United States Grand Prix starting grid as Oscar Piastri stumbles and FIA penalty applied

Max Verstappen stormed to pole position at the United States Grand Prix by a margin of nearly three-tenths of a second as McLaren were put under even more pressure in Austin. Lando Norris pipped Charles Leclerc to the other spot on the front row, while Drivers' Championship leader Oscar Piastri endured a miserable session, finishing sixth in the order.

There was early chaos in Q1 as Isack Hadjar clattered into the barriers. Nobody had set a representative lap at the time of the Racing Bulls rookie's crash. He at least gained one position for the starting grid as Lance Stroll picked up a five-place grid penalty following a clumsy crash with Esteban Ocon during the closing laps of Saturday's sprint race.

Q2 centred around Yuki Tsunoda, who was unable to follow up his point-scoring finish in the sprint race with a Q3 appearance. He was seething with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson after his penultimate run, accusing the New Zealander of deliberately sabotaging his lap times.

In Q3, Verstappen laid out his stall. Despite failing to get across the line in time to complete a final qualifying lap, the Dutchman went unchallenged. There was a disaster for the World Championship leader, though, as Piastri came across the line to qualify sixth. He now faces a critical afternoon of damage limitation on Sunday.

United States Grand Prix starting grid

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2. Lando Norris (McLaren)

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

4. George Russell (Mercedes)

5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

8. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

9. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

11. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

12. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

13. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

14. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

15. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

16. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)

17. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

18. Alex Albon (Williams)

19. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - no time set in Q1

20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - qualified 18th, five-place grid penalty applied

After qualifying, Norris' reaction said it all. The 25-year-old, who now has a chance to inflict pain on his championship rival and team-mate, declared Red Bull to be in a league of their own. "It was a bit more of struggle today for whatever reason," he said.

"Yesterday I was just quite comfortable and I don't know if it's just everyone else has improved a bit, or the wind has hurt us a bit more, but we were both struggling to put the laps in and be as quick as this guy [Verstappen]. We were pushing, and I'm still happy with P2. It could have been worse. But there was no chance we could have got on pole today."