Verstappen stuns McLaren and grabs Austin Sprint Pole

Max Verstappen delivered another masterclass in qualifying as he snatched pole position for the sprint race at the United States Grand Prix, narrowly beating McLaren rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

In a tense final session at the Circuit of the Americas, Verstappen produced a blistering last lap to top the timesheets, edging Norris by just 0.071 seconds. Piastri, who leads Norris by 22 points in the championship standings, secured third place, 0.309 seconds off his team-mate’s pace.

Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg pulled off one of the surprises of the day by claiming fourth, outperforming both George Russell’s Mercedes and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin.

Max: “Let’s see what we can get tomorrow, hehe. Good job!” pic.twitter.com/sQpb3aFOHX

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— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) October 17, 2025

Williams’ Carlos Sainz qualified in seventh, followed by Lewis Hamilton, who continues to struggle with Ferrari’s balance issues. Their team-mates, Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc, rounded out the top ten as the Monaco driver was on the verge of being eliminated both in Q1 and Q2, but managed to get into the first ten.