Summary

  • Max Verstappen takes pole for United States GP sprint race in Austin

  • Title rival Lando Norris fourth with Russell second and Leclerc third

  • Hamilton seventh with Perez and Piastri both failing to reach SQ3

  • Verstappen leads Norris by 52 points in drivers' championship

  • US GP first of six races to conclude 2024 season

Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

  1. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Interestingly, one of the only teams in the top group to not bring any upgrades at all this weekend is Ferrari and they're the ones who look most comfortable out of anybody.

  2. Five minutes to go

    At least Lewis Hamilton has some company. The seven-time world champion has been joined by his team-mate George Russell and the Williams of Franco Colapinto.

    First time on the board goes to Russell - 1:32.845.

  3. Lewis Hamilton is already on the blower to Mercedes to question why he has been sent out so early?

  4. Go! Go! Go!

    Race control have noted an incident of impeding in SQ2 between Franco Colapinto in the William and Alpine's Pierre Gasly.

    Here we go then. Who will be in pole for tomorrow's sprint race?

    Put the soft tyres on.

  5. Jennie Gow
    F1 pit-lane reporter in Austin

    They've just deleted Lawson's track time as well.

    So I'm down here, with my little notepad, trying to keep up with the situation after SQ2 and it's like I've changed it three times now.

    If only I had Tipp-Ex with me!

  6. Sorry, Lando and Max. You'll be doing this sprint fight alone.

    Fernando Alonso had his lap time deleted for exceeded track limits, while Liam Lawson tells RB pit wall his session was "scrappy" before apologising.

  7. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Well, it's the two team mates of the title protagonists that have let their teams down today.

    Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez not doing the jobs that their teams desperately needed them to do.

  8. Out in SQ2

    11. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

    12. Liam Lawson (RB)

    13. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

    14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

    15. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

  9. The Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso have both been eliminated, but who is this into SQ3? It's Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, dragging the Haas through to the sprint pole shootout.

  10. Harry Benjamin
    BBC F1 Commentator

    What about Sergio Perez though?

    Every week, there's pressure on Perez, it's almost getting a little bit boring now, but he keeps putting in performances that warrant that pressure to be added, and right now, he hasn't got a lap time on the board, his first lap time in SQ1 had to be deleted for exceeding track limits, that meant he had to go again.

    Round the final corner, let's see how close Perez can get to his team mate Verstappen?

    The answer is not very is unfortunately not very. 10th he stays.

  11. Sergio Perez has climbed to 10th place, but the Mexican's time is in real danger of being beaten by the drivers in the bottom five. Yuki Tsunoda has done it in the RB, pushing the Red Bull man down into the snake pit.

  12. Danger zone

    11. Lance Stroll

    12. Fernando Alonso

    13. Liam Lawson

    14. Yuki Tsunoda

    15. Pierre Gasly

  13. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    He's second, I mean not very far, less than a tenth behind the Ferrari.

    Very very quick, good signs from the Red Bull driver.

  14. Sainz beats Hamilton's time

    Could this be Ferrari's weekend? Carlos Sainz sets a time 0.096 seconds better than Lewis Hamilton's to go top of the leaderboard with three minutes remaining. Max Verstappen now slots into second, just a fraction off the Spaniard's marker.

  15. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Just think about where McLaren were 12 months ago.

    I came to the conclusion many years ago, you have to start judging success in Formula 1 not just by a championship win or a race win, but by making continuous improvements, if you're constantly moving forward, that's a success.

    McLaren have got to take this season as a success. It's now starting to happen for them.

  16. The medium tyres are bolted on again for SQ2, before drivers will move on to the soft compound sprint pole shootout.

    Lewis Hamilton has hit a purple first sector in his Mercedes, but it's team-mate George Russell who has gone top of the timesheets first with a 1:33.370.

    Not for long, however, as that quick first part of the lap has translated into a decent time for Hamilton and he's now the man to beat in this second session of sprint qualifying.

  17. Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent in Austin

    The FIA were saying they were checking the lap times from everybody else, in case anybody else had made the same mistake, so to stay in the car [at the end of SQ1].

  18. Go! Go! Go!

    Oscar Piastri exceeded track limits at Turn 19 after a huge slide in the McLaren. Maybe the slight silver lining for the team is that it's only sprint qualifying and not the main event.

    SQ2 is green.

  19. Jennie Gow
    F1 pit-lane reporter in Austin

    It's much more windy down here than it was before...

  20. 'That is disaster for Piastri'

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    It's Oscar Piastri [who had his lap deleted].

    We talked about how crucial it was and he made that lap count, he's just had it deleted, which drops him into the elimination zone, right down in P16.

    That is going to see him out of qualifying, that is disaster!