F1 2024 US Grand Prix Sprint Race starting grid with penalties ap….read more
Max Verstappen will start the 2024 US Grand Prix Sprint Race from pole position, having delivered a remarkable performance in Friday’s qualifying session at the Circuit of the Americas. The Red Bull driver set a blistering lap time of 1:32.833 seconds, securing the top spot on the grid for the sprint. This places him in an ideal position to claim his fourth sprint race win of the season, further strengthening his dominance in the championship.
Verstappen’s closest rival in the title race, Lando Norris of McLaren, could not match Red Bull’s pace in qualifying. Norris finished the session in fourth place, leaving him with a tough challenge ahead. To contest Verstappen for the win, Norris will need to first find a way past Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ George Russell, who qualified third and second respectively.
Russell put in a fantastic lap, just 0.012 seconds behind Verstappen, to claim the front row start. Leclerc, meanwhile, was 0.226 seconds off the pace, earning third place. Norris followed closely, 0.250 seconds behind Verstappen, but will need to make early moves in the sprint race if he hopes to challenge for the win.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz rounded out the top five, only 0.256 seconds adrift of Verstappen’s benchmark, while Nico Hulkenberg produced a standout performance for Haas, qualifying sixth. His teammate, Kevin Magnussen, also made it into the top ten, qualifying eighth, splitting the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who managed seventh, and Yuki Tsunoda, who finished ninth for VCARB.
The strong showing by both Haas drivers is crucial for their ongoing battle with VCARB in the constructors’ championship. Yuki Tsunoda, the lead VCARB driver, will start from ninth on the grid, just behind Magnussen. This sets up a critical fight between the two teams for valuable points in Saturday’s sprint.
Franco Colapinto continued to impress in his rookie season with Williams, securing a top-ten start in tenth place, albeit over a second and a half slower than Verstappen’s lap time. The Red Bull of Sergio Perez had a frustrating qualifying session, exiting in SQ2 and qualifying 11th. He will be looking to make progress in the sprint race to gain a better starting position for Sunday’s main event.
Oscar Piastri had a difficult session for McLaren, as his lap time was deleted in SQ1 for exceeding track limits at Turn 19. This early elimination was a significant blow to McLaren’s aspirations, with Piastri set to start 16th on Saturday. The same fate befell Red Bull’s Perez, who will line up 11th. Both drivers will need to work hard in the sprint race to recover from their poor qualifying results.
Other notable drivers include the Alpine duo of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, who qualified 12th and 17th respectively, and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, who will start 13th and 14th. Liam Lawson will start 15th for VCARB, while Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, and Zhou Guanyu will round out the back of the grid.
The sprint race at the US Grand Prix is scheduled to start at 1pm local time in Austin on Saturday, October 19. Fans across different time zones can tune in at 8pm Central European Time, 7pm in the UK (BST), 2pm Eastern Time, or 11am Pacific Time in the United States.
