Janice R. Andrews
McLaren’s Lando Norris claimed a dramatic pole position at the US Grand Prix qualifying session, after a late crash by Mercedes’ George Russell prevented other drivers from completing their final flying laps.
The session brought several surprises, most notably Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton’s shock elimination in Q1. The seven-time world champion will start from 19th after losing crucial time with an oversteer moment at Turn 12, while his teammate Russell advanced to Q3.
Norris’s performance marked an impressive recovery from the sprint race, where Red Bull and Ferrari had shown superior pace. In Q3, he managed to edge out Max Verstappen by just 0.031 seconds in their first runs, maintaining his advantage despite a wobble in the penultimate corner.
The qualifying session’s climax was cut short when Russell lost control of his Mercedes W15 in the penultimate corner, crashing into the barriers. This brought out double yellow flags, forcing all drivers to abandon their final attempts. Verstappen, who had been 0.2 seconds up in the first sector of his last lap, couldn’t complete his potentially pole-winning run.
The final grid order sees Norris on pole, followed by Verstappen in second and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in third. Charles Leclerc secured fourth, while Oscar Piastri placed fifth in the second McLaren. Despite his crash, Russell retained sixth position.
Pierre Gasly qualified seventh but faces investigation for a pit lane incident with Verstappen. Fernando Alonso, Kevin Magnussen, and Sergio Perez complete the top 10, with Perez losing his initial time for exceeding track limits at Turn 9.
Q2 saw the elimination of Yuki Tsunoda despite receiving a tow from teammate Liam Lawson. Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, and Lance Stroll also missed out on Q3. In Q1, along with Hamilton’s surprise exit, both Williams drivers (Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto) and Sauber’s pair (Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu) were eliminated.
The stage is now set for what promises to be an exciting US Grand Prix, with Norris leading the field for the first time at Circuit of The Americas.
