Verstappen is back in the lead! We have already forgotten how it happens.
Evgeniy Kustov October 19, 2024, 01:33 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Norris’ teammate failed in the sprint qualification for the United States GP and Lando himself did not have a very convincing performance. But the Mercedes shined.
SQ1: Albon reversal, Piastri failure
At first, Sergio Pérez, whose first flying lap was canceled for violating track limits, hinted at the main failure of the first segment, but the Mexican composed himself and moved forward with confidence on the second lap. But misfortune awaited McLaren. Oscar Piastri made a normal first lap and on the second his car deviated slightly in the penultimate corner, violating the track limits, and the Australian found himself in a disastrous 16th position. Fortunately, this is only an exclusion and not a complete rating.
Along with Piastri, Esteban Ocon did not go any further, losing slightly to Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, who spun in the penultimate corner. The Williams driver effectively caught the car and didn’t even call for yellow flags, but perhaps this is the only thing the Thai could be happy about at the end of Friday.
Traditionally, two Kick-Sauber drivers sat in the back row, although Valtteri Bottas only lost tenth place to Albon and only two to Ocon. Perhaps the Swiss updates have contributed something, but so far not enough to speak at least of a relative salvation of the season. As for Zhou’s last position, just like in training, his power plant went crazy – what kind of speed is that…?
Related materials
So who will be the champion and what will Red Bull do with the drivers? The main intrigues of the end of F-1.
SQ2: further without Pérez, but with Colapinto
Pérez failed in the second segment. Checo made a weak lap, which was enough to reach an apparently close 11th place, but at the same time the Mexican was two tenths behind the Hulkenberg-Tsunoda pair, that is, it cannot be said that Sergio was a little short. The Mexican lost nine tenths to Verstappen, so everything cannot be attributed to the poor performance of the car.
Pierre Gasly is in 12th place, but will likely receive a penalty for blocking Franco Colapinto (the Alps interference did not prevent the Argentine from advancing further in the eighth period). Well, then we have three drivers whose best laps were canceled for not respecting track limits: Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso and Liam Lawson. Neither of them made the top 10 anyway, and the biggest loser was Lawson, who would have finished ahead of both Aston Martin drivers. But not destiny.
Related materials
14 disgusting trophies for winning Formula 1. Which is the worst?
SQ3: Verstappen again!
In the final segment of the stop, all drivers, in accordance with the regulations, switched from “medium” to “soft”, which could have changed the power balance a little; Until the end of the session it was not entirely clear which of the top four teams was faster today. And in the end, this battle for pole was won by none other than Max Verstappen! The Dutchman is so far the only one to have won the sprints this year, and today, with the updated Red Bull, Verstappen took first place with an advantage of 12 thousandths over George Russell (apparently the updated Mercedes is also in order, although all these conclusions may be premature).
Charles Leclerc, despite a mistake in the first sector, finished third with a difference of two tenths. What about Lando Norris? Verstappen’s main competitor finished fourth in the overall standings, losing exactly a quarter of a second, a sort of seeding for the end of the season. There were no signs of dominance from McLaren on Friday in Austin.
Lewis Hamilton, who complained about leaving the track too early (in any case, Russell was leaving at the same time), lost half a second to his teammate due to a serious error and will only start seventh. Carlos Sainz and even Nico Hulkenberg overtook the seven-time champion. The German accelerated towards the end of qualifying and set an excellent sixth time, just three and a half tenths behind Verstappen’s lap: power!
Kevin Magnussen will start eighth, with Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto on the fifth line. The Argentine turned around at the start of SQ3, after which 10th position was practically assured. Either way, it was a good session for a newbie.
Saturday’s Formula 1 United States Grand Prix sprint starts at 9:00 p.m. Moscow time. Well, the main qualification is at 1:00, when October 20 arrives. We are waiting.
Related materials
Survey
F1 abruptly canceled the controversial clause in the regulations after the Singapore scandal. Are you in a hurry again?
