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max verstappen I went further f1 Title image by winning the Saturday sprint and securing dominant pole position for the Sunday race Austin after lando norris And oscar piastri A costly collision was faced.
The Dutchman took pole position in qualifying by almost three tenths from Norris, as championship leader Piastri could only manage sixth to end a disappointing Saturday for the Australian.
Norris was no match for Verstappen, but would be happy to have him charles leclerc, george russell And Lewis Hamilton between him and title rival Piastri on the grid for the 56-lap race as he looks to close the 22-point gap in the standings.
Verstappen’s victory in the sprint early on Saturday enabled him to pull within 55 points of leader Piastri and 33 points behind Norris – when the McLaren pair collided with each other at the first turn and were forced out of the 19-lap dash.
The Dutchman, who has finished ahead of the McLaren pair in each of the last three races, will need more McLaren chaos to force himself fully into the title fight, but there are still 166 points left to play for.
The preparation for the weekend has been dominated by the unspecified “consequences” imposed on Norris by McLaren after the team held Norris responsible for the collision with Piastri in Singapore a fortnight ago.
That minor tap paled into insignificance compared to the carnage at the first turn of Saturday’s sprint at Circuit of the Americas as Norris had only three tires left on his car.
Starting from third, Piastri attempted to cut around the inside of his teammate, but turned into Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg and, as a result, collided with the rear left side of Norris’ car.
Norris became dizzy as his left rear tire went across the track. Piastri limped for a while but his participation was also affected by the suspension.
Verstappen takes eight points for further victory george russell And Carlos Sainz.
Top-10 – US Grand Prix Qualifying
1) Max Verstappen – Red Bull
2) Lando Norris – McLaren
3) Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
4) George Russell – Mercedes
5) Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari
6) Oscar Piastri – McLaren
7) Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes
8) Ollie Bearman – Haas
9) Carlos Sainz – Williams
10) Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
McLaren’s decision to insert themselves into the title fight after Singapore by sanctioning Norris for a first lap maneuver that was deemed legal by the FIA will raise questions about what they decide to do after this latest collision.
Many observers, including former world champion Jenson Button, felt that Piastri made a risky move – which ultimately resulted in the pair colliding – which the team says is their only unbreakable rule.
McLaren CEO Jack Brown told Sky Sports from the pit wall at the start: “It’s some amateur hours of driving by some of the drivers up front there.”
Brown later changed his mind and shifted blame from Hulkenberg but did not say who he held responsible.
Norris and team principal Andrea Stella also refused to apportion blame after the sprint, but McLaren are embroiled in a mess of their own making by attempting to police relations amid the heat of team-mate title feuds.