US Grand Prix Sprint starting grid as Lando Norris denied and shock star reaches second row

Nico Hulkenberg was one of the stars of Spring Qualifying in Austin on Friday as he made it onto the second row of the grid in his Sauber and Max Verstappen took pole from Lando Norris

Max Verstappen continued his fine form to deny McLaren pole position for the United States Grand Prix Sprint race. The Dutchman will start Saturday’s short-form race at the front of the pack having produced an excellent final lap to get the better of Lando Norris.

McLaren driver Norris held provisional pole at the end of the session but Verstappen was the last to complete his final flying lap. His pace was strong in the first two sectors but he gave the impression he was saving his tyres for the final few corners, and used it to get the better of the Brit by seven-hundredths of a second.

“It’s been a nice qualifying,” Verstappen said. “Throughout all the segments we were quite close and it was just about trying to put it all together when it mattered, which is not easy because you go [from the medium tyre] to the soft compound with no reference. But it worked out well.

“I still expect it to be a tough battle in the Sprint, but that’s exactly what we want to see, right? I’m excited, and happy with today. I just want to have a good start. It’s a wide turn one. I hope we’ll have good pace in the race, but we’ll find out tomorrow.”

As alluded to by Verstappen, turn one at the Circuit of the Americas is a difficult one for the pole-sitter to defend. None of the last three Grands Prix in Austin have been won by the driver starting at the front, though the Dutchman did successfully convert pole into victory in the US GP Sprint last year.

He will have two McLarens in his mirrors from the off this time around, with Norris joining him on the front row and championship leader Oscar Piastri third on the grid. On the second row with the Aussie was a surprise performer as Nico Hulkenberg carried his excellent pace in practice into qualifying and delivered a fabulous result for Sauber.

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George Russell would have been surprised to see the German ahead of him on the timesheets but happy to be ahead of both Ferraris as Mercedes look to take an even stronger grip on second place in the constructors’ championship. Lewis Hamilton qualified eighth for the Sprint with Charles Leclerc down in 10th, slower than both Williams cars and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.

Kimi Antonelli would have been among those disappointed not to make it to Q3, while the Racing Bulls cars that have been so strong in qualifying for most of the year were also outside the top 10. And Yuki Tsunoda suffered another early exit, stuck in the bottom five after getting caught in SQ1 traffic and failing to reach the start line in time to record a competitive lap.

Full 2025 US Grand Prix Sprint race starting grid

1. Max Verstappen – Red Bull
2. Lando Norris – McLaren
3. Oscar Piastri – McLaren
4. Nico Hulkenberg – Sauber
5. George Russell – Mercedes
6. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
7. Carlos Sainz – Williams
8. Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari
9. Alex Albon – Williams
10. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
11. Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes
12. Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls
13. Pierre Gasly – Alpine
14. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin
15. Liam Lawson – Racing Bulls
16. Oliver Bearman – Haas
17. Franco Colapinto – Alpine
18. Yuki Tsunoda – Red Bull
19. Esteban Ocon – Haas
20. Gabriel Bortoleto – Sauber