After just one free practice session, F1 is already back in fierce competition in Austin, with the Sprint Qualification of the United States Grand Prix. This “Sprint Shootout”, as Formula 1 calls it, is used to determine what the starting grid will be for the Sprint on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. French time.
Ferrari dominated by a slim lead in Free Practice, with Carlos Sainz ahead of Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton followed less than half a second behind.
Liam Lawson posted an encouraging 13th time during the EL but he will have to start last Sunday, after having received several dozen penalty places for Sunday’s race, the fault of a change of technical components on the RB F1 formerly driven by Daniel Ricciardo.
The other news from the Grand Prix is obviously Red Bull’s system to adjust the ride height from the cockpit. McLaren CEO Zak Brown got annoyed and demanded answers. For its part, Christian Horner’s team assures that it did not break the law and that its rivals were aware of this system.
SQ1 – 12 minutes – Pneus mediums
SQ1 is a 12-minute mini Q1, and drivers must also enter the top 15 to advance to SQ2. The only additional constraint, in addition to the reduced time, is the use of medium tires.
Kevin Magnussen signed the first reference in 1’34″403, not beaten by Yuki Tsunoda and Max Verstappen, nor Liam Lawson, but beaten by Lando Norris in 1’33″919. Oscar Piastri only set the seventh fastest time ahead of the Williams, and Carlos Sainz moved up to second. Charles Leclerc made everyone agree in 1’33″896, or 23 thousandths better than Norris.
Lewis Hamilton signed the absolute best first sector, and he finally took the best time in 1’33″840. George Russell did not do better than fifth, between Sainz and the astonishing Magnussen. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are placed just behind.
Verstappen followed it up directly with another fast lap which allowed him to move up to third position. Sergio Pérez managed a fast lap on his second attempt and moved up to seventh. This temporarily eliminated Franco Colapinto, who had the same time as Alex Albon to the nearest thousandth.
The latter spun during his last fast lap while Colapinto improved and eliminated him! Piastri secured seventh place, and Lawson also moved up to 13th. Alonso secured himself but Piastri’s time was canceled, sending him back to 16th position!
Those eliminated were Piastri, Ocon, Albon, Bottas and Zhou.
SQ2 – 10 minutes – Pneus mediums
Magnussen set the first time, but it was Russell who did better in 1’33″544 before Hamilton beat his teammate in 1’33″370. But Sainz did better in 1’33″274 and Leclerc slotted in third between the Mercedes, while Norris only set the fifth time.
Verstappen set a time of his own and took the second time, 0.016 behind Sainz. Colapinto was provisionally placed eighth between the Haas of Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg.
Pérez only set the tenth fastest time ahead of Gasly. Tsunoda temporarily eliminated Pérez, who was still on the track. Lawson finished his fast lap in 12th place, two tenths behind Tsunoda. Alonso set the 12th time and Stroll the 15th, while Pérez did no better and finished in SQ2!
Alonso’s time was deleted due to an exit, dropping him to 15th, before Lawson suffered the same penalty, also being dropped to 15th. Gasly is under investigation for embarrassing Colapinto, although the Frenchman has apologized.
Those eliminated were Pérez, Gasly, Stroll, Alonso and Lawson.
SQ3 – 8 minutes – Soft tires
Russell set the first time in 1’32″845, and Hamilton finished more than half a second behind his teammate, complaining on the radio that the timing was wrong. Colapinto spun -tail, without consequences The Argentinian however had a good Qualif Sprint with a finish in SQ3.
The FIA has warned that there will ultimately be no further investigation into the SQ2 incident between Colapinto and Gasly, which hampered the Williams driver. There will therefore be no penalty for the French driver.
Sainz finished with the second fastest time, two tenths behind Russell. Norris did better and placed six thousandths ahead of the Spaniard, but behind Russell. Leclerc did even better but two tenths behind Russell.
Magnussen took sixth time, just 0.020″ behind Hamilton! And Verstappen did better in 1’32″833, narrowly beating Russell! Hülkenberg placed sixth ahead of Hamilton, and Tsunoda set the ninth fastest time.
Pos.PiloteVoitureTemps SQ1Temps SQ2Temps SQ3 01 Max Verstappen Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 1:33.908 1:33.290 1:32.833 02 George Russell Mercedes W15 1:34.125 1:33.544 1:32.845 03 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-24 3.647 1:33.392 1: 33.059 04 Lando Norris McLaren Mercedes McL38 1: 33.919 1: 33.566 1: 33.083 05 Carlos Sainz Ferrari SF-24 1: 34.109 1: 33.274 1: 33.089 06 Nico Hülkenberg Haas Ferrari VF-24 1: 34.825 1: 33.183 07 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes W15 1:33.840 1:33.370 1:33.378 08 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari VF-24 1:34.403 1:33.788 1:33.398 09 Yuki Tsunoda RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 1:34.646 1:34.052 1:33.802 10 Franco Colapinto Williams Mercedes FW46 1:34.606 1:33.952 1:34.406 — —————- ————— —- —— ———- ———- 11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 1:34.333 1:34.244 12 Pierre Gasly Alpine Renault A524 1:34.865 1 :34.363 13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 1:34.324 – :—.— 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 1:34.436 – :—.— 15 Liam Lawson RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 1:34.617 – :— .— — —————- ————— ———- —- —— ———- 16 Oscar Piastri McLaren Mercedes MCL38 1:34.881 17 Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault A524 1:34.917 18 Alex Albon Williams Mercedes FW46 1:35.054 19 Valtteri Bottas Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 1:35.148 20 Guanyu Zhou Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 1:36.472
