Norris takes US pole after Russell crash, Hamilton 19th

AFP | Austin                                                     

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Lando Norris resisted pace and pressure from Max Verstappen to take pole position for the United States Grand Prix ahead of the three-time champion and series leader in dramatic circumstances.

A last minute crash involving Mercedes’ George Russell, who skidded off-track into the barriers at Turn 19, brought a tense qualifying session to a premature end as Red Bull’s Verstappen was attempting to improve his lap time.

He aborted his lap as the session ended, leaving him second behind McLaren’s Norris, Verstappen’s main title rival as he defends a 54-point lead in the drivers’ title race.

Russell was unhurt and climbed from his car. For Norris it was a fourth pole position in five races and his sixth this year as he chases Verstappen in pursuit of the championship.

Norris ended the session on pole with a fastest lap of one minute and 32.330 seconds to beat Verstappen by 0.031 ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

Oscar Piastri was fifth in the second McLaren ahead of Russell, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Haas’s Kevin Magnussen and Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull.

“It was a beautiful lap,” Norris said. “I was not going to go much quicker than I did. I put everything out on the line.

We have been on the back foot, so I had to do something!” Verstappen said: “Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish my lap because I think I had a pretty good shot, but that’s how it goes.”

The session began in warm sunshine with a track temperature of 39 degrees Celsius and the air at 28, near-perfect for most teams, but too hot for the tyre-munching Mercedes cars as demonstrated in the morning sprint race won by Verstappen.