There was a moment of panic after the checkered flag that concluded the qualifying session of the United States Grand Prix. “My engineer radioed me ‘track limit,'” Charles Leclerc said with a smile, “and for a moment, I thought he was referring to my lap. Then he added ‘for Verstappen,’ and I understood that it was good news. But for a brief moment, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.” After the double disappointment at Monza and Singapore, qualifying in third place, just 67 and 79 milliseconds off the pole, if Leclerc had missed the pole position in Austin by 0.005 seconds (the margin between his lap and Verstappen’s later cancelled lap), it would have been a bitter pill to swallow.
The race direction quickly annulled Max Verstappen’s lap, which had secured the pole position for the world champion. It was the right decision, as later television images showed Red Bull number 1 at turn 19, and Leclerc was able to celebrate the pole position on his in-lap. “We didn’t expect it,” Charles commented, confirming the expectations leading into the weekend. It hadn’t happened since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which also featured the “sprint” weekend format with only one Free Practice session.
As always, Charles Leclerc enjoys pushing to the limit with fewer references, and with only the FP1 session, there were significantly fewer data available for analysis. The Circuit of the Americas is a puzzle for engineers, as its layout features all types of corners, and they must work to find the best compromise. On the single lap, Ferrari’s engineers did a great job, with the car not being exceptional in any of the three sectors, but it was competitive overall throughout the lap. As for what the pecking order will be over the 56 laps scheduled for Sunday, that’s still unknown. Without long runs, the first indications will come in today’s sprint race.
Qualifying proved to be one of the most competitive of the season, with several drivers fighting for pole position. Besides Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton also had a chance to secure pole position. However, on Friday, Charles Leclerc made his mark. The gap to his Maranello teammate (0.222 seconds) is not insignificant, but Carlos Sainz managed to secure a fourth-place start, which is not bad for the Sunday race.
Among those disappointed on Friday in Austin, Max Verstappen is certainly one, but not the only one. Hamilton, who was third, was hoping for more after consistently demonstrating good pace in the practice session. The Circuit of the Americas is one of his favorite hunting grounds, and the front row seemed well within his reach. Instead, at the last minute, he had to concede to Lando Norris’s effort by 9 milliseconds. Norris has become more and more confident in his car, and the McLaren team decided to use two sets of new soft tires in both Q1 and Q2 to avoid risks on the fast-evolving track, leaving just one set for Q3. Norris knew he had one shot and handled it superbly.
Qualifying did not bring good news for Sergio Perez, who ended up in ninth place and just managed to enter Q3. He didn’t demonstrate what Red Bull expected from him, at least not today. Alonso fared even worse, failing to advance past Q1. “We should start the day over,” Fernando commented, but that’s the challenge with the sprint weekend format. If the basic setup doesn’t prove effective right away, things become quite complicated.
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