Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 17, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool //

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.

Max Verstappen of the Netherlands stares down his competition of the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 17, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool //

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  –  –