F1 US Grand Prix LIVE: Race schedule and start time as Lando Norris starts on pole
F1 live updates from the Circuit of the Americas as Norris starts from the front ahead of Max Verstappen
Lando Norris saw off rival Max Verstappen to take pole position for the US Grand Prix and boost his F1 championship dream.
Verstappen claimed his first win in nearly four months when he led every lap of the sprint race at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas earlier on Saturday to extend his title advantage from 52 to 54 points.
Norris finished third – after he was passed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz on the final lap – but he bounced back in qualifying to take spot, beating Verstappen by just 0.031 seconds.
Norris set the early pace in the shootout for pole, and then lucked-in when George Russell crashed out in his Mercedes at the penultimate corner.
Follow live updates from the United States Grand Prix with The Independent
F1 US Grand Prix: George Russell, after finishing fifth in the sprint
“Front tyres, I spoke with Lewis after the race, he had no rear tyres left - so we’re missing something.
“We need to get on top of these tyres, it’s the first time we ran on the medium tyres.
“It’s only the sprint race.”
TOP-8 IN US GRAND PRIX SPRINT
1. Max Verstappen (8 points)
2. Carlos Sainz (7 points)
3. Lando Norris (6 points)
4. Charles Leclerc (5 points)
5. George Russell (4 points)
6. Lewis Hamilton (3 points)
7. Kevin Magnussen (2 points)
8. Nico Hulkenberg (1 point)
F1 US Grand Prix: Max Verstappen, after winning the sprint...
“It was not too bad, feels a bit like old times. Very happy with today, for us finally we’re racing again. Now we can do our own race and we have good pace.”
F1 US Grand Prix: Carlos Sainz, after finishing second..
“They were fun battles, a good sprint. A lot going on, towards the end I was struggling with the tyres. We made it stick into turn one, it was a fun one!
“It’s encouraging to see for tomorrow we have a chance. For qualifying, our car is not in the best place.”
F1 US Grand Prix: Lando Norris, who finished third...
“It was a good race, I’m pretty happy with how things ended up. I thought I could hand on to second, my front tyres were completely finished.
“Disappointing end but happy with the race result, good amount of points.
“Today was a good start, good first corner. I did the most I could, we don’t have the pace on Max or the Ferraris.”
F1 US Grand Prix: Max Verstappen wins the sprint race!
Verstappen wins by 3.8 seconds!
Carlos Sainz takes second, while Lando Norris holds onto third from Charles Leclerc!
5-8: Russell, Hamilton, Magnussen, Hulkenberg
Norris and Leclerc were so close to touching in the final sector!
But a big win for Verstappen, who extends his lead in the championship from 52 points to 54 points!
F1 US Grand Prix: Final lap! (Lap 19/19)
Carlos Sainz has taken second place from Lando Norris!
Norris locked up at turn 1 on the final lap - and Norris drops to third!
Can he hold off Leclerc now?!
F1 US Grand Prix: Norris under pressure! (Lap 18/19)
Two laps remaining and Carlos Sainz now has DRS on Lando Norris - he’s 0.8 seconds behind!
Charles Leclerc also has DRS on his team-mate Sainz... should be a dramatic finish!
Top-8: Verstappen, Norris, Sainz, Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, Magnussen, Hulkenberg
F1 US Grand Prix: Verstappen extends his lead (Lap 15/19)
Verstappen’s lead is now 2.2 seconds - it looks like he’s got the sprint win wrapped up!
Norris, in second, looks safe with seven points as Leclerc trails by 1.3 seconds.
Top-8: Verstappen, Norris, Sainz, Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton, Magnussen, Hulkenberg
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