Max Verstappen, the current leading driver in Red Bull Formula 1, took pole position for the US Grand Prix sprint race. McLaren driver Lando Norris surprisingly only qualified in fourth place and finds himself challenged to maintain his momentum in the title fight. Joining Verstappen on the front row of the grid will be Mercedes’ George Russell, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc takes third place. Dutch driver Verstappen, who won both the 100km sprint and the Austin Grand Prix last year, set the fastest lap with a time of one minute 32.833 seconds – just 0.012 seconds faster than Russell. Verstappen, who has won all three sprints this season so far, leads Norris by 52 points with six races remaining and a maximum of 180 points up for grabs. The winner of the sprint will receive eight points, which would allow Verstappen to further extend his lead before the main race on Sunday. Norris also had to accept the setback that his teammate Oscar Piastri was only able to achieve 16th place after his fastest lap was canceled and was unable to offer him any support. Carlos Sainz of Ferrari took fifth place, followed by Nico Hulkenberg for Haas and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Kevin Magnussen gave the US team Haas an additional boost with eighth place. The other places were occupied by Yuki Tsunoda for RB and the Argentinian rookie Franco Colapinto impressed with tenth place for Williams. Teammate Alex Albon, who will contest his 100th Grand Prix race on Sunday, had an unfortunate qualifying experience and ended up in 18th place after a spin.
