United States GP qualifying results: Norris snatches pole as Hamilton suffers nightmare | F1

A crash for George Russell saved Lando Norris from qualifying disappointment as the Brit held onto pole position at the United States Grand Prix. Max Verstappen was soaring on his final lap but was forced to back off.

Mercedes’ misery from the sprint race carried into qualifying as George Russell and Lewis Hamilton both sat in the bottom five heading into the final six minutes of Q1. The former managed to climb out on his final run, but the seven-time world champion had no such luck.

An error at Turn 12 in a lacklustre middle sector proved costly as the Mercedes star suffered a shock Q1 exit. Joining him in the bottom five were the two Williams and Sauber drivers, although only Zhou Guanyu was slower than Hamilton when the chequered flag dropped.

There were few shocks in Q2 as Verstappen continued to lay down markers at the top of the timing screens. One of the major outliers was Pierre Gasly, who ended the session in P7 after impressing with his Q1 laps as well.

Fernando Alonso was able to climb his way into the top 10 at the fall of the chequered flag, but team-mate Lance Stroll couldn’t escape the cut-off. Both VCARB drivers were also eliminated, while Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon made up the bottom five.

In Q3, the tides looked to have turned. Norris sat at the top of the timing tower after the first runs with a three-hundredths advantage over his championship rival. Verstappen was looking strong on his final run, but Russell found the barriers in sector three, forcing all drivers to abandon their laps.