Max Verstappen continued his relentless march toward an improbable title defense by storming to pole position for the United States Grand Prix, backing up his Sprint victory at the Circuit of the Americas with another display of dominance.
The reigning world champion set the pace with a single, stunning lap of 1m32.510s in Q3 – more than enough to secure his seventh pole of the 2025 season. His main rival, McLaren’s Lando Norris, pushed hard but could only come within three-tenths of the Red Bull driver, settling for second on the grid.
McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, endured a frustrating session and will start sixth after never quite finding the rhythm that carried him to the top of the standings earlier in the year.
McLaren Rebuilds, but Pace Falters
The McLaren garage had worked swiftly to rebuild both cars after Norris and Piastri were collateral damage in an opening lap crash in Saturday’s Sprint opener. But when qualifying began, neither driver looked entirely comfortable.
Norris rescued a spot on the front row thanks to a committed final effort, while Piastri’s scrappy Q3 lap left him well adrift of the leaders.
“It’s not quite where we wanted to be, but we’ll fight from there,” said Piastri after the session.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came close to stealing second from Norris, recovering impressively after spinning out of the final corner on his first flying lap. He will start third alongside Mercedes’ George Russell, who was strong throughout qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth, splitting the two McLarens, with team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli seventh and Haas rookie Oliver Bearman delivering a standout performance in eighth for the home-based team. Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso completed the top ten.
Q2 Tightens, Q1 Turns Chaotic
Verstappen was untouchable in Q2 as well, clocking a 1m32.701 to head Leclerc and Norris, while most of the field failed to improve on their second runs. Piastri only just scraped through in eighth, a tenth clear of elimination – a sign of his struggles on COTA’s tricky bumps.
Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg couldn’t repeat his Sprint qualifying heroics, missing out in 11th ahead of Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.
Q1 had drama from the outset when Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar crashed heavily through the Esses, bringing out a red flag just three minutes in. After a 10-minute barrier repair delay, the session resumed, with Verstappen eventually topping the order ahead of Russell and Leclerc.
Williams’ Alex Albon briefly snuck into the top ten before losing his lap for track limits, dropping him out in 19th behind Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon, and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Heading into Sunday’s race, Verstappen looks untouchable once again.
With both McLarens chasing and Ferrari lurking close behind, the reigning champion has placed himself firmly in command at COTA – and reminded everyone that his title fight is far from over.
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