Charles Leclerc takes Austin GP pole as Max Verstappen rages at Sergio Perez

20 October 2023 , 22:02

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Charles Leclerc took USGP pole with no Red Bulls in the top five (Image: Getty Images)

Charles Leclerc stole Max Verstappen's thunder with pole position for the United States Grand Prix, while the Red Bull racer was left to rage at team-mate Sergio Perez for getting in his way.

He felt the Mexican had blocked him at the final corner which left him a quarter-of-a-second off the pace of Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc at the top of the timesheets. After venting his frustration over the radio, the Dutchman went back out and looked to have taken pole anyway.

But he had that second time deleted for exceeding track limits and was relegated to sixth place on the grid. Leclerc took advantage by sticking the Ferrari on pole, while Lando Norris went second quickest despite his glum predictions for McLaren in Austin this weekend.

Hamilton was third fastest in his upgraded Mercedes, while Carlos Sainz and George Russell were also able to go quicker than Verstappen in the end. Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Perez and Oscar Piastri rounded off the top 10.

Haas came into this event with a completely revamped car and a shiny new paint job to celebrate their American-ness, but it didn't bring Nico Hulkenberg any qualifying luck. He was briefly top of the timesheets with a monster lap, but it was taken away from him for exceeding track limits and, in the end, qualified only 16th.

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Fernando Alonso reached Q3 in all 17 previous attempts this season, but that streak came to an end at COTA as Aston Martin struggled, Lance Stroll also in the bottom five. The two Williams cars joined them in exiting in Q1, Logan Sargeant condemned to start the second of his three home races this year from the back of the pack.

Daniel Ricciardo, in his first qualifying session since recovering from hand surgery and only his third of the year overall, scraped through to Q2. But 15th on the grid was the best he could manage with AlphaTauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda narrowly missing out on a Q3 appearance, forced to settle for 11th on the grid.

The Alfa Romeos were 12th and 13th quickest while Kevin Magnussen managed 14th to end the session for Haas. After Aston Martin's surprise Q1 demise, the top five teams remaining in qualifying managed to nurse both their respective drivers into the top 10.

In Q3, Verstappen got to the very last corner of his first flying lap when he came across Perez ahead of him. His car wobbled in the turbulence from the other Red Bull and he lost time as a result. The Dutchman promptly voiced his displeasure over the radio, shouting: "Well done! Well f***ing done there! What the f*** was that in the last corner?"

The track limits violation meant his second lap was no good, so he had to settle for sixth on the grid. But those in front of him on the grid will know they have a tough task ahead on Sunday, given the Red Bulls still seem to have a race pace advantage over their rivals.