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Charles Bradley

F1 qualifying results: Carlos Sainz takes United States GP pole

Sainz will start ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) after the one-hour qualifying session, which is split into three segments with five cars each being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 before the top-10 shootout of Q3.

Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc was second quickest in Q3 but has a 10-place grid penalty. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was fourth fastest but has a 5-place grid penalty, all of which elevated Hamilton by two spots.

United States Grand Prix qualifying results: Sainz on pole from Verstappen

Cla   Nº   Driver   Car / Engine   Time   Delay
[s]  
 Delay
[%]  
1 55  Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1'34.356 - -
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'34.448 0.092 0.098
3 44  Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'34.947 0.591 0.626
4 63  George Russell Mercedes 1'34.988 0.632 0.670
5 18  Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'35.598 1.242 1.316
6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1'35.690 1.334 1.414
7 77  Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'36.319 1.963 2.080
8 11  Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1'34.645 0.289 0.306
    5-place penalty, additional power unit element has been used
9 23  Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1'36.368 2.012 2.132
10 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1'36.398 2.042 2.164
11 10  Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1'36.740 2.384 2.527
12 16  Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'34.421 0.065 0.069
    10-place penalty, additional power unit elements have been used
13 22  Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Red Bull 1'37.147 2.791 2.958
14 14  Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1'35.876 1.520 1.611
    5-place penalty, additional power unit element has been used
15 20  Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1'36.949 2.593 2.748
16 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1'37.046 2.690 2.851
17 31  Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1'37.068 2.712 2.874
18 47  Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1'37.111 2.755 2.920
19 24  Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1'36.970 2.614 2.770
    5-place penalty, additional power unit element has been used
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1'37.244 2.888 3.061

What happened in United States Grand Prix Q1?

Leclerc set the early pace at 1m35.795s, 0.069s clear of Verstappen. Sainz then beat them all with a lap of 1m35.297s, helped by running slightly later. His time was almost half a second clear of his teammate.

Falling at the first hurdle were Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Mick Schumacher (who spun his Haas exiting Turn 1) and Nicholas Latifi (Williams).

United States Grand Prix Q1 results: Sainz fastest from Leclerc

Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1'35.297     208.262
2 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'35.795 0.498 0.498 207.179
3 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'35.864 0.567 0.069 207.030
4 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'36.148 0.851 0.284 206.419
5 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 1'36.163 0.866 0.015 206.387
6 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1'36.195 0.898 0.032 206.318
7 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 1'36.446 1.149 0.251 205.781
8 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 1'36.465 1.168 0.019 205.740
9 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1'36.577 1.280 0.112 205.502
10 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1'36.656 1.359 0.079 205.334
11 Germany Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1'36.695 1.398 0.039 205.251
12 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1'36.746 1.449 0.051 205.143
13 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1'36.808 1.511 0.062 205.011
14 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1'36.860 1.563 0.052 204.901
15 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 1'36.932 1.635 0.072 204.749
16 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas 1'36.949 1.652 0.017 204.713
17 Australia Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1'37.046 1.749 0.097 204.509
18 France Esteban Ocon Alpine 1'37.068 1.771 0.022 204.462
19 Germany Mick Schumacher Haas 1'37.111 1.814 0.043 204.372
20 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams 1'37.244 1.947 0.133 204.092

What happened in United States Grand Prix Q2?

Verstappen set the bar at 1m35.294s, but Leclerc toppled him by 0.048s on 1m35.246s to top the session.

Knocked out at this point were a hugely impressive Alex Albon (Williams), Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri, who was livid over his car’s braking performance at hairpins), Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo, who had a Q3 lap deleted for exceeding track limits and had a 5-place grid penalty anyways) and Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri).

United States Grand Prix Q2 results: Leclerc fastest from Verstappen

Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'35.246     208.374
2 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'35.294 0.048 0.048 208.269
3 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1'35.590 0.344 0.296 207.624
4 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1'35.692 0.446 0.102 207.402
5 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'35.732 0.486 0.040 207.316
6 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 1'35.864 0.618 0.132 207.030
7 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 1'35.988 0.742 0.124 206.763
8 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1'36.032 0.786 0.044 206.668
9 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1'36.321 1.075 0.289 206.048
10 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 1'36.341 1.095 0.020 206.005
11 Thailand Alex Albon Williams 1'36.368 1.122 0.027 205.948
12 Germany Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1'36.398 1.152 0.030 205.883
13 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1'36.740 1.494 0.342 205.156
14 China Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1'36.970 1.724 0.230 204.669
15 Japan Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1'37.147 1.901 0.177 204.296

What happened in United States Grand Prix Q3?

On the first runs, Verstappen’s opening gambit was 1m35.044s but Leclerc banged in 1m34.624s to go P1, with Sainz right behind him by 0.159s. Hamilton jumped up to third, a tenth ahead of Verstappen.

On the final runs, Leclerc improved his fastest time to 1m34.421s but Sainz beat him with 1m34.356s, which was good enough for pole.

Verstappen took third on 1m34.448s, ahead of Perez (who has a 5-place grid penalty).

The Mercedes duo of Hamilton and George Russell were fifth and sixth fastest, ahead of Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Lando Norris (McLaren), Fernando Alonso (Alpine, who has a five-place grid penalty) and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo).

United States Grand Prix Q3 results: Sainz takes pole

Cla Driver Chassis Time Gap Interval km/h
1 Spain Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1'34.356     210.339
2 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1'34.421 0.065 0.065 210.194
3 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull 1'34.448 0.092 0.027 210.134
4 Mexico Sergio Perez Red Bull 1'34.645 0.289 0.197 209.697
5 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'34.947 0.591 0.302 209.030
6 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 1'34.988 0.632 0.041 208.940
7 Canada Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1'35.598 1.242 0.610 207.606
8 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren 1'35.690 1.334 0.092 207.407
9 Spain Fernando Alonso Alpine 1'35.876 1.520 0.186 207.004
10 Finland Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1'36.319 1.963 0.443 206.052
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