Verstappen Edges Norris and Piastri to Sprint Pole in Austin After Intense Qualifying Battle

Sports

Max Verstappen delivered another masterclass in qualifying as he secured Sprint Pole for the 2025 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. The reigning world champion narrowly beat McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in a tense and unpredictable session that showcased razor thin margins and changing grip levels under the Texas night sky.

After topping the earlier qualifying stages, Verstappen found his rhythm in the decisive SQ3 session, setting a blistering lap time that Norris came agonizingly close to beating. The Briton looked quick throughout the session, pushing his McLaren to its limits and briefly holding provisional pole before Verstappen’s final lap pushed him down to second. Piastri also impressed, maintaining McLaren’s strong form and locking in third place, confirming the team’s continued competitiveness across both short and long runs.

Behind them, George Russell put in a solid performance for Mercedes to secure fourth, while Charles Leclerc managed fifth after a difficult start to the day that saw Ferrari battling setup issues and inconsistent balance. Carlos Sainz followed closely in sixth, giving Ferrari a second row shot for the Sprint. Red Bull’s second driver, Sergio Pérez, struggled with understeer in the high-speed corners and could only manage seventh, showing a notable gap to Verstappen’s pace.

Verstappen’s pole marks another significant milestone for Red Bull, who entered the Austin weekend determined to test several new aerodynamic updates. Speaking after the session, Verstappen admitted that conditions were challenging, particularly with the wind shifts in the final sector, but praised his team for giving him a car capable of handling the tricky track surface. RacingNews365 noted that Verstappen described this qualifying session as a “critical test” for Red Bull’s revised setup, one that the team “passed perfectly.”

For McLaren, the result continues their strong momentum this season. Norris has been consistently challenging Verstappen’s dominance, and Piastri’s third place reinforces the team’s balance between experience and youth. The pair worked closely during FP1 earlier in the day, where McLaren topped the timesheets and looked comfortable from the start.

Further down the order, Aston Martin and Alpine continued to struggle with grip and tyre warm up, while Nico Hulkenberg again impressed by dragging his Kick Sauber into the top 10. Haas, racing at their home Grand Prix, found themselves battling at the edge of the midfield despite Kevin Magnussen’s strong early pace.

The Sprint Qualifying session, held under cooler evening conditions, demanded precise tyre management and clean laps. Verstappen’s ability to extract maximum performance from his first flying lap proved decisive, while several drivers complained of oversteer as the session went on.

The stage is now set for the Sprint race later tonight, which promises close racing between Red Bull and McLaren. Verstappen will start from the front, but Norris and Piastri are well-placed to challenge him off the line, especially given McLaren’s strong straight-line speed and stability through medium speed corners.

Sprint race begins at 22:00 local time. With Verstappen leading, McLaren hunting, and Ferrari eager to recover, the fight for Austin glory is only just getting started.