Here is our full text transcript from the Sprint Shootout for the 2023 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas:
Hello there and welcome to what, for the penultimate time this year, is a Sprint Saturday in Formula 1 2023. We had qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix last night – and what a session that was, by the way (more on which shortly) – and now it’s the turn of the Sprint Shootout to set the starting grid for the 19-lap Sprint, which takes place later today. If Friday’s action is anything to go by, the battle for Sprint pole and Sprint victory is going to be very, very closely fought and difficult to call too.
Four teams are in the hunt at the front here – Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes – around what remains a thrilling Circuit of the Amercias track.
F1’s champions for 2023 may have already been crowned, but there’s still a title party to take place in Austin this weekend after Spain’s Marta Garcia today became the first-ever champion of the all-female F1 Academy series. Garcia was always the big favourite for the championship coming into the event and she duly delivered in style in Race One a little earlier on by taking the victory together with the title at the Circuit of the Americas. And there was a rather big motorsport name on hand to personally congratulate the 23-year-old in parc ferme after the race…
Had it not been for a last-lap track limits violation last night, Max Verstappen would have taken pole position for Sunday’s Grand Prix – but, even then, it would only have been by the narrowest of margins from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Norris and Mercedes’ Hamilton also close behind too.
The Sprint Shootout follows the same three-session knockout format as usual qualifying, but each Q1, Q2 and Q3 segment has been shortened to address engine and tyre concerns the teams had.
SQ1 is shortened from 18 minutes to 12 minutes.
SQ2 is shortened from 15 minutes to 10 minutes.
SQ3 is shortened from 12 minutes to eight minutes.
The other significant difference between the Sprint Shootout and regular qualifying will be restrictions on tyre usage.
While teams are free to use any of their available tyres in regular qualifying, in the Sprint Shootout new sets of medium tyres will be mandatory in SQ1 and SQ2. In SQ3, drivers must run soft tyres but they do not have to be a new set. The Sprint Shootout sets the grid for tonight’s Sprint Race, which has the potential to be very exciting.
Off we go for SQ1. A 12-minute session and the bottom five will be eliminated at the end of it. Medium tyres only and most drivers are going straight out there. There is a considerable queue in the pit lane as a result of the drivers waiting at the end of it in an attempt to ensure there is a decent amount of space between each car on track.
7 mins to go in SQ1: It’s a 1:36.402 from Lewis Hamilton. Nothing spectacular, but it’s a tidy lap time on the board. Lando Norris goes 0.321s slower and Alex Albon is currently third for Williams.
5 mins to go in SQ1: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz go to the top of the timesheets to push Hamilton down to third. Max Verstappen produces a very clean first flying lap to go three tenths clear of the Ferraris at the top of the timesheet. Meanwhile, his team-mate Sergio Perez slots into fifth.
It’s not been a great start to the Sprint Shootout for McLaren. Lando Norris is down in eighth, with Oscar Piastri in a slightly uncomfortable 11th. It’s also not looking too good for Aston Martin, again. Lance Stroll is 19th, while Fernando Alonso is currently the driver at risk in P15. Max Verstappen is happy he’s got the job done and is back in the garage, but the other 19 cars are fighting to make it through to SQ2. This is about to be a very frantic finish!
Chequered flag: Daniel Ricciardo just squeezes into SQ2 by 0.012s and his AlphaTauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda is furious because he’s out in 19th. Personal bests everywhere on the timing board and both Aston Martins improve.
Charles Leclerc was held up by George Russell during a flying lap there. The Ferrari driver, not too bothered by it given he was easing through to SQ2, has delivered his own verdict. “And penalty for Mr Russell, thank you,” – the Monegasque said over the team radio. It looked pretty nailed on, in fairness to the Monegasque.
At the top of the timesheet, the most eye-catching time came from Alex Albon, who slotted into third behind Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. Promising signs for Williams, but will they still be quick on the soft tyre in SQ3. For now, it’s still the medium tyre as SQ2 gets under way.
5 mins to go in SQ2: Max Verstappen is fastest from Charles Leclerc after the first runs here in Austin. Carlos Sainz goes third and Lando Norris is fourth. Only eight drivers have set a lap as Alex Albon, George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Lewis Hamilton, Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo are only coming out now. They want the best track conditions, so have decided to wait for the circuit to evolve a bit more. It puts a lot of pressure on them though to deliver here and they will be hoping for no yellow or red flags.
Chequered flag: It’s seventh for George Russell and eighth for Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso is on the cusp again in 10th. Oh so close for Daniel Ricciardo! He misses out on the top 10 by 0.031s. Alex Albon scrapes through, as do the Mercedes of Russell and Hamilton. Fernando Alonso is out in 12th as Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll has an unusual rear lockup going into Turn 12 and ends up in 14th.
Max Verstappen looks more confident out there today, even with his spin. He’s able to throw the car into the corner more and the Red Bull also comes alive on the mediums, so he tops SQ2 from Charles Leclerc. But, it’s soft tyres only for SQ3, so don’t rule out the Ferrari and McLaren drivers yet. Mercedes don’t appear to be as strong so far, so Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will need to find something special.
Away we got for SQ3..and no one has decided to come out onto the track with eight minutes to play with.
4 mins to go in SQ3: The drivers are only coming out onto the track now, which confirms everyone is just going to do one run at the end on the soft tyres. The drivers only have one new set of tyres and they want the best track conditions. This is a real test for the drivers because they haven’t ran the soft tyres today until now.
Chequered flag: Verstappen sets a 1:34.538 to beat Norris by 0.101s. Here come the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers. Next up is Charles Leclerc, and it’s another great lap for the Monegasque but he can only go second this time. His Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz slots into fifth.
Lewis Hamilton goes third and George Russell is eighth, so it’s Max Verstappen on pole position for the Sprint. It’s his third Sprint pole of the season and he will start at the front later on with Charles Leclerc. Just 0.101s separate the top four as Lando Norris is fourth.
Sprint Shootout – Top 10
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
4) Lando Norris, McLaren
5) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
6) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
7) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
8) George Russell, Mercedes
9) Alex Albon, Williams
10) Pierre Gasly, Alpine
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