US Grand Prix qualifying result: Starting grid after Lewis Hamilton's unprecedented shocker
Lewis Hamilton suffered an unprecedented nightmare in qualifying for the United States Grand Prix while George Russell crashed out, helping Lando Norris to secure pole
by Daniel Moxon · The MirrorLewis Hamilton will rise a place on the grid for the United States Grand Prix thanks to a penalty for Liam Lawson.
But that will not improve the Brit's mood as it simply means he will line up in the 18th grid slot. Hamilton blemished his stellar qualifying record at the Circuit of the Americas by going faster only than rock-bottom Zhou Guanyu in Q1 on Saturday.
Because of Lawson's grid drop, the seven-time F1 champion is due to start today's race 18th. But it may be that he chooses instead to move to the pit lane as he desperately needs his team to change the set-up on his rotten Mercedes car.
He said after his Q1 exit: "The car was a nightmare today in qualifying. I should probably start in the pit lane, otherwise I will not be going anywhere. It was just an inconsistent balance and no grip."
It wasn't the only major moment in an incident-filled session in Austin. Things went from bad to worse for Mercedes as, while trying to rise from sixth on the grid in Q3, George Russell crashed at 125mph to bring a premature end to qualifying.
That meant no-one was going to be able to top Lando Norris who was at the top of the timesheets at the time. He will start on pole with Max Verstappen alongside him on the front row, the Dutchman one of several drivers who had to abandon their final runs because of Russell's accident.
He was okay with it, though, admitting that it was one of those things that can happen and was outside of his control. Verstappen's mood would no doubt have been boosted by the fact he won the Sprint race earlier in the day to extend his championship lead over Norris to 54 points.
They will both also have a couple of Ferraris behind them that have looked fast all weekend so far. Carlos Sainz finished second in that Sprint and was another who felt he was right in the mix for pole had he not been forced to abort his last run in qualifying when Russell went off track.
And Oscar Piastri is also in the mix and much happier than he was after Sprint qualifying when he could only go 16th fastest. Here is the provisional starting grid for the US Grand Prix which is, of course, subject to change in the hours building up to the race:
- Lando Norris - McLaren
- Max Verstappen - Red Bull
- Carlos Sainz - Ferrari
- Charles Leclerc - Ferrari
- Oscar Piastri - McLaren
- George Russell - Mercedes
- Pierre Gasly - Alpine
- Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin
- Kevin Magnussen - Haas
- Sergio Perez - Red Bull
- Yuki Tsunoda - VCARB
- Nico Hulkenberg - Haas
- Esteban Ocon - Alpine
- Lance Stroll - Aston Martin
- Alex Albon - Williams
- Franco Colapinto - Williams
- Valtteri Bottas - Sauber
- Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
- Zhou Guanyu - Sauber
- Liam Lawson - VCARB*
*Lawson was 15th quickest in qualifying but drops to the back of the grid because of several engine penalties.
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