After taking pole position for the F1 Sprint race at the United States Grand Prix on Friday, Verstappen enjoyed a nearly perfect Saturday here at the Circuit of the Americas. Verstappen captured a win in the F1 Sprint race earlier in the day, and capped off his afternoon by taking pole position for Sunday’s main event ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
“It was, I think, a good qualifying. I think the conditions weren’t easy, with stronger winds today compared to yesterday,” said Verstappen in the FIA Press Conference after qualifying. “So, Sector 1, yeah, it was a bit harder to be consistent because the car was moving around everywhere. But I guess everyone, of course, is in the same boat with that. And then, yeah, just Q1, Q2, just trying to progress every time with the lap time. I didn’t feel like in Q3 the track was actually any better — maybe slightly worse, actually, I think for a lot of people.
“But, yeah, just trying to find a little bit more pace. And luckily it was there in the car, so just seemed a little step forward compared to yesterday’s qualifying.”
If you had any doubts coming into the United States Grand Prix, you can cast them aside now.
The comeback is definitely on.
Max Verstappen stormed to pole position Friday for the F1 Sprint race here in Austin, and then took the win in that race earlier in the day to add another eight points to his season total. Making matters better for the Red Bull driver? The fact that the two drivers he is chasing in the Drivers’ Championship race — Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris — watched him take the checkered flag as spectators after crashing on the opening lap.
That moved Verstappen to within 33 points of Norris, and to within 55 points of Piastri.
Verstappen now has a chance to move even closer tomorrow, thanks to a strong performance in qualifying to take pole position ahead of Norris, who will start alongside him on the front row. With Piastri set to start sixth, Verstappen could truly close that 55-point gap.
Verstappen even missed out on his final push lap in Q3, but it did not matter.
“Yeah, it was good. I think every segment the car was very strong. Just trying to put the lap together around here sometimes can be quite tricky. Also, it’s very hot, very strong winds as well,” said Verstappen trackside after qualifying. “And then in that first sector, having a tailwind is challenging, let’s say it like that. Yeah, the first run in Q3 was good, just managed to improve a little bit from Q2, unfortunately, and I couldn’t do my final run. It was a bit messy with the out laps. But luckily, like you said, we didn’t need it. So, yeah, for us, again, a very strong result.”
For those wondering, if Verstappen, Norris, and Piastri finish where they start, Piastri would have 344 points, Norris would have 332, and Verstappen would have 306.
