Ferrari did the best in qualifying for the US GP. Carlos Sainz will start from first place

The nineteenth qualifying session of this year’s Formula 1 season took place in Austin, USA. Carlos Sainztook pole position in the Texas heat .

The atmosphere was gloomy throughout qualifying. The world of motorsport and adrenaline sports was struck by the news that the co-founder and owner of Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz, had died at the age of 78.

It was midnight in the Czech Republic when the green lights turned on at the end of pit lane and the teams could take to the track for the first qualifying session. But the fans who decided to watch the battle for pole position late in the day certainly didn’t regret their sleep deprivation.

Penalties for swapping components over the legal limit again figured into the final grid order. Sergio Pérez, Fernando Alonso and Zhou Guangyu received a five-place penalty. Charles Leclerc earned a ten-place penalty for two fresh components.

Q1

The first part of qualifying was without any major surprises or drama. The pace was traditionally dictated by the Ferrari monoblocs, specifically Sainz, who set a time half a second faster than his Monaco teammate.

Not a single driver from the home team Haas could fit into the fastest fifteen. Mick Schumacher spun at the first corner on his last attempt, his fastest time only good enough for second to last place. Magnussen in the other Haas missed the second part of qualifying by two hundredths.

Daniel Ricciardo in the McLaren continued to struggle. He was six tenths of a second behind Lando Norris. He’ll be seventeenth on the grid.

McLaren’s mood was slightly improved by Esteban Ocon’s performance. He set only the eighteenth fastest time in the Alpine, which is competing with the British team for fourth place in the Constructors’ Cup, and thus did not qualify for the next part of the qualifying session.

Nicholas Latifi was the last driver to qualify. The Canadian, who will be parting ways with his team at the end of the season, will line up at the tail end of tomorrow’s race.

Q2

Throughout the 15-minute race, AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly complained about car problems. He repeatedly failed to pick up the ideal pass through the first corner and it was clear from his radio communication with the team that he was very frustrated with the whole situation.

Gasly and his teammate, Júki Cunoda, did not fit into the elite ten. The Japanese rider had his time erased for breaking the track limits.

Track limits also ruined the last attempt of the Chinese rookie Alfa Romeo. Kuan-yu climbed to ninth place with his last lap. However, the cameras revealed a close pass of the white line on the outside of turn 12, and he finished the second qualifying session in 14th place.

A great performance by Alex Albon in the Williams. He was less than three hundredths behind tenth-placed Lando Norris. Another three hundredths slower than Albon was Sebastian Vettel in the Aston Martin.

Q3

Lance Stroll put in a fantastic performance throughout qualifying. He took his Aston Martin to seventh place. With penalties for Leclerc and Perez, he moves up to fifth on the grid.

Ferrari confirmed its role as the fastest team in qualifying. Carlos Sainz set the absolute fastest time and will start from pole position for the third time this season. Leclerc will drop deeper into the field from second place due to penalties.

The third and fourth fastest times belong to Red Bull. Verstappen will take his place on the grid alongside Sainz. Pérez, like Leclerc, will drop from fourth place.

The second row will belong to the Silver Arrows. Lewis Hamilton will take third place ahead of George Russell after a disappointing last lap.

You can see what the starting grid for tomorrow’s Grand Prix should look like in the Twitter post below.

Source: Formula 1, Twitter