Norris on pole – Verstappen stopped by Russell crash

In a thrilling duel with Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen, the 24-year-old Briton in his McLaren raced to first place in qualifying in Austin with a lead of 31 thousandths of a second. "A cool lap," said Norris, "I just gave it my all."

Verstappen was unable to match his friend's time in his last attempt - yellow flags after a violent crash by George Russell in the Mercedes slowed him down on the way to a possible best time. "That's unfortunate. I couldn't complete the lap," said the Red Bull star. "The potential was there to get to pole."

Carlos Sainz finished third, ahead of his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. Record world champion Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes suffered a serious setback on one of his favorite and successful tracks. The 38-year-old Briton, 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 time period in 19th place 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 round. "It feels a bit like the old days," enthused the 27-year-old, who had last won in June. With his four victories in the four sprint races over 100 kilometers each, he scored the maximum number of points.

Red Bull is a hot contender. © ANSA / JOHN MABANGLO

In Austin, Verstappen could once again be a big winner after a long time - second place at the start is not too much of a disadvantage. "We have analyzed our problems and corrected them in the right way," said Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko on the pay-TV channel Sky. Verstappen has a 54-point lead over Norris in the standings before the race this Sunday (21.00 p.m./Sky).

Spectacle programmed especially in turn one Verstappen took the lead in the first period. He celebrated one of his three victories in the past three years (2021) from pole position, in 2022 he started from second place, and last year from sixth position.

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 sharp left-hand bend that follows. Verstappen also drove the fastest lap in the second round of the knockout round. Nico Hülkenberg, who had previously finished eighth in the sprint race, was eliminated in twelfth place.

When it came to pole, Norris initially put Verstappen under pressure when he drove the first fast lap ahead of him. Verstappen was 31 thousandths of a second behind in his attempt. When he set the fastest 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, wrecked his Mercedes and triggered yellow flags. Everyone had to slow down - and Norris was no longer able to take his sixth pole of the year.

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Norris on pole – Verstappen stopped by Russell crash

Lando Norris has returned to the fight for the World Championship with pole position for the US Grand Prix just four hours after the minor setback in the sprint race.

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