UNITED STATES GP – Carlos Sainz beats Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc to pole
Carlos Sainz has beaten his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc by six-hundredths of a second to take pole position for the United States Grand Prix. The Spaniard lite up the times in the closing moments of the session to start on the front row after Leclerc takes a ten-place grid penalty for an engine change.
It was expected to be a close session as the drivers battled the windy conditions, Leclerc admitting that the winds caught him out stopping him from challenging for pole, on paper. Sainz has missed out by less than a tenth four times this season but took advantage of his teammate only doing a single run in Q3.
Leclerc’s demotion, for taking a new internal combustion engine and turbocharger, has stiffened Ferrari’s task of beating Red Bull by nineteen points to extend the constructors’ championship, but Sainz’s pole offers encouragement for the Italian team.
Max Verstappen put his Red Bull third nine hundredths behind Sainz, less than an hour after the death of the team’s owner Diedrich Mateschitz was announced ahead of the session, a sombre mood followed. The Dutchman put his car nearly two tenths ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez, as the two drivers looked unable to challenge for pole position this weekend.
Verstappen tried a unique strategy of completing an additional slow preparation lap for his final Q3 flier, but he could not top the Ferrari pair after losing time in the slow corners in the final sector.
Verstappen, who will equal the all-time record for wins in a season if he triumphs on Sunday, said: “It’s been hard news for everyone. What he has done for Red Bull and the sport and especially for me, it has been a very tough day. We tried to give it all in qualifying but there is still a race ahead and we are going to try to make him proud tomorrow.
However, the question will be whether Ferrari can avoid the mistakes in the race which have cost them several wins with Leclerc not taking a win since Melbourne in April. Lewis Hamilton put his Mercedes fifth going a tenth faster than teammate George Russell, their best qualifying since Zandvoort.
Red Bull continues to be accused by rivals of ‘cheating’ after being found to have breached the cost cap, they deny those claims. But the row will likely mute down in the coming days out of respect for Mateschitz. The Austrian’s death brought unity and tributes flooded in from all corners of the paddock.
While the German manufacturer has struggled to challenge for pole all year, Austin appears to have underlined the progress they still have a better race car. Hamilton couldn’t improve on his final lap meaning he stayed fifth. Lance Stroll was a surprise seventh in an Aston Martin which has yoyoed up and down the midfield all season, he was nearly a tenth ahead of Lando Norris.
Norris outqualifying the Alpine of Fernando Alonso, that was despite the Spaniard looking strong all weekend. The Englishman was promoted to the top ten after Guanyu Zhou had his fastest time deleted for track limits at Turn Twelve, Valtteri Bottas also made it through to Q3, rounding out the field in tenth.
Alex Albon had a brilliant qualifying for Williams but was pushed out as three drivers improved on their final runs pushing him from eighth to eleventh. That put him three hundredths ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who lost his fastest lap after understeer caused him to go wide through the Maggots and Becketts style section (Turn Eight and Nine).
Pierre Gasly was thirteenth going two-tenths faster than Zhou’s time within track limits, with the Chinese driver going a tenth and three quarters faster than Yuki Tsunoda as they rounded out the cars in Q2.
Haas have had a decent season, but for their home Grand Prix neither car made it out of Q1, Kevin Magnussen being one of the drivers who was pushed out by late improvements. The Danish driver going a tenth ahead of the McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo, his third Q1 knock out in five races.
Esteban Ocon was a shock faller in 18th, finishing only ahead of Mick Schumacher and Nicholas Latifi, who were the only two runners not to set personal bests on their final fliers. Latifi just failed to match his best from the opening Q1 runs, while Schumacher’s last effort was over when it had barely begun as he spun at Turn One.
The German sent his Haas into a 360 degree spin then couldn’t improve his time.