At the US Grand Prix, reigning champion Max Verstappen won the sprint race by over ten seconds over 7X WDC Champion Lewis Hamilton, who had managed to pass Charles Leclerc early on in the race. The current Formula 1 world champion will now face a more difficult task in attempting to achieve similar results on Sunday.
Due to a track limit violation during Friday’s qualifying, Verstappen lost his pole position and will now start from position six on the grid.
Charles Leclerc won the pole position for the Grand Prix as a consequence of exceeding the track limit. McLaren’s Lando Norris, who finished the sprint race just 0.876 seconds behind the Ferrari driver, will join him on the first row. Carlos Sainz of Ferrari will start from the back of the second row behind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who had qualified third for the race.
🟠🔴⚫️ Your front three on the grid for Sunday’s US GP! pic.twitter.com/6qniJCvPpC
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) October 21, 2023
George Russell, on the other hand, is hopeful that Sunday’s race will go more smoothly after a difficult Saturday as he will start at the fifth spot ahead of Max Verstappen.
As for the starting grid for the race on Sunday at the US Grand Prix, this is how it goes:
1. Charles LECLERC Ferrari
2. Lando NORRIS McLaren
3. Lewis HAMILTON Mercedes
4. Carlos SAINZ Ferrari
5. George RUSSELL Mercedes
6. Max VERSTAPPEN Red Bull
7. Pierre GASLY Alpine
8. Esteban OCON Alpine
9. Sergio PEREZ Red Bull
10. Oscar PIASTRI McLaren
11. Yuki TSUNODA AlphaTauri
12. ZHOU Guanyu Alfa Romeo
13. Valtteri BOTTAS Alfa Romeo
14. Kevin MAGNUSSEN Haas
15. Daniel RICCIARDO AlphaTauri
16. Nico HULKENBERG Haas
17. Fernando ALONSO Aston Martin
18. Alex ALBON Williams
19. Lance STROLL Aston Martin
20. Logan SARGEANT Williams
Max Verstappen looks forward to fun US Grand Prix despite missing out on pole
Max Verstappen experienced an unusual setback in the qualifying phase of the 2023 F1 US Grand Prix. Despite his recent dominance, he was unable to claim pole position on the Austin circuit as a result of a track restriction violation.
The Dutch driver’s lap, which seemed to be pole-worthy just as Q3 was drawing to an end, was abruptly wiped out, demoting him to the sixth starting position.
Max Verstappen can become the second fastest driver to reach 50 career F1 race wins at the US Grand Prix, doing so in 183 races…🔜
Michael Schumacher is the fastest, reading 50 in 151 races!👏🏽
Legendary duo…💙 pic.twitter.com/jnHAcH0G8r
— Opinionated Fan (@OpinionatedSF19) October 20, 2023
Verstappen was shaken by his performance after the race, addressing his wide turn in the 19th round. He said that he had been exerting a lot of pressure in order to make up for a slip-up on the opening turn.
But that is not holding back Max from winning the race on Sunday. While talking to the media, he said, “Of course, it is a bit unfortunate but it makes Sunday also a bit more fun.”
If he triumphs at the US Grand Prix, Max Verstappen will achieve the 50th win of his career. The dominance that the driver has shown over the season is remarkable. Midway through the season, while driving for Red Bull, he led an incredible run of 12 straight victories that broke McLaren’s 1988 achievement.
