Sunny. Dry. Air +32…33С, highway +38С
The weekend in Austin was held in a Saturday sprint format, with two qualifying sessions taking place in a row with an interval of twenty hours, but due to time zones it turned out that according to Moscow time both qualifying sessions were held on Saturday, and both races – the sprint and the Grand Prix – take place on Sunday.
As on the previous stage in Qatar, the stewards severely punished the drivers for exceeding the circuit’s boundaries – and in the final qualifying round, Max Verstappen’s best lap was cancelled. Ultimately, pole went to Charles Leclerc and Max only finished sixth and was dissatisfied with the car, hoping to make up for this during the Sprint Shootout.
On Saturday, the FIA adjusted the track boundaries at Turns 9, 12 and 19 to ensure fewer violations.
Pirelli brought three ‘medium’ compounds to the podium – C2, C3 and C4, labeled Hard, Medium and Soft.
It was warm in Austin on Saturday afternoon, with air and track temperatures above 30 degrees, but conditions were quite comfortable after Qatar. Only the wind was a bit of a hindrance.
In the first 12 minute part of the Sprint Shootout everyone went to Medium. The results turned out to be compact: the top ten fit in half a second. On the last lap Russell slowed down and hindered Leclerc in the penultimate corner. After the session, the stewards reviewed the incident and punished Russell with the loss of three starting places.
Verstappen showed the best time: 1:35.997. Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Bottas, Tsunoda and Sargent dropped out of further competition.
In the second 10 minute session everyone is back on Medium. Verstappen spun onto the curb exiting Turn 9, Max caught the car, but the set of tires was damaged.
Verstappen again showed the best time and completed a lap in 1:35.181. Ricciardo, Alonso, Ocon, Stroll and Zhou did not qualify for the final.
In the final everyone went to Soft. Verstappen led the time sheet with 1:34.538, the top three were within seven-hundredths.
Max Verstappen won the Sprint Shootout for the third time this season. Charles Leclerc will start with him in the sprint from the first row, Hamilton and Norris from the second row, Piastri and Sainz from the third row.
Sprint Shootout Results
| Pilot | Team | 1 session | Session 2 | Session 3 | ||||||
| M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | M | Time | Kr | ||
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1 | 1:35,997 | 3 | 1 | 1:35,181 | 5 | 1 | 1:34,538 | 3 |
| 2. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | 2 | 1:35,999 | 6 | 2 | 1:35,386 | 5 | 2 | 1:34,593 | 3 |
| 3. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 9 | 1:36,393 | 6 | 9 | 1:35,887 | 3 | 3 | 1:34,607 | 3 |
| 4. L.Norris | McLaren | 10 | 1:36,499 | 7 | 4 | 1:35,594 | 5 | 4 | 1:34,639 | 3 |
| 5. O. Piastri | McLaren | 14 | 1:36,703 | 7 | 6 | 1:35,753 | 5 | 5 | 1:34,894 | 3 |
| 6. K.Sainz | Ferrari | 4 | 1:36,268 | 6 | 3 | 1:35,542 | 5 | 6 | 1:34,939 | 3 |
| 7. C. Perez | Red Bull | 6 | 1:36,347 | 5 | 5 | 1:35,718 | 6 | 7 | 1:35,041 | 3 |
| 8. D. Russell | Mercedes | 5 | 1:36,281 | 6 | 8 | 1:35,847 | 3 | 8 | 1:35,199 | 3 |
| 9. A. Albon | Williams | 3 | 1:36,230 | 6 | 10 | 1:35,947 | 3 | 9 | 1:35,366 | 3 |
| 10. P. Gasly | Alps | 13 | 1:36,595 | 6 | 7 | 1:35,785 | 3 | 10 | 1:35,897 | 3 |
| 11. D. Ricciardo | AlphaTauri | 15 | 1:36,737 | 6 | eleven | 1:35.978 | 3 | |||
| 12. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 7 | 1:36,365 | 6 | 12 | 1:36,087 | 3 | |||
| 13. E. Okon | Alps | 8 | 1:36,372 | 6 | 13 | 1:36,137 | 3 | |||
| 14. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 12 | 1:36,575 | 6 | 14 | 1:36,181 | 5 | |||
| 15. G.Zhou | Alfa Romeo | eleven | 1:36,554 | 5 | 15 | 1:36,182 | 6 | |||
| 16. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | 16 | 1:36,749 | 6 | ||||||
| 17. K.Magnussen | Hare | 17 | 1:36,922 | 6 | ||||||
| 18. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 18 | 1:36,922 | 6 | ||||||
| 19. Yu.Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 19 | 1:36.945 | 5 | ||||||
| 20. L. Sargent | Williams | 20 | 1:37,186 | 6 | ||||||
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
