US Grand Prix qualifying results: Leclerc on pole as Lewis Hamilton beats Max Verstappen
Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the United States Grand Prix after some late drama involving Max Verstappen.
Max Verstappen sent offer to quit Red Bull and join F1 rival keen to be his team-mate
Charles Leclerc managed to grab pole position for this weekend's United States Grand Prix after Max Verstappen saw his final lap time deleted for exceeding track limits. The Dutchman went quicker than any other driver in the final seconds of Q3 but was unable to keep his car inside the white lines and paid a heavy price.
There was a big shock in Q1 as Fernando Alonso dropped out in an uncharacteristically poor performance from the Spaniard, who struggled for pace throughout. Lance Stroll was also eliminated at the first hurdle, with Aston Martin looking slower than before in spite of their new floor upgrades in Austin this weekend.
Leclerc ended up claiming top spot in Q3 with a lap time of 1:34.723, putting him just one-tenth ahead of second-placed Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, will start from third on Sunday with Verstappen all the way down in sixth after seeing his final lap time chalked off by the stewards.
Relive Express Sport's live updates below.
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- Top 1023:14
- LECLERC GRABS POLE!23:02
- End of Q222:42
- End of Q122:20
Goodbye
That's all we've got time for tonight.
Thanks for joining us to follow live updates from qualifying at the United States Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc set to lead Lando Norris off the line at the start of Sunday's race.
We'll have a day of sprint action tomorrow, with the shootout at 6.30pm before the sprint itself takes place at 11pm.
Catch you then!
Your top three from qualifying! \ud83d\udc4a#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/pj6JaXiSIw
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) October 20, 2023
Top 10
1. Charles Leclerc
2. Lando Norris
3. Lewis Hamilton
4. Carlos Sainz
5. George Russell
6. Max Verstappen
7. Pierre Gasly
8. Esteban Ocon
9. Sergio Perez
10. Oscar Piastri
LECLERC GRABS POLE!
Max Verstappen goes quickest at the death but sees his lap time chalked off for exceeding track limits!
It means that Charles Leclerc will be lining up on pole position for the United States Grand Prix on Sunday, with Verstappen dropping to sixth.
Lando Norris, meanwhile, comes home in second place ahead of Lewis Hamilton in third.
CHARLES LECLERC ON POLE!!! \ud83d\udc4a
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) October 20, 2023
Norris grabs P2! Hamilton takes P3!
WOW! What a mega qualifying session! \u2728#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/hTuFbM5y6v
Leclerc on provisional pole
Charles Leclerc goes fastest with his first Q3 attempt, with Lewis Hamilton less than one-tenth behind in second place.
Max Verstappen is only quick enough for third as things stand, with Carlos Sainz fourth and Pierre Gasly fifth.
George Russell, meanwhile, is rock bottom after seeing his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.
Five minutes to go...
Q3 underway
The 10 remaining drivers emerge from the pits as the shootout for pole begins.
Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez are the last ones standing.
Who will claim pole position at the Circuit of the Americas? We'll find out in around 12 minutes' time...
End of Q2
Charles Leclerc finishes Q2 as the quickest driver on track after setting a lap time of 1:35.004.
Second place goes to Max Verstappen, who is just 0.004s slower than his Ferrari rival.
Lewis Hamilton comes home in third ahead of Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris, while George Russell is also safely through.
Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo have been eliminated.
Leclerc tops Q2! \u26a1\ufe0f
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) October 20, 2023
There's not too much to split Leclerc and Verstappen \ud83e\udd0f#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/sLMdhQFjUC
Current bottom five
11. Daniel Ricciardo
12. Kevin Magnussen
13. Zhou Guanyu
14. Carlos Sainz
15. Lando Norris
Verstappen setting the pace
Max Verstappen goes quickest early in Q2 with a lap time of 1:35.491.
Oscar Piastri currently finds himself in second place, with Esteban Ocon flying high in third.
Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, is in the bottom five and will be looking to improve before the chequered flag drops in just over eight minutes.
Lando Norris is also at risk of being knocked out after seeing his first lap time chalked off for exceeding track limits.
Q2 begins
The remaining 15 drivers are making their way out on track for Q2, with five more set to be eliminated at the end of the next session.
Alonso suffers early exit
Fernando Alonso is the big name out in Q1 after failing to pull himself away from the bottom five.
It's the only time Alonso has been eliminated at the first hurdle this year, with the Spaniard having reached Q3 at every other race weekend.
Fernando Alonso is out in Q1! \u274c#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/WOiOitfVv9
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) October 20, 2023
End of Q1
Lewis Hamilton jumps to the top of the timesheets as a rather uneventful Q1 draws to a close.
The Brit clocks a lap time of 1:35.091 to put himself 0.019s ahead of second-placed Lando Norris.
Max Verstappen, meanwhile, comes home in third after being caught in some traffic in the first sector.
Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, Lance Stroll and Logan Sargeant are knocked out.
\u274c OUT IN Q1 \u274c
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) October 20, 2023
Hulkenberg
Alonso
Albon
Stroll
Sargeant#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/CPw4PwwciN
Drivers at risk
Here's a look at the current bottom five as we enter the final three minutes...
16. Alex Albon
17. Kevin Magnussen
18. Daniel Ricciardo
19. Zhou Guanyu
20. Logan Sargeant
Track evolution to play a role?
It seems as though the track is getting quicker by the second, with Pierre Gasly now at the top with a lap time of 1:36.158.
Nico Hulkenberg, meanwhile, finds himself in second place ahead of Max Verstappen.
Six minutes to go in Q1...
First lap times
Max Verstappen is currently the quickest driver on track after setting a lap time of 1:36.470.
He is closely followed by Charles Leclerc, who is just over one-tenth adrift of the pace as things stand.
Lando Norris is third ahead of Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri and Valtteri Bottas.
Here we go
Qualifying is now underway and the drivers are beginning to emerge from the pit lane for the start of Q1!
The likes of Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and George Russell will be hoping to produce a few solid laps to get themselves into Q2 without too much difficulty.
Ricciardo is back!
Daniel Ricciardo is finally back in the saddle at AlphaTauri this weekend after spending a number of weeks out with a broken hand.
The popular Aussie sustained the injury in practice at the Dutch Grand Prix and was temporarily replaced by Liam Lawson, who gave a good account of himself during his short spell in F1.
Ricciardo will certainly be hoping to put in a strong performance at the Circuit of the Americas, with reports suggesting that he could replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull next year if the Mexican driver fails to improve...
he\u2019s here. he\u2019s ready. let\u2019s do this #USGP pic.twitter.com/Iv5qfVj7I0
\u2014 Scuderia AlphaTauri (@AlphaTauriF1) October 20, 2023
What happened in practice?
Max Verstappen got his weekend off to the perfect start by topping the timesheets in FP1 earlier today with a best lap of 1:35.912.
He was closely followed by Charles Leclerc, who was just 0.156s adrift of the Dutchman to cap off an encouraging hour of practice for Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, went fastest through the first two sectors but went wide at the penultimate corner to end up in third ahead of Sergio Perez.
FP1 CLASSIFICATION
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) October 20, 2023
Max Verstappen sets the pace in our only practice session of the weekend \ud83d\udc40#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/d4KHbFpfyY
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to Express Sport's live coverage of qualifying for the United States Grand Prix.
Tonight's session will decide the grid positions for Sunday's race, with another sprint weekend shaking up the usual schedule in Austin.
Max Verstappen will be the hot favourite to claim pole position but the likes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will be desperate to push him all the way.
Mercedes have introduced their latest upgrade package this weekend but it remains to be seen if it will be enough to challenge Red Bull against the clock in qualifying.
We're just 30 minutes away from the start of Q1 and will be keeping you updated with the action as it happens.