Norris clinches pole position ahead of Verstappen in Austin as 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.

AS IT HAPPENED

Q1 – Hamilton makes shock exit as Verstappen goes fastest

Just hours after the Sprint made a thrilling return at the Circuit of The Americas, the drivers and teams returned to action for qualifying in order to decide the grid for Sunday’s United States Grand Prix.

A lengthy queue of cars had already formed in the pit lane to await the green light ahead of Q1, and Albon led the pack away as the session began. Bottas was also amongst them, the Kick Sauber team having repaired his car following what looked to be a brake fire at the end of the Sprint.

There was drama early on for Lawson and Alonso, with the RB driver unhappy about the Aston Martin overtaking him on their out-laps. Meanwhile, the first timed laps were going on the board, with Verstappen setting the early pace on a 1m 33.690s.

The track looked to be improving quickly, however, as Gasly soon displaced Verstappen at the top by 0.140s while the likes of Hulkenberg and Lawson also slotted into the top five. Others were experiencing issues with track limits, with drivers including Leclerc and Tsunoda having their lap times deleted.

Being without a lap time put Tsunoda at risk in the elimination zone with a few minutes remaining, while Bottas, Russell, Hamilton and Zhou also looked to be in danger. Elsewhere, Leclerc went fastest by pumping in a time of 1m 33.421s.

The Mercedes duo hit the track again to try to get themselves out of the bottom five – Russell promptly did so, slotting into third, but Hamilton remained down in P16 after losing out in the middle sector. Without enough time for another lap, this knocked the seven-time world champion out of qualifying.

As Verstappen put himself back into P1 on a 1m 33.046s – and others managed to better their previous efforts, including an eye-catching P3 for Lawson – Hamilton found himself pushed down further, ending up in a final position of P19.

It was a disappointing day for Williams, with both Albon and Colapinto exiting in 16th and 17th, while Bottas ended the session in 18th ahead of Kick Sauber team mate Zhou in 20th.

Knocked out: Albon, Colapinto, Bottas, Hamilton, Zhou

Q2 – Advantage Verstappen while Tsunoda and Hulkenberg miss out

After setting the pace in Q1, Verstappen was keen to get going again as Q2 got under way, the Dutchman the first driver to head out on track. Questions remained, meanwhile, over whether Lawson would participate, given that the New Zealander will start from the back of the grid on Sunday due to a raft of engine penalties.

It turned out that he would, the RB joining the fray as all 15 cars hit the Circuit of The Americas for their initial laps. Verstappen again put himself at the top early on with used tyres bolted on, before Norris took over P1 with his effort of 1m 32.851s, two-tenths clear of Verstappen.

With a few minutes remaining, Ocon, Alonso, Stroll, Leclerc and Lawson were the five names in the elimination zone. While Lawson looked unlikely to set a timed lap, his team mate Tsunoda was also potentially at risk in P10.

Verstappen returned to the top of the timesheets after beating Norris’s time by 0.267s, as Leclerc hauled himself out of danger by going third fastest and Tsunoda moved up to ninth. The RB driver was ultimately pushed out, however, as Alonso slotted his Aston Martin into P9.

Magnussen guaranteed his place in Q3 by going into P10, but this also saw his Haas team mate Hulkenberg – having locked up on his flying lap – drop out in P12, just behind Tsunoda, while Ocon, Stroll and Lawson also saw their qualifying sessions come to an end.

Knocked out: Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Stroll, Lawson

Q3 – Norris seals pole as Russell crashes out in final moments

Attentions then shifted to the top-10 shootout – could Verstappen continue his run of form to take pole? The reigning world champion headed out on fresh soft tyres as Q3 got under way and everybody began to put their first laps on the board.

It was advantage Norris as those initial efforts came in, the McLaren driver going fastest on a 1m 32.330s. And while Verstappen looked to be on a promising time, the Red Bull man’s final sector was not so good, meaning that he crossed the line 0.031s off Norris’s provisional pole lap.

Sainz put himself into third, ahead of Leclerc and Piastri. Elsewhere there was trouble for Perez, with the Mexican having his time deleted due to exceeding track limits, putting him down in 10th.

While most of the field had returned to the pits before their final runs, Alonso opted to have the track to himself where he completed a lap that put him eighth on the board. Drama then ensued in the pit lane as Alpine released Gasly into the path of Verstappen, an incident noted by Race Control.

But there were further dramatic scenes as most of the pack were setting their final laps. Norris failed to better his previous effort, while Verstappen looked to be on a solid run – but Russell had crashed out after losing the rear of his W15 through Turn 19, his car spinning off into the barriers.

While the Briton was fortunately okay, the incident brought out the double waved yellow flags, meaning that nobody on a lap was able to improve. This included Verstappen, meaning that Norris was safe in pole position while the Dutchman had to settle for P2.

Sainz put his Ferrari in third, ahead of team mate Leclerc in fourth and Piastri in fifth, while Russell’s earlier effort kept him in sixth. Gasly, Alonso and Magnussen followed in seventh, eighth and ninth, with Perez down in 10th following the deletion of his sole timed lap.

Key quote

"It was a beautiful lap," said pole-sitter Norris. "I was not going to go much quicker than what I did. You know when you just do a lap and you think it’s going to be tough to beat that, but I put everything out on the line. It’s all we needed to do. We’ve been on the back foot pretty much the whole weekend. We’ve not had the pace of the Ferraris or the Red Bulls so I had to do something, and today I did that. A cool lap and a nice way to start the race tomorrow."

What's next

The 2024 United States Grand Prix is set to begin at 1400 local time on Sunday. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action from the Circuit of The Americas.