McLaren's Lando Norris revels in the best qualifying lap of his career after securing pole position at the US Grand Prix, edging out Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Verstappen, leading the Formula One standings by 54 points, was poised for a faster lap but George Russell's crash in the final moments forced a slowdown. Russell emerged unscathed from the incident. Norris's provisional pole time of 1:32.330 minutes was just 0.031 seconds ahead of Verstappen's. Despite Verstappen's quicker second run, Russell's accident triggered double yellow flags. This marks Norris's sixth career pole, his fourth in the last five races, and his first in the United States. The 24-year-old expressed his delight, calling it the best lap of his career. McLaren's team boss, Andrea Stella, deemed it 'pretty much perfect'. Verstappen, who won in Austin last year, saw his eight-race winning streak end in June, a period during which Norris narrowed the gap. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc secured the second row. McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Russell will share the third row, while Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso qualified seventh and eighth. Gasly faced a stewards' summons for an unsafe release. Haas' Kevin Magnussen and Red Bull's Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, shockingly qualified 19th. Russell, who had qualified second for the sprint, expressed disappointment over the damage to his car.
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