F1 US GP: Norris beats Verstappen to pole as Russell crash curtails qualifying

Lando Norris scored pole position for Formula 1’s 2024 United States Grand Prix as a George Russell crash prevented Max Verstappen and co from completing their final Q3 fliers.

The session was already a shocker for Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton having been eliminated in Q1.

Norris and McLaren will head the grid at Austin in a stunning turnaround from the sprint race, where Verstappen and the Ferrari drivers seemed to have a clear edge.

After the first runs in Q3, Norris lead Verstappen by 0.031s – staying ahead despite a massive snap through the penultimate corner largely thanks to a strong middle sector.

On the second attempt on new softs late in the final segment, Verstappen ran ahead of his title rival, having only just avoided a pitlane collision with Pierre Gasly exiting his Alpine garage.

But Verstappen’s attempt to topple Norris was thwarted when Russell crashed at the penultimate corner – the Mercedes heading the pack for the final tours.

Russell lost the rear of his W15 through the rapid, plunging left-hander and spun off through the gravel trap on the outside to hit the barriers hard, with the resulting double yellow flags meaning no drivers were able to complete their laps.

Verstappen and Norris had finished the first sector of their final fliers and the world champion had edged a near 0.2s advantage – albeit without getting to the sector where the McLaren had been faster on the first Q3 runs.

The order behind was preserved with Carlos Sainz third for Ferrari, ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren and Russell.

Gasly, who faces a post-qualifying investigation for the pitlane incident with Verstappen, took seventh ahead of Fernando Alonso and Kevin Magnussen, while Sergio Perez was only 10th after losing his first time for running too wide out of Turn 9.

In Q2, Yuki Tsunoda could not progress even with the penalty-addled Liam Lawson giving him a tow down the main straight on both his runs.

Lawson, who was third-fastest in Q1, was never going to compete in the middle segment given his grid penalty for another change on the car Daniel Ricciardo had previously been racing.

The other fallers were Nico Hulkenberg in 12th after a Turn 1 lock-up and exit oversteer snap, plus Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll, who could not match Alonso’s jump from the drop zone and into Q3 on their final Q2 fliers for Aston Martin.

In Q1, Hamilton was the shock faller – not gaining time as Russell, who progressed in fourth, did when Mercedes went with the rest of the frontrunners and switched from used to new softs.

Hamilton ended up being shuffled down to 19th, with his main time loss coming in an oversteer snap exiting Turn 12, and shipping 0.5s compared to Russell.

Magnussen and Stroll jumped from the drop zone with their final laps right at Q1’s end, which shuffled down Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto for Williams, while the Sauber pair also exited despite personal bests on their final tours – Valtteri Bottas taking 18th ahead of his former team-mate and Zhou Guanyu 20th.

F1 United States Grand Prix – Qualifying results

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Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Time	km/h
1	L. NorrisMcLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	1’32.330	214.955
2	M. VerstappenRed Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	+0.031 1’32.361	214.882
3	C. SainzFerrari	55		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.322 1’32.652	214.208
4	C. LeclercFerrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	+0.410 1’32.740	214.004
5	O. PiastriMcLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	+0.620 1’32.950	213.521
6	G. RussellMercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	+0.644 1’32.974	213.466
7	P. GaslyAlpine	10		Alpine	Renault	+0.688 1’33.018	213.365
8	F. AlonsoAston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	+0.979 1’33.309	212.699
9	K. MagnussenHaas F1 Team	20		Haas	Ferrari	+1.151 1’33.481	212.308
10	S. PerezRed Bull Racing	11		Red Bull	Red Bull
11	Y. TsunodaRB	22		RB	Red Bull	+1.176 1’33.506	212.251
12	N. HulkenbergHaas F1 Team	27		Haas	Ferrari	+1.214 1’33.544	212.165
13	E. OconAlpine	31		Alpine	Renault	+1.267 1’33.597	212.045
14	L. StrollAston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	+1.429 1’33.759	211.678
15	A. AlbonWilliams	23		Williams	Mercedes	+1.721 1’34.051	211.021
16	F. ColapintoWilliams	43		Williams	Mercedes	+1.732 1’34.062	210.997
17	V. BottasSauber	77		Sauber	Ferrari	+1.822 1’34.152	210.795
18	L. HamiltonMercedes	44		Mercedes	Mercedes	+1.824 1’34.154	210.790
19	Z. GuanyuSauber	24		Sauber	Ferrari	+1.898 1’34.228	210.625
20	L. LawsonRB	30		RB	Red Bull
View full results