F1 US Grand Prix LIVE: Race schedule and start time as Lando Norris starts on pole
F1 live updates from the Circuit of the Americas as Norris starts from the front ahead of Max Verstappen
Lando Norris saw off rival Max Verstappen to take pole position for the US Grand Prix and boost his F1 championship dream.
Verstappen claimed his first win in nearly four months when he led every lap of the sprint race at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas earlier on Saturday to extend his title advantage from 52 to 54 points.
Norris finished third – after he was passed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz on the final lap – but he bounced back in qualifying to take spot, beating Verstappen by just 0.031 seconds.
Norris set the early pace in the shootout for pole, and then lucked-in when George Russell crashed out in his Mercedes at the penultimate corner.
Follow live updates from the United States Grand Prix with The Independent
F1 US Grand Prix: McLaren team principal Andrea Stella...
“The first lap was pretty much perfect. I saw Verstappen was on a fast lap, it could have been a problem - the yellow flag might have helped us. Overall, it’s encouraging that we’ve improved the car, some tuning to the setup. Lando and Oscar have been able to put it all together.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to reduce the tyre degradation.”
What is the starting grid for the US Grand Prix?
1. Lando Norris
2. Max Verstappen
3. Carlos Sainz
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Oscar Piastri
6. George Russell
7. Pierre Gasly
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Kevin Magnussen
10. Sergio Perez
11. Yuki Tsunoda
12. Nico Hulkenberg
13. Esteban Ocon
14. Lance Stroll
15. Alex Albon
16. Franco Colapinto
17. Valtteri Bottas
18. Lewis Hamilton
19. Zhou Guanyu
20. Liam Lawson*
*Lawson starts at the back of the grid after taking an engine penalty
F1 US Grand Prix: Lando Norris after qualifying on pole!
“It was a beautiful lap, I was not going to do much quicker than what I did. When you do a lap and you think ‘it will be tough to beat that.’ We’ve been on the back foot all weekend so I had to do something, today I did - a cool lap and a nice way to start the race tomorrow.
“This is one of the tracks where you’re like ‘damn this is fast.’ It puts a smile on your face. Ending quickest puts a smile on your face too. We changed quite a bit, we made the improvements. I was lucky and I’ll take it.
“I’ll do my homework, we’ve made some changes, time will tell. We’ll work hard, box number one ticked but tomorrow will be a tough race.”
F1 US Grand Prix: Carlos Sainz after qualifying third...
“The target was to do a step in qualifying, yesterday P5 and today P3. Bit gutted for that last lap, I was three-tenths up. Easy to say now, some good progress.
“We should be in the fight tomorrow.
F1 US Grand Prix: Max Verstappen after qualifying second...
“That’s how it goes, we’re still on the front row.
“We made some changes on the car, hopefully that’ll be nice tomorrow.”
TOP-10 FOR THE US GRAND PRIX:
1. Lando Norris
2. Max Verstappen
3. Carlos Sainz
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Oscar Piastri
6. George Russell
7. Pierre Gasly
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Kevin Magnussen
10. Sergio Perez
F1 US Grand Prix: Lando Norris on pole position!
What drama!
Max Verstappen was way up on Lando Norris’ time, too, but was forced to slow down in the final sector due to double-waved yellow flags!
Russell’s crash was at the penultimate turn and he just lost the car, skidding into the wall. All OK, thankfully.
But Norris takes the slice of luck! It’s Verstappen and Carlos Sainz behind him.
F1 US Grand Prix: George Russell crashes!
Oh no!
George Russell crashes in sector three - with a big hit into the wall! He says he’s OK.
That’s it for qualifying then, with Lando Norris on pole!
F1 US Grand Prix: Final flying laps coming up!
Moment of truth now. Can Max Verstappen go quicker?
F1 US Grand Prix: Lando Norris on provisional pole!
Wow! What a first lap from Lando Norris!
He’s on provisional pole with a 1:32:330 - 0.031 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen!
Carlos Sainz is third, three-tenths off, with Charles Leclerc in fourth.
5-10: Piastri, Russell, Gasly, Magnussen, Alonso (no time)
Gauntlet well and truly thrown down for Verstappen! They will all have another go - 5:00 to go in Q3...
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