Max qualifies second in Austin: 'Front row is good'

Published on 20 October 2024 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen will start the United States Grand Prix from second place, alongside pole sitter Lando Norris. The three-time Formula 1 world champion seemed on track for pole position until a heavy crash by George Russell brought an early end to the session. The Ferraris secured the second row at Circuit of the Americas in Austin.

Max appeared to lose some time in Turn 19 during his first run in Q3. The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver said: "Yes, that was unfortunate, but I knew that we had another run. Unfortunately, I could not finish the lap; otherwise, I think we had a really good shot at pole. That is how it goes. We are still on the front row and the potential is there. That is good."

After winning the sprint race earlier on Saturday, Max added: "We were competitive, we made some minor changes to the car. That felt good during qualifying. Hopefully, that will also be positive for tomorrow."

Max began qualifying for the United States Grand Prix on a set of used soft tyres, on which he set the fastest time at that point. He then improved that time to 1:33.046 (P1) on new soft tyres. Lewis Hamilton could not match it and was the surprising name among the other Q1 eliminations, which included both Williams drivers (Alexander Albon and Franco Colapinto) and the Saubers (Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu).

In Q2, Max continued on the same set of tyres and set almost the same time (1:33.052). Norris went two-tenths faster on new softs. In the final minutes, also on new softs, Max set the fastest time (1:32.584). The Q2 eliminations were: Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hülkenberg, Esteban Ocon, Lance Stroll, and Liam Lawson, who did not attempt a lap due to already receiving a grid penalty for an engine change.

In the final session with the remaining ten drivers, Max fell just 0.031 seconds short of Norris after his first run. In his second run, Max was significantly faster in the first sector, but the session ended abruptly after George Russell’s heavy crash in Turn 19. That secured pole position for Norris, with Verstappen alongside him on the front row. The Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc will start from the second row.

Contest United States GP: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing cap!

Results qualifying United States: