Formula 1
Norris on pole – Verstappen stopped by Russell crash
The World Cup rivals are already engaged in a thrilling duel in qualifying. photo
© Nick Didlick/AP/dpa
The World Cup rivals are engaged in a thrilling duel – with their pursuer Lando Norris in first place on the grid. Max Verstappen is slowed down by a Mercedes crash.
Lando Norris returned to the World Championship fight with pole for the USA Grand Prix just four hours after the small setback in the sprint race. In a thrilling duel with Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen, the 24-year-old Brit raced to first place in the qualifying in Austin in the McLaren with a lead of 31 thousandths of a second. “A cool round,” said Norris, “I just gave it my all.”
On his last attempt, Verstappen was no longer able to match his friend’s time – yellow flags after a violent take-off from George Russell in the Mercedes slowed him down on the way to the possible best time. “That’s unfortunate. I couldn’t finish the lap,” said the Red Bull star. “The potential was there to take pole.”
Carlos Sainz came third ahead of his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. Record world champion Lewis Hamilton suffered a serious setback in his Mercedes on one of his favorite and most successful routes. The 38-year-old Brit, who has already won the Grand Prix in Austin five times and made a very strong impression in the sprint qualification, was eliminated in the first period as 19th and second to last.
Red Bull: We have corrected our problems
Verstappen had taken pole for the sprint and won it around three hours before the start of the knockout phase. “It feels a bit like old times,” enthused the 27-year-old, who last won in June. With his four victories in the previous four sprint races over 100 kilometers each, he got the maximum number of points.
In Austin, Verstappen could become a big winner again after a long time – second place at the start is not a big disadvantage. “We have analyzed our problems and corrected them in the right way,” said Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko on the pay channel Sky. Verstappen has a 54-point lead over Norris in the rankings before the race this Sunday (9 p.m./Sky).
Spectacle programs especially in curve one
Verstappen took the lead in the first period. He celebrated one of his three victories in the last three years (2021) from pole, in 2022 he started from second place and last year from sixth place.
This time, however, he doesn’t want to try to catch up on the spectacular course in Texas with the uphill section immediately after the start and the subsequent sharp left turn. Verstappen again set the fastest lap in the second round of the knockout round. Nico Hülkenberg, eighth in the sprint race, was eliminated in twelfth place.
When it came to pole, Norris initially put Verstappen under pressure as he set the first fast lap ahead of him. Verstappen was 31 thousandths of a second short of his attempt. As he set the best time in the first sector on his second attempt and was on his way to a top time and pole, Russell went off the track, wrecking his Mercedes and raising yellow flags. Everyone had to slow down – and Norris couldn’t take his sixth pole of the year.
