#USGP Qualifying: @CharlesLeclerc takes 21st-career pole, as @Max33Verstappen has fast lap deleted. #F1
Charles Leclerc, #16, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-23, celebrating after taking his 21st-career pole position in Qualifying, Formula 1 Lenovo United States Grand Prix 2023, Circuit Of The Americas, Austin, Texas, United States of America. Image credit to Mark Thompson/Getty Images. Leclerc US GP Pole, US GP Qualifying Results, F1 US GP Qualifying Results. United States GP Qualifying Results.
Leclerc US GP Pole – Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc claimed pole position for Sunday’s US GP after Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had his lap-time, which was 0.005 seconds quicker deleted for exceeding track limits on his final flyer.
In an unexpectedly close battle between Red Bull and its typical trailing rivals, Leclerc lead the way through Q2 and again on the initial hot laps in the final qualifying stage.
Track limits were on the focus for the one-hour qualifying knockout session, with the penultimate and final corners – turns 19 and 20 – difficult for the drivers to stay within the white lines as their soft rubber screamed in pain enough on the rough, high-energy tarmac with temperatures soaring at 40 degrees at the Circuit Of The Americas.
In Q3, on the initial flyers, Leclerc held provisional pole with the quickest sector three time, posting a 1:34.829 and was a narrow 0.056 seconds quicker than Hamilton who held the fastest sector two time whilst Verstappen was a further 0.252 seconds adrift of the Ferrari driver in third as the Dutchman held a purple sector one time.
On the final flying laps, Leclerc scored two personal bests but managed to improve with a 1:34.723 to claim pole position by 0.130 seconds over Norris with Hamilton a further 0.139 seconds off in third.
The other Ferrari SF-23 entry of Carlos Sainz was fourth and ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell who took fifth and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who qualified in sixth as newly-crowned three-time world champion suffered a lock-up into turn one and also had his pole time invalidated for exceeding track limits at turn 19.
BWT Alpine F1 Team pairing Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly qualified in seventh and eighth respectively as Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri occupy the fifth row of Sunday’s grid, placing ninth and tenth.
In the middle segment, which was topped by Leclerc by a very narrow 0.004 seconds over Verstappen, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda missed out on a Q3 appearance by 0.012 seconds and placed 11th and in-front of Alfa Romeo pairing Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas who were 12th and 13th respectively.
Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen and AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo were the slowest of the Q2 runners and will start Sunday’s United States Grand Prix in 14th and 15th on the grid.
In the first qualifying stage, which was topped by Hamilton, Haas F1 Team’s Nico Hulkenberg was the quickest of the Q1 eliminatees in 16th.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll wound up a low 17th and 19th whilst Williams Racing duo Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant qualified in 18th and at the rear respectively.
You can see the full Formula 1 Lenovo United States Grand Prix 2023 Qualifying Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2023/races/1222/united-states/qualifying.html
2023 US GP Qualifying – The Top Three
2023 US GP Pole Position – Charles Leclerc, #16, Scuderia Ferrari, SF-23, 1:34.723:
“As a team, we did a great job. We had a good, clean FP1 and started with a strong base. I was happy throughout qualifying, the last lap there were a few mistakes here and there, but really happy overall. I love this track; I love this vibe, so it is great to be here.”
2nd Place – Lando Norris, #4, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL60, +0.130:
“I’m happy, it’s been a good day. Probably not expected, so a good bonus for the whole team. I think we had it today, there was enough in it to get pole so it’s a bit of a shame – another opportunity missed again. We’re in a good position, it will be difficult to get [Leclerc] off the line but I’ll go for it.”
3rd Place – Lewis Hamilton, #44, Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, F1 W14, +0.139:
“This circuit is just incredible, it’s one of my favourites. It’s bumpy, incredibly challenging. We’ve improved our car and we have taken a bit of a step closer to these guys, they are still a bit ahead, so we’ll give it another go tomorrow.”
#F1 #USGP FP1 Report: @Max33Verstappen 0.156s ahead of @CharlesLeclerc.
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