AUSTIN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 17: Sprint Pole qualifier Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Sprint 3rd qualifier Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren congratulate each other in parc ferme during Sprint Qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 17, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
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Max Verstappen of Red Bull has clinched sprint pole position at the United States Grand Prix – his third sprint pole in a row around the Circuit of the Americas.
McLaren’s Lando Norris kicked things off strong, topping SQ1 and SQ2 and was looking set to grab pole in SQ3, only for Verstappen to pull off a stunning lap in the final moments to pip the Briton to the top spot by seven hundredths of a second.
Norris wasn’t surprised to be beaten to pole by the Dutchman however, saying after qualifying, “Of course would have loved to be on pole, but not a surprise for us to be just a bit slower than the Red Bull lately, so still pretty happy.”
Oscar Piastri, currently holding a 22-point lead in the championship, rounded out the top three in the other McLaren, with all three title contenders eyeing the crucial eight points awarded for the sprint race winner.
AUSTIN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 17: Mario Isola, Director of Pirelli F1 presents Sprint Pole qualifier with his Pirelli Sprint Pole award during Sprint Qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 17, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
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Joining Piastri on the second row is Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg who came through with an impressive lap to secure fourth place, with George Russell of Mercedes rounding out the top five.
Further down, Fernando Alonso managed to put his Aston Martin in sixth place, just ahead of Carlos Sainz of Williams. The Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had a more challenging day, settling for eighth and tenth respectively, with Alexander Albon in the other Williams sandwiched in ninth place.
Leclerc and Albon will need to fight their way up the grid since points are only awarded to the top eight, unlike the main race where ten places earn points.
Starting Grid For The United States Grand Prix Sprint Race
Here’s the starting order for Saturday’s sprint race at the Circuit of the Americas:
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing): 1:32.143
- Lando Norris (McLaren): +0.071
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren): +0.380
- Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber): +0.502
- George Russell (Mercedes): +0.745
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): +0.767
- Carlos Sainz (Williams): +0.768
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari): +0.892
- Alexander Albon (Williams): +0.956
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): +0.961
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Oliver Bearman (Haas)
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber)
The United States Grand Prix sprint race starts at 12 p.m. local time (CDT) on Saturday, October 18.