2024 United States GP Qualifying: Norris beats Verstappen

Lando Norris clinched pole position for the 2024 US Grand Prix, outpacing Max Verstappen with qualifying cut short due to a crash by George Russell.

Ben

By Ben Bush
Published on October 20, 2024

Lando Norris McLaren 2024 United States GP Qualifying
Lando Norris (car no. 4) of McLaren secures pole at the 2024 United States GP Qualifying // Image: McLaren Media

Lando Norris secured pole position for the United States Grand Prix, beating title rival Max Verstappen, after George Russell’s crash brought an early end to qualifying.

Norris delivered a stellar lap, edging world champion Verstappen by just 0.031 seconds on their initial flying laps in the final stage of qualifying. However, both drivers were forced to abandon their second attempts when Russell crashed at Turn 19. Verstappen had shown strong pace in the first sector and looked set to challenge Norris’ time, while Norris appeared unlikely to improve after a slower start to his lap.

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The result bolstered Norris’ chances of closing the gap on Verstappen in Sunday’s race. Verstappen, who earlier extended his lead over the Briton to 54 points by winning the Sprint, would still be a formidable opponent from the front row.

Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc locked out the second row, with Sainz finishing third, three-tenths behind Norris. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri starting fifth, giving Norris potential team support, while Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, started 10th after his Q3 time was deleted for exceeding track limits.

Russell’s crash left him in sixth, capping a disappointing session for Mercedes, as Lewis Hamilton surprisingly failed to make it out of Q1 and qualified 19th. Pierre Gasly delivered a standout performance for Alpine, taking seventh, followed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.

Liam Lawson, replacing Daniel Ricciardo at RB, showed promising pace in Q1 but would start from the back of the grid due to engine penalties.

United States GP Qualifying Results

2024 United States Grand Prix Qualifying, 19 October 2024

PosNoDriverCarQ1Q2Q3Laps
14Lando NorrisMcLaren Mercedes1:33.6161:32.8511:32.33016
21Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT1:33.0461:32.5841:32.36117
355Carlos SainzFerrari1:33.5561:32.8361:32.65219
416Charles LeclercFerrari1:33.2411:32.9621:32.74020
581Oscar PiastriMcLaren Mercedes1:33.8641:33.0571:32.95019
663George RussellMercedes1:33.5361:33.1421:32.97415
710Pierre GaslyAlpine Renault1:33.5501:33.1621:33.01820
814Fernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco Mercedes1:33.9731:33.4291:33.30918
920Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari1:33.5641:33.4741:33.48117
1011Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT1:33.6111:33.020DNF17
1122Yuki TsunodaRB Honda RBPT1:33.7951:33.50614
1227Nico HulkenbergHaas Ferrari1:33.6011:33.54412
1331Esteban OconAlpine Renault1:33.9861:33.59715
1418Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco Mercedes1:34.0331:33.75914
1530Liam LawsonRB Honda RBPT1:33.339DNS11
1623Alexander AlbonWilliams Mercedes1:34.0518
1743Franco ColapintoWilliams Mercedes1:34.0626
1877Valtteri BottasKick Sauber Ferrari1:34.1529
1944Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:34.1546
2024Zhou GuanyuKick Sauber Ferrari1:34.2289

After nearly a month-long break following Lando Norris’ dominant victory at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, the key question in Austin was whether the Brit could sustain his challenge to prevent Max Verstappen from securing a fourth consecutive drivers’ title in the final six races of the season.

Some of the attention leading into the weekend was diverted by McLaren’s public criticism of a controversial ride height-adjusting device on Red Bull’s car. However, once the drivers hit the track on Friday, Norris faced worrying signs.

Verstappen capitalised on Red Bull’s new upgrades, taking pole for the Sprint and then securing victory in the 19-lap race on Saturday, his first win since the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix Sprint in June.

Verstappen carried his strong form into qualifying, emerging as the favourite for the pole after outpacing Norris by more than two-tenths in Q2. Yet, in the decisive Q3, Norris delivered an outstanding lap. His engineer, Will Joseph, advised him to “trust the car” and avoid overdriving, Norris responded with what he called the best lap of his career.

“It was probably the best lap of my career,” Norris said. “It was a beautiful lap. I wasn’t going to go much quicker than that. It’s what we needed. We’ve been on the backfoot all weekend and haven’t had the pace of the Ferraris or Red Bulls.”

Despite Verstappen’s strong start in the final session, setting himself up for a possible pole with a solid first sector, his hopes were dashed when George Russell’s crash brought qualifying to an early end.

“I was a good amount up,” Verstappen admitted. “I lost a bit of time at Turn 19 on my first run, which would have been enough for pole. There was more time to find on the second lap, but I never got the chance. That’s how it goes sometimes. Qualifying isn’t always in your control.”

2024 United States Grand Prix Starting Grid

The Grand Prix starting grid, with or without penalties, after the 2024 United States Grand Prix Qualifying session.

PosNoDriverCar
14Lando NorrisMcLaren Mercedes
21Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT
355Carlos SainzFerrari
416Charles LeclercFerrari
581Oscar PiastriMcLaren Mercedes
610Pierre GaslyAlpine Renault
714Fernando AlonsoAston Martin Aramco Mercedes
820Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari
911Sergio PerezRed Bull Racing Honda RBPT
1022Yuki TsunodaRB Honda RBPT
1127Nico HulkenbergHaas Ferrari
1231Esteban OconAlpine Renault
1318Lance StrollAston Martin Aramco Mercedes
1423Alexander AlbonWilliams Mercedes
1543Franco ColapintoWilliams Mercedes
1677Valtteri BottasKick Sauber Ferrari
1744Lewis HamiltonMercedes
1824Zhou Guanyu1Kick Sauber Ferrari
1930Liam Lawson2RB Honda RBPT
2063George Russell3Mercedes
1Lawson required to start behind any other classified driver for use of multiple additional power unit elements.
2Zhou penalised five positions for use of additional power unit element.
3Russell required to start from the pit lane for breach of Parc Ferme conditions.

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About The Author

Chief Editor

Ben Bush
Ben

Ben is our chief editor specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.

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