Summary

  • Lando Norris takes pole ahead of Max Verstappen for US Grand Prix

  • Sainz third, Leclerc fourth, Piastri fifth, Russell sixth

  • Out in Q2: Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Stroll, Lawson

  • Out in Q1: Albon, Colapinto, Bottas, Hamilton, Zhou

  • Verstappen won sprint race earlier with Norris third

  • Verstappen extended championship lead over Norris to 54 points

Live Reporting

Alicia Turner and Lorraine McKenna

  1. Harry Benjamin
    BBC F1 Commentator

    Disaster for the Mercedes!

    One of the most successful men around this track...

  2. 'Messy balance and front locking'

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent in Austin

    So I asked Mercedes 'what happened to Lewis?'

    They said 'messy balance and front locking'.

    It sounds like they've got the set-up all wrong for that car.

  3. Out of Q1

    16. Alex Albon (Williams)

    17. Franco Colapinto (Williams)

    18. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)

    19. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

    20. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)

  4. Hamilton out!

    Lewis Hamilton is out of qualifying, an absolute disaster for the seven-time world champion!

    He lost half a second in that last lap and is 16th.

  5. Leclerc goes top of the timesheets

    The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc is looking strong and will be eager to get back-to-back poles after doing so at this circuit last year.

    He sets a time of 1:33.241.

    Let's see how this track continues to evolve.

  6. Gasly goes quickest

    Is that Nico Hulkenberg in second in the Haas?

    Yes, it is! He's three-tenths behind Verstappen as Pierre Gasly then goes quickest overall in the Alpine.

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

    We're now getting our first glimpse of Max Verstappen during this session.

    Just in the first sector alone, [he's] a huge chunk faster than Lando Norris.

    Nice and tidy through the middle sector...

  8. Max Verstappen won the sprint earlier today, and he will have enjoyed that winning feeling again and will be determined to put his Red Bull on pole, which he hasn't done since June for a grand prix.

    He tops the timesheets by three-tenths of a second, his title rival Lando Norris behind in second.

  9. 'Mercedes were a bit lost'

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent in Austin

    They've had a really mixed weekend, Mercedes, haven't they?

    They looked really quick in sprint qualifying, George Russell was on the front row, but their sprint race performance was pretty poor.

    George Russell went backwards, Lewis Hamilton didn't go forwards.

    They were a bit lost.

  10. All the drivers are on the soft compound tyre.

    Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso sets the first time of qualifying with 1:34.496, but McLaren's Lando Norris has now gone quickest.

  11. It's a busy pit-lane

    There's a long queue in the pit-lane as the drivers are eager to get out and bank a lap.

  12. 'A buzz of anticipation'

    Jennie Gow
    F1 pit-lane reporter in Austin

    Austin is one of those places where you can never quite know what's about to happen.

    It's cloudier now than it was before, it was bright sunshine, it was wall to wall sunshine earlier. Now it's a little bit cooler.

    It's 5 o'clock in the afternoon, there is a real buzz of anticipation.

  13. Go! Go! Go!

    Right, well let's get to it shall we?

    Q1 goes green at the Circuit of the Americas!

  14. Weather update for qualifying

    Ian Fergusson
    BBC weather forecaster

    Air temp 28.6C & the track 40.4C. Wind from the east, with gusts to 22mph in the past hour.

    Dry weather continues through the rest of the weekend; FIA official risk of rain for qualifying is 0%.

  15. Tune in

    BBC Sounds

    Jennie Gow, Harry Benjamin and former McLaren engineer Marc Priestley are in the commentary box today. Full commentary of qualifying is available on Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and at the top of this page using the audio icon. You can also ask BBC Sounds to play United States Grand Prix qualifying via most smart speakers.

    Jennie Gow at the US GP.BBC 5 Live Sport

  16. Can Norris get back-to-back poles?

    Lando Norris at the Singapore GP.Getty Images

    Lando Norris has put his McLaren on pole five times this season, his last being at the most recent race weekend in Singapore four weeks ago.

    He is currently 54 points behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship and will need to perform close to perfectly to keep his title hopes alive.

    Norris has not taken pole in Austin before, but can he handle the pressure and put his McLaren on pole today?

    Thumbs up for yes or thumbs down for no.

  17. Speedy Hulkenberg

    Nico Hulkenberg has been demonstrating some serious performance in the Haas in recent weeks in the qualifying sessions.

    In Singapore before the four-week break he finished in sixth, and on Friday in Austin he did the same again but in sprint qualifying. Let’s see if the German can finish in the top 10 again.

    Nico Hulkenberg at the US GP.Getty Images

  18. Hamilton holds pole record

    Lewis Hamilton at the US GP.Getty Images

    Despite Lewis Hamilton not earning pole at the US Grand Prix since 2018, he remains the pole record holder with four starts from the top slot.

    Hamilton is tied with seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.

    With an upgraded Mercedes, and after showing some positive performances so far this weekend, will he be in the fight for pole today?

  19. Lawson shares excitement ahead of first race weekend in the RB

    Liam Lawson at US GP.Getty Images

    RB's Liam Lawson will be racing for the first time this season after the emotional departure of Daniel Ricciardo which was announced days after the Singapore Grand Prix four weeks ago.

    The New Zealander will be in the seat for the remaining six races of the season and will be looking to prove to RB and Red Bull that he deserves the seat for the 2025 season.

    "It's very exciting, obviously a big weekend ahead, new track, sprint weekend and I haven't raced in a year," Lawson told Sky Sports.

    On getting a seat in the RB, he added: "The idea was always that I would potentially get a seat at some point this year and that conversation was still happening throughout the year, but I just didn't know where it was going to be.

    "Honestly, I don't think the team knew, it was very much up in the air and then Baku it was basically I got the confirmation, Christian [Horner] kept his word and put me in a seat."

    On who he called first to share the news, he said: "My dad. It was like 3am in New Zealand and I called him and he answered straight away, so he was wide awake, he knew that [Baku] weekend was a time when we were having these discussions and yeah, he was ready for it, so it was cool."

  20. No further action for Norris

    Lando Norris at US GP.Getty Images

    Earlier in the sprint, Lando Norris was under investigation for "driving erratically" at Turn 15, while trying to defend third place from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on the final lap.

    But the FIA has said there is no further action. That will be a relief for Norris!