norris two-tenths off in fourth – a blow for his title hopes!
5-10: Sainz, Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Magnussen, Tsunoda, Colapinto
Kieran Jackson18 October 2024 23:17
SPRINT QUALIFYING REPORT: Max Verstappen takes sprint race pole in US Grand Prix to turn up heat on Lando Norris
Lando Norris risks losing ground to Max Verstappen in his bid to be crowned world champion after seeing his rival take pole position for Saturday’s sprint race in the United States.
Norris, who trails Verstappen by 52 points heading into the concluding six rounds of the campaign, will line up three places behind Verstappen for the 19-lap dash after he qualified a disappointing fourth at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas.
Full report below:
Kieran Jackson19 October 2024 02:30
F1 US Grand Prix LIVE: Lewis Hamilton, after qualifying P7
“I got unlucky with the yellow flag. It is what it is, four-tenths up.
Is that a pole gone begging? “Yep. The team has made a step with the car, the upgrade has clearly worked. It’s been a tough slog for everyone. Tomorrow we have another chance.
“We made changes to the car, it’s always a bit of a gamble. As soon as I got out the car, night and day different.”
Kieran Jackson19 October 2024 01:40
What is the starting grid for US Grand Prix sprint race?
1. Max Verstappen
2. George Russell
3. Charles Leclerc
4. Lando Norris
5. Carlos Sainz
6. Nico Hulkenberg
7. Lewis Hamilton
8. Kevin Magnussen
9. Yuki Tsunoda
10. Franco Colapinto
11. Sergio Perez
12. Pierre Gasly
13. Lance Stroll
14. Fernando Alonso
13. Lance Stroll
15. Liam Lawson
16. Oscar Piastri
17. Esteban Ocon
18. Alex Albon
19. Valtteri Bottas
20. Zhou Guanyu
Kieran Jackson19 October 2024 01:10
F1 US Grand Prix LIVE: George Russell, after qualifying second for the sprint race..
“I’m really happy, been a while since we’ve been on the front row. My lap at the end was really strong. Lewis got caught out by the yellows. Great to be back in the mix again.
“We knew we had potential in the car. If we manage to qualify in second, feeling good.”
Kieran Jackson19 October 2024 00:47
F1 US Grand Prix LIVE: Oscar Piastri, who starts in P16…
“Most of the lap was good, made a few mistakes in the last sector, second-last corner went too fast and this is the result. We have another shot tomorrow.
“It feels OK, maybe not as strong as the other races. I don’t think we’re weaker but the others are just stronger.”
Kieran Jackson19 October 2024 00:13
F1 US Grand Prix LIVE: Lando Norris…
“Not very good, been struggling all day with the balance. My lap was shocking, I’ll take it.
“I hope to go forward, on pace we are where we deserve to be. I hope to go forward but no idea if we can.”
Lando not a happy man after that – he starts P4.
Kieran Jackson18 October 2024 23:58
F1 US Grand Prix LIVE: Top-10 in sprint qualifying!
1. Max Verstappen
2. George Russell
3. Charles Leclerc
4. Lando Norris
5. Carlos Sainz
6. Nico Hulkenberg
7. Lewis Hamilton
8. Kevin Magnussen
9. Yuki Tsunoda
10. Franco Colapinto
Kieran Jackson18 October 2024 23:43
F1 US Grand Prix LIVE: Max Verstappen after claiming sprint pole…
“We had a good day. I’m happy, the car was working quite well, very happy to be first – it’s been a while.
“It’s not easy, to deal with it over one lap is not the easiest but it’s fun.
“We’ll do the best we can in the sprint but the most points are available on Sunday.”
Kieran Jackson18 October 2024 23:30
F1 US Grand Prix LIVE: Russell top early on!
Only three cars out to set laps at the start – and Russell goes quickest, half-a-second faster than his team-mate Lewis Hamilton!
Hamilton: “Come on guys, that was not good.” Don’t think he’s happy about coming out so early!
Franco Colapinto, however, spins off – and he’ll do well to start higher than P10!
Kieran Jackson18 October 2024 23:12
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