United States GP qualifying: Verstappen sets early marker as Hadjar shunt halts Q1
After a chaotic Sprint that tightened the title race and left McLaren nursing bruised carbon and egos, qualifying at COTA opened with a thump. Isack Hadjar lost the Racing Bulls at Turn 6, slapped the barriers hard and kicked what was left of an advertising hoarding for good measure. The red flag came out, the medical car arrived, and—importantly—the rookie climbed out unhurt. The session, though, already had a story.
When the clocks finally ran again, Max Verstappen wasted zero time laying down a 1:33.207 to top Q1 for Red Bull Racing. George Russell, ominously quick all weekend in the Mercedes, was just 0.104s back, and Kimi Antonelli continued his ice-cool rookie routine in third. Charles Leclerc led Ferrari’s line in fourth, while Liam Lawson punched Racing Bulls into a lively fifth.
Beneath that headline queue, Q1 bit a few big names. Alex Albon and Lance Stroll both had laps deleted for track limits and slid out in the first segment—costly at a circuit where the white lines are being policed with a ruler’s edge. Esteban Ocon couldn’t drag the Haas through either, and Kick Sauber lost Gabriel Bortoleto alongside the red-flagged Hadjar.
There were some eye-catchers. Nico Hülkenberg kept Kick Sauber in the mix with a tidy P6, Pierre Gasly gave Alpine a solid P7, and Fernando Alonso hustled the Aston Martin into P10. Carlos Sainz booked Williams a straightforward passage in P9, while McLaren’s battered duo—Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris—steadied the ship in P11 and P12 after their Sprint tangle, with an assist from a wayward Hülkenberg, wiped both papaya cars out earlier in the day.
Worth underlining: Yuki Tsunoda’s 14th in the other Red Bull will raise an eyebrow on the world champion side of the garage. He’s through, but there’s work to do if he’s to be anywhere near Verstappen in the shootout.
All this arrives with the championship subtly re-angled. Verstappen trimmed eight points from Oscar Piastri’s lead with that Sprint win; he’s now stalking rather than chasing. If the McLarens can reset in Q2 and Q3, the balance of power may swing again by Sunday—if not on raw pace, then on grid position.
Q1 snapshot
– P1: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing — 1:33.207
– P2: George Russell, Mercedes — +0.104
– P3: Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes — +0.294
– P4: Charles Leclerc, Ferrari — +0.318
– P5: Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls — +0.342
– Also through: Hülkenberg (Kick Sauber) P6; Gasly (Alpine) P7; Hamilton (Ferrari) P8; Sainz (Williams) P9; Alonso (Aston Martin) P10; Piastri (McLaren) P11; Norris (McLaren) P12; Bearman (Haas) P13; Tsunoda (Red Bull Racing) P14; Colapinto (Alpine) P15
Eliminated in Q1
– 16: Gabriel Bortoleto, Kick Sauber (+0.918)
– 17: Esteban Ocon, Haas
– 18: Lance Stroll, Aston Martin (lap deleted)
– 19: Alexander Albon, Williams (lap deleted)
– 20: Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls (no time after crash)
COTA has a habit of exposing the impatient and punishing the greedy. Turn 6 did its usual duty; the white lines did the rest. Now the heavy hitters take aim at pole with the wind shifting and the title story tightening by the hour.
More to follow as Q2 and Q3 unfold.
