Two weeks after Max Verstappen won his second Formula 1 world title, the single-seaters of the highest category returned to action in a United States Grand Prix that left us with very bad news before qualifying, the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of Red Bull.
After a Q1 in which the elimination of an Esteban Ocon wearing the new Alpine background was surprising, and a Q2 in which Alfa Romeo almost caused a big surprise by putting its two single-seaters in the last round, the fight for the first Plaza seemed things of two: Verstappen and Leclerc, although it was not like that in the end.
From the first laps, the Ferraris showed their speed and Charles Leclerc took the lead, but when the checkered flag waved it was his teammate, Carlos Sainz, the driver who took pole position with a 1:34.356 , ahead of the Monegasque.
Max Verstappen finished third, less than a tenth behind the Spaniard, with Sergio Pérez fourth, a little further. Lewis Hamilton was fifth, but does not lose hope of a podium for tomorrow’s race at the United States GP.
Sixth was the other of the Mercedes, that of George Russell, who finished ahead of Lance Stroll and Lando Norris. Fernando Alonso finished ninth after being very competitive throughout the weekend, consistently leading Esteban Ocon despite the French driver running the new A522 floor specification.
Valtteri Bottas, at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo, completed the top ten positions in qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
Qualifying results for the 2022 F1 US GP in Austin
(Click on ‘see results’ to enjoy all the sessions)
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
14 | 1’34,356 | 210,339 | ||
| 2 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
14 | 1’34.421 | 0.065 | 0.065 | 210.194 |
| 3 |  Max Verstappen |
 |
15 | 1’34.448 | 0.092 | 0.027 | 210.134 |
| 4 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
12 | 1’34,645 | 0.289 | 0.197 | 209,697 |
| 5 |  Lewis Hamilton |
 |
18 | 1’34.947 | 0.591 | 0.302 | 209.030 |
| 6 | George Russell |
 |
19 | 1’34.988 | 0.632 | 0.041 | 208.940 |
| 7 |  Lance Stroll |
 |
15 | 1’35.598 | 1.242 | 0.610 | 207.606 |
| 8 | Lando Norris |
 |
18 | 1’35.690 | 1.334 | 0.092 | 207.407 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
17 | 1’35.876 | 1.520 | 0.186 | 207.004 |
| 10 |  Valtteri Bottas |
 |
18 | 1’36.319 | 1.963 | 0.443 | 206.052 |
| see results | |||||||
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Photo By: Andy Hone/Motorsport Images
This was the Q1 of the F1 classification in the USA
As usual, the first cars to hit the track were the Haas and the Williams, the main favorites to be eliminated in this first round. From the beginning, the great candidates for pole position, Ferrari and Red Bull, were placed in the first positions, with the Mercedes on the prowl.
After the first attempts, Carlos Sainz set the best time in Q1 with a 1:35.297 , half a second ahead of his direct rivals. Behind, Mick Schumacher was saved with a 13th position, while his teammate, Kevin Magnussen occupied the penultimate place in the time table, only ahead of the Chinese Alfa Romeo driver.
In the last minutes, practically everyone returned to the asphalt to complete a lap that would give them a pass to Q2. However, five drivers failed: Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon who was the biggest surprise, Mick Schumacher and Nicholas Latifi.
Alexander Albon and Lance Stroll stayed less than a tenth from the elimination zone, with joy especially in the Williams garage, where hardly anyone had a Q2 in Austin.
Qualified and eliminated from Q1 of the US GP in Austin
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
4 | 1’35,297 | 208,262 | ||
| 2 | Charles Leclerc |
 |
4 | 1’35.795 | 0.498 | 0.498 | 207.179 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen |
 |
3 | 1’35.864 | 0.567 | 0.069 | 207.030 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
6 | 1’36.148 | 0.851 | 0.284 | 206.419 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez |
 |
3 | 1’36.163 | 0.866 | 0.015 | 206,387 |
| 6 | George Russell |
 |
6 | 1’36.195 | 0.898 | 0.032 | 206.318 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso |
 |
5 | 1’36.446 | 1.149 | 0.251 | 205.781 |
| 8 | Lando Norris |
 |
6 | 1’36.465 | 1.168 | 0.019 | 205.740 |
| 9 |  Pierre Gasly |
 |
6 | 1’36,577 | 1,280 | 0.112 | 205,502 |
| 10 |  Guanyu Zhou |
 |
9 | 1’36.656 | 1.359 | 0.079 | 205.334 |
| 11 |  Sebastian Vettel |
 |
6 | 1’36.695 | 1.398 | 0.039 | 205.251 |
| 12 | Valtteri Bottas |
|
6 | 1’36.746 | 1.449 | 0.051 | 205.143 |
| 13 |  Yuki Tsunoda |
 |
6 | 1’36.808 | 1.511 | 0.062 | 205.011 |
| 14 | Lance Stroll |
 |
6 | 1’36.860 | 1.563 | 0.052 | 204.901 |
| 15 |  Alexander Albon |
 |
9 | 1’36.932 | 1.635 | 0.072 | 204.749 |
| 16 |  Kevin Magnussen |
 |
8 | 1’36.949 | 1.652 | 0.017 | 204.713 |
| 17 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
 |
6 | 1’37.046 | 1.749 | 0.097 | 204.509 |
| 18 | Esteban Ocon |
|
6 | 1’37.068 | 1.771 | 0.022 | 204.462 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher |
 |
8 | 1’37.111 | 1.814 | 0.043 | 204.372 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi |
 |
8 | 1’37.244 | 1.947 | 0.133 | 204.092 |
| see results | |||||||
This was the Q2 of the F1 classification in the USA
After a relatively quiet first round, the fight to enter the last and final Q3 was going to be titanic and it was like that from the beginning, since at least six holes, those of Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes, seemed more than assured.
Completed the first attempts, Leclerc was leading with a 1:35.246 , a time almost nailed to that of Verstappen. From behind, the Alfa Romeos were placed ahead of Norris, who marked the last position that gave access to Q3, very close to the records of Albon, Tsunoda and Stroll. Gasly and Vettel didn’t even complete a lap.
Finally, the times were shuffled a lot in the last laps and the drivers eliminated in Q2 were Alex Albon, Sebastian Vettel, Pierre Gasly, Guanyu Zhou and Yuki Tsinoda. The positive surprise was given by Alfa Romeo, which put both of its cars in Q3 before its Chinese driver was penalized for exceeding the track limits and fell to the back of the grid, giving access to the last round to a Lando Norris who had finished 11th originally.
Verstappen took to the track at the last attempt on a new soft tyre, but failed to set a time and the fastest time in qualifying was held by the Monegasque Ferrari driver.
Qualified and eliminated from Q2 of the US GP in Austin
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc |
|
7 | 1’35.246 | 208.374 | ||
| 2 | Max Verstappen |
 |
7 | 1’35.294 | 0.048 | 0.048 | 208.269 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz Jr. |
 |
7 | 1’35,590 | 0.344 | 0.296 | 207,624 |
| 4 | George Russell |
 |
12 | 1’35.692 | 0.446 | 0.102 | 207.402 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton |
 |
12 | 1’35.732 | 0.486 | 0.040 | 207.316 |
| 6 | Sergio Perez |
|
6 | 1,35,864 | 0.618 | 0.132 | 207,030 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso |
|
11 | 1’35.988 | 0.742 | 0.124 | 206.763 |
| 8 | Lance Stroll |
 |
12 | 1’36.032 | 0.786 | 0.044 | 206.668 |
| 9 | Valtteri Bottas |
|
12 | 1’36.321 | 1.075 | 0.289 | 206.048 |
| 10 | Lando Norris |
 |
12 | 1’36.341 | 1.095 | 0.020 | 206.005 |
| 11 | Alexander Albon |
 |
15 | 1’36.368 | 1.122 | 0.027 | 205.948 |
| 12 | Sebastian Vettel |
 |
12 | 1’36.398 | 1.152 | 0.030 | 205.883 |
| 13 | Pierre Gasly |
 |
11 | 1’36,740 | 1,494 | 0.342 | 205.156 |
| 14 | Guanyu Zhou |
 |
15 | 1’36.970 | 1.724 | 0.230 | 204.669 |
| 15 | Yuki Tsunoda |
|
12 | 1’37.147 | 1.901 | 0.177 | 204.296 |
| see results | |||||||
