AUSTIN, Texas — F1 Sprint Qualifying at Circuit of the Americas

The F1 sprint qualifying session is in full swing at the Circuit of the Americas, setting the stage for Saturday’s sprint race during the F1 United States Grand Prix.

As the preliminaries move along, the results will be updated. It’s definitely an exciting time as teams and fans alike anticipate the grid formation.

Current Standings

With eight minutes left in the session, the remaining ten drivers were still battling for pole position. Mercedes sent out George Russell first, followed closely by the Williams duo of Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz Jr. Interestingly, they opted for C3 medium tires for earlier segments but switched to C4 softs for the final stretch of qualifying.

Russell managed to set a benchmark time of 1:32.888, but Albon followed closely with a solid 1:33.099. However, Sainz quickly outdid Albon with a 1:32.911.

Nico Hulkenberg then stepped up, posting impressive purple times in sector one. He topped Russell’s time, clocking in at 1:32.646, but he couldn’t hold onto the top spot.

Lando Norris then raced through the Circuit at impressive speed, claiming first place with a time of 1:32.214. Piastri tried to catch up but ultimately fell short with 1:32.523.

Max Verstappen, however, saw his moment and snatched pole position with a time of 1:32.143, which was a mere 0.071 seconds faster than Norris.

As SQ2 commenced, 10 minutes were on the clock, and many drivers were quick to take their chances. Lance Stroll was among them, setting an initial benchmark with a lap time of 1:33.163. Meanwhile, Russell continued to push with a 1:33.462, but it was McLaren that stole the show when Piastri and Norris clocked in competitive times.

With just three minutes remaining, five drivers found themselves at risk of elimination: Stroll, Hulkenberg, Hajar, Lawson, and Gasly. Norris, Verstappen, Piastri, Russell, and Sainz Jr. were comfortably in the top five.

As the clock ticked down, 13 drivers were on the track, but only Norris and Verstappen remained in the pits. Lawson pushed too hard and ended up in 11th, while Stroll’s best was only good enough for 14th place, leading to their elimination.

In a twist of irony, Lawson’s lap was invalidated for exceeding track limits. For Ferrari’s drivers, Hamilton and Leclerc, they had to dig deep to secure better positions, ultimately finishing 10th and 8th, respectively, with only a slight margin separating them.

Overall, five drivers did not make the cut in SQ2: Antonelli, Hajar, Gasly, Stroll, and Lawson. Those advancing to SQ3 included Norris, Verstappen, Piastri, Russell, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Albon, Leclerc, Alonso, and Hamilton.

SQ1 kicked off with excitement, as teams wasted no time getting on track. Since more than half the grid was already out there running on C3 medium tires, the competition was fierce.

Isak Hajar set the first time with 1:34.856, but it quickly changed when Nico Hülkenberg raced to the top with 1:34.758. Not long after, Verstappen took over the lead with 1:34.140 seconds as the final minutes ticked away.

But not everyone was able to complete their laps due to traffic. Bortleto, in particular, was affected and never got a shot at setting a time. By the end, five drivers were eliminated: Bearman, Colapinto, Tsunoda, Ocon, and Bortleto.

There was a tension-filled atmosphere on the grid, especially for drivers like Tsunoda, who faced some adversity during his final laps. For the leaders, Norris finished ahead of Verstappen, Piastri, Hamilton, and Hulkenberg in the standings.

The FIA later announced that an incident involving multiple drivers would be investigated as it seemed there were breaches of race director’s instructions.