Norris clinches pole position ahead of Verstappen in Austin

Russell Dramatically Crashes Out In Final Moments

Lando Norris took a stunning pole position for the United States Grand Prix, with the McLaren driver’s solid first effort in Q3 ultimately unable to be beaten as the session was brought to an early end following a dramatic crash for George Russell.

Norris had initially taken P1 during the opening runs with his effort of 1m 32.330s, disrupting Max Verstappen’s run at the top through Q1 and Q2. And while the Briton’s second lap was slower, nobody was able to improve when the double waved yellow flags came out after Russell hit the wall at Turn 19 during the final moments, the Mercedes driver fortunately emerging unharmed from the incident.

That confirmed Norris as the pole-sitter, with Verstappen 0.031s back in second while Carlos Sainz took third for Ferrari. The Spaniard’s team mate Charles Leclerc was fourth ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in fifth, while Russell’s time from before his crash put him in sixth.

Pierre Gasly was a strong seventh for Alpine, with Fernando Alonso eighth for Aston Martin. Kevin Magnussen took ninth for Haas in his first Q3 appearance of 2024, and Sergio Perez found himself down in 10th after the Red Bull man’s opening lap was deleted due to track limits.

Yuki Tsunoda just missed out on a spot in Q3, the RB driver ending the session in P11, while Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg was also eliminated in Q2 after locking up on his final effort.

Esteban Ocon dropped out of that section of qualifying in 13th for Alpine, along with the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll in 14th and RB’s Liam Lawson in 15th. The New Zealander impressed in Q1 but did not set a timed lap in Q2, given that he will start from the back of the grid due to power unit penalties.

There was a big shock in Q1 when Lewis Hamilton was unable to better his lap in P16 following a scruffy middle sector and, given that there was not enough time to go again, the seven-time world champion was pushed down to a final position of P19.

Also exiting in the first segment were the Williams duo of Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto in 16th and 17th along with the Kick Saubers of Valtteri Bottas in 18th place and Zhou Guanyu at the back in 20th.

FORMULA 1 PIRELLI UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX 2024 – Qualifying Results

POS

NO

DRIVER

CAR

Q1

Q2

Q3

LAPS

1

4

Lando Norris

McLaren Mercedes

1:33.616

1:32.851

1:32.330

16

2

1

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:33.046

1:32.584

1:32.361

17

3

55

Carlos Sainz

Ferrari

1:33.556

1:32.836

1:32.652

19

4

16

Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

1:33.241

1:32.962

1:32.740

20

5

81

Oscar Piastri

McLaren Mercedes

1:33.864

1:33.057

1:32.950

19

6

63

George Russell

Mercedes

1:33.536

1:33.142

1:32.974

15

7

10

Pierre Gasly

Alpine Renault

1:33.550

1:33.162

1:33.018

20

8

14

Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes

1:33.973

1:33.429

1:33.309

18

9

20

Kevin Magnussen

Haas Ferrari

1:33.564

1:33.474

1:33.481

17

10

11

Sergio Perez

Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT

1:33.611

1:33.020

DNF

17

11

22

Yuki Tsunoda

RB Honda RBPT

1:33.795

1:33.506

14

12

27

Nico Hulkenberg

Haas Ferrari

1:33.601

1:33.544

12

13

31

Esteban Ocon

Alpine Renault

1:33.986

1:33.597

15

14

18

Lance Stroll

Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes

1:34.033

1:33.759

14

15

30

Liam Lawson

RB Honda RBPT

1:33.339

DNS

11

16

23

Alexander Albon

Williams Mercedes

1:34.051

8

17

43

Franco Colapinto

Williams Mercedes

1:34.062

6

18

77

Valtteri Bottas

Kick Sauber Ferrari

1:34.152

9

19

44

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

1:34.154

6

20

24

Zhou Guanyu

Kick Sauber Ferrari

1:34.228

9


Formula 1 Media | Photo: Formula 1