McLaren’s Lando Norris narrowly beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the top spot at the United States Grand Prix on Saturday as Formula 1 returned from its autumn break, with both drivers continuing their battle for the season championship.
Verstappen won the earlier sprint race, increasing his lead over Norris to 54 points with six grand prix and two sprint races remaining this season. Verstappen is aiming for his fourth straight championship, while Norris is seeking his first.
Norris secured the pole position, edging out Verstappen by 0.31 seconds during his first lap in the final session at the Circuit of the Americas.
Verstappen was on track for a strong final lap that could have put him in the lead, but had to stop when Mercedes driver George Russell crashed, bringing out a yellow caution flag to end the session.
“That happens,” Verstappen said. “Qualifying is not always in your control.” Norris described his pole lap as the best qualifying performance of his career.
“It came together perfectly… I didn’t expect to be here,” said Norris, who has taken four pole positions in the last five races. “I’m lucky and I’ll take it. Tomorrow is going to be a tough race.”
Starting from the front will give Norris and McLaren an advantage after Verstappen controlled the sprint race, extending his championship lead by two points while Norris finished in third place.
The sprint race marked Verstappen’s first win of any kind in nearly four months. His last grand prix victory was in Spain in June, followed by a sprint race win in Austria a week later, but he has faced challenges since then.
Norris has been steadily reducing Verstappen’s large championship lead, raising questions about whether Verstappen can maintain it. Since Verstappen’s last grand prix win, Norris has claimed two victories and three other podium finishes, helping McLaren surpass Red Bull in the team standings.
The sprint race win should boost Red Bull’s confidence in the improvements made to a car that Verstappen previously called “undrivable” and “a monster” during his winless stretch. Red Bull introduced several upgrades to the car this week.
The early signs were encouraging.
Verstappen easily fended off Norris in the beginning of the sprint race and won the 19-lap event by almost 4 seconds. Even without starting from pole, Verstappen’s car displayed moments of its former speed and control.
“Feels a bit like old times,” Verstappen said after winning the sprint race.
Following the qualifying session where he placed second, Verstappen expressed satisfaction with the car’s performance and didn’t seem upset about not securing pole.
In the last race in Singapore, Verstappen finished second, but was 21 seconds behind Norris. “We’re on the front row at least. The potential is there,” for a win, Verstappen stated.
Verstappen hasn’t started from pole position in Austin since 2021, but he still won the race in both 2022 and 2023. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz will start in third place on Sunday.
