Formula 1 News: Max Verstappen wins 2025 USGP Sprint Pole
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen (pictured) turned a lap of 1m32.143s to win the pole for Saturday’s USGP Sprint race at COTA for the third year in a row.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
Verstappen, who is trying to cut the point lead to the two McLaren drivers who have a superior car, nipped #4 Lando Norris by 0.071s.
“It’s been a nice Qualifying, throughout all the segments we were quite close, just about putting it all together, which is not easy when you go to the soft compounds,” said Verstappen.
“The wind is coming up and down, very gusty, the track is bumpy, so the car can easily step out on you in the high-speed. So you have to leave a bit of margin.
“I am excited for tomorrow, happy for today. This has been a very good day for us.
“I’ll try and have a good start. I hope we have good pace in the [Sprint] but we’ll find out tomorrow.”
Oscar Piastri in the #81 superior McLaren was third, 0.380s behind Verstappen.
Nico Hulkenberg was a shock 4th in the inferior Sauber, 0.502s behind Verstappen, a phenominal effort.
The winner last time out in Singapore, George Russell, rounded out the top-5 in his #63 Mercedes, 0.745s behind Verstappen.

Fernando Alonso was 6th, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lewis Hamilton. Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc rounded out the top 10 – Ferrari lacking pace on the softs.
SQ1: Early Battles Set the Pace
The session kicked off with a frenzy of activity, as cars streamed out of the pits and all 20 drivers logged a lap in the first five minutes. Verstappen wasted no time asserting dominance, clocking a 1:34.140 to lead by 0.086 seconds over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and 0.152 ahead of Piastri.
As the segment progressed, Verstappen sharpened his time to 1:33.363 in the closing runs. But Norris dug deeper, snatching P1 with a lap 0.139 seconds quicker. Piastri settled for third, 0.665 seconds off his teammate, while Hamilton held fourth ahead of a strong Nico Hülkenberg in the Kick Sauber.
At the rear, Haas rookie Ollie Bearman narrowly missed SQ2 in P15, just 0.015 seconds shy of Pierre Gasly’s Alpine in 15th. Joining the SQ1 casualties from 17th onward were Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda, Haas’s Esteban Ocon, and Kick Saaber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, who was hampered by track limits violations on both flying laps and couldn’t post a valid time.
SQ2: McLaren Edges Ahead Again
Verstappen was first on track for the middle segment, laying down a 1:33.163 benchmark. Norris topped it once more, this time by 0.130 seconds, with Piastri third—0.338 behind Norris and a whisker under a tenth clear of Mercedes’ George Russell.
The top four advanced comfortably on their initial efforts. Russell cruised through in fourth, but his teammate Kimi Antonelli fell just short of SQ3. In a nail-biter, Hamilton pipped the Italian for P10 by a mere 0.006 seconds in the dying moments.
Eliminated behind Antonelli were Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar (P11), Gasly (P12), Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll (P13), and Liam Lawson in the second Racing Bulls (P15).
SQ3: Verstappen’s Late Charge Seals the Deal
Russell opened the top-10 showdown with a 1:32.880, nosing ahead of Williams’ Carlos Sainz by two thousandths. Hülkenberg was next to improve, eclipsing Russell with a 1:32.645.
Norris then unleashed a stunner—a 1:32.214, four tenths clear of Hülkenberg—to grab provisional pole. Piastri followed closely, slotting into second, just under three tenths off Norris.
As the final car, Verstappen mounted a fierce comeback. Crossing the line with a 1:32.143, the Dutchman snatched Sprint pole by 0.071 seconds over Norris.
2025 USGP Sprint Race Qualifying Results
Pos | No. | Driver | Nat. | Team | SQ1 | SQ2 | SQ3 |
1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m33.363s | 1m33.163s | 1m32.143s |
2 | 4 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1m33.224s | 1m33.033s | 1m32.214s |
3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1m33.889s | 1m33.371s | 1m32.523s |
4 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m34.236s | 1m33.577s | 1m32.645s |
5 | 63 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m34.653s | 1m33.462s | 1m32.888s |
6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m34.737s | 1m33.951s | 1m32.910s |
7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m34.239ss | 1m33.652s | 1m32.911s |
8 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m34.226s | 1m34.012s | 1m33.035s |
9 | 23 | Alex Albon | THA | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m34.472s | 1m33.831s | 1m33.099s |
10 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m34.913s | 1m33.938s | 1m33.104s |
11 | 12 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m34.414s | 1m34.018s | – |
12 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m34.243s | 1m34.241s | – |
13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m35.144s | 1m34.258s | – |
14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m34.988s | 1m34.394s | – |
15 | 30 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m34.603s | No time set | – |
16 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m35.159s | – | – |
17 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | ARG | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m35.246s | – | – |
18 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m35.259s | – | – |
19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m36.003s | – | – |
20 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | No time set | – | – |