Austin Qualifying: Charles Leclerc takes pole position as Max Verstappen sees lap time deleted
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc secured the pole position for the Sunday U.S. Grand Prix after Red Bull's triple Formula One world champion Max Verstappen had a faster lap deleted for exceeding track limits and dropped to sixth place.
Lando Norris of McLaren will start alongside Leclerc on the front row, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton will start third, and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz will start fourth as they compete to defeat dominant Red Bull for just the second time this year.
Leclerc took the pole for the third time this season and for the 21st time in his career, but Verstappen gave him a boost by completely crossing the white line into turn 19 on his way to a 0.005 better lap time.
The Monegasque was on provisional pole with a time of 1:34.829, which he improved to 1:34.723 before Verstappen crossed the line in a quickly deleted 1:34.718.
"I think as a team we did a great job. We know that in the Sprint weekend it's more important than ever to have a clean FP1 (practice), we did and we started with a strong basis thanks to the work the guys have done," said Leclerc.
"I was happy throughout qualifying. The last lap in Q3 there was a bit of mistakes here and there but I think it wasn't easy for everybody. So, really happy we are starting on pole for Sunday. I love this track, I love the vibe there is around this track in the city and in the country so it's great to be here."
Because Saturday is dedicated to a standalone points-scoring 100km sprint, the fifth of six on the calendar this season, qualifying was held on Friday after one practice session.
Red Bull and Verstappen, who will go for his 50th career victory on Sunday at a track where the winner has always come from the front row, have already won the constructors' and drivers' championships.
"It’s very fine margins when you are pushing to the limit. Of course it’s a bit unfortunate but it makes the Sunday also a bit more fun," said Verstappen, who has won 14 of the 17 races so far.
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