United States Grand Prix – Qualifying: Carlos Sainz surprises and snatches pole position in Austin!

Q1 translates to “Q1” in both French and English as it is an abbreviation or code that does not require translation.

All the drivers are on soft tires to start this qualifying session for the United States Grand Prix. Only Alonso, Hamilton, and Russell are using already worn tires, while all the others are on new tires. Guanyu Zhou is the first one to go out on track for Q1 in Austin, recording a first lap time of 1:37.887, followed by Nicholas Latifi and Kevin Magnussen. The Red Bull and Ferrari cars also don’t take long to leave the garages. Max Verstappen sets a very good time of 1:35.864, but Charles Leclerc is 69 milliseconds faster than him.

The surprise at the start of the session is the speed of the Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton slotting in between the two Red Bulls, while George Russell positions himself with the 5th fastest time, 0.4 seconds behind Charles Leclerc. After a surprisingly slow first lap for Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard then shows his true potential by snatching the fastest lap, 0.498 seconds quicker than his teammate.

With 6 minutes to go, the drivers in the elimination zone are Latifi, Tsunoda, Albon, Ricciardo, and Magnussen. Latifi has already received a second set of soft tires, while Alex Albon complains about Lewis Hamilton’s presence in the middle of the track at Turn 2. But with less than a minute remaining, the majority of drivers improve their times, including the Japanese driver from AlphaTauri who manages to move up to 10th position, and Ricciardo briefly escapes the elimination zone… before returning and being definitively out for Q2, for the 5th time this season. It’s also a bad result for Esteban Ocon, who fails to make the most of his car, unlike his teammate Fernando Alonso. It is worth noting that Mick Schumacher had a nice slide towards the end of the session but manages to recover. However, he is still eliminated.

Eliminated in Q1: Nicholas Latifi (20th) / Mick Schumacher (19th) / Esteban Ocon (18th) / Daniel Ricciardo (17th) / Kevin Magnussen (16th)

Q2 in French can be translated to Q2 in English, as it is the abbreviation for “deuxième trimestre” which means “second quarter” in English.

Alex Albon sets the fastest time of Q2, at 1:37.124, after slipping slightly on the track. Only Russell, Hamilton, and Alonso have put new tires on their cars. Pierre Gasly suffered a wheel lock-up, going off track limits, and is struggling with a brake issue, indicating to his team that he is doing his best.

George Russell then takes the lead, before being overtaken by Max Verstappen, and then by Charles Leclerc, who is 48 milliseconds faster than the Dutchman. Carlos Sainz positions himself behind the latter, 0.344 seconds behind his teammate this time.

Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel is struggling with a slide that takes him off the track limits, without any damage. Alonso is currently the “best of the rest,” just behind Lewis Hamilton, while Bottas and Zhou are holding their position in the top 10, as is Lando Norris.

With 6 minutes to go, Albon, Tsunoda, Stroll, Gasly, and Vettel are the struggling drivers after the first run, with Gasly and Vettel not having set a time yet due to track limit violations. After a visit to the pits for many drivers, they come back out on track with less than 3 minutes remaining to improve their times. Only Leclerc, Sainz, and Perez decide to call it a day for Q2. Alex Albon briefly moves up from 11th to 8th place, but it’s not enough to secure his spot in Q3. It’s a shame for the Williams driver, who had put in good laps on Saturday. Fernando Alonso sets a very good time, putting him in 7th place and allowing Alpine to participate in Q3. It’s also a good result for Alfa Romeo, but Zhou’s lap time is invalidated after he exceeded track limits. The same goes for Yuki Tsunoda. Both AlphaTauri drivers are therefore out of contention for Q3.

Eliminated in Q2: Yuki Tsunoda (15th) / Guanyu Zhou (14th) / Pierre Gasly (13th) / Sebastian Vettel (12th) / Alex Albon (11th)

Q3 would be translated to “Q3” in English. It is a common abbreviation used to refer to the third quarter of a calendar year.

Now is when the serious stuff begins, but let’s remember that several drivers have received penalties due to the use of a new engine. This is the case for Charles Leclerc, who incurs a 10-place grid penalty on Sunday, as well as Sergio Pérez, Fernando Alonso, and Guanyu Zhou, each with a 5-place penalty.

George Russell is the first to come out, riding on new tires. The rest of the drivers follow him without waiting, as the track temperature has dropped with the sunset starting to loom over Austin.

The battle is raging for pole position, with Max Verstappen recording a time of 1:35.044, but Charles Leclerc steals the show, 0.42 seconds faster than the Dutchman. Carlos Sainz is also very strong and places himself ahead of the reigning world champion, while Lewis Hamilton takes third position. On the radio, the Dutchman was clearly not satisfied with his last lap, which was much slower than his rivals. George Russell fails to match his teammate’s feat, ending up in 6th position behind the two Red Bulls with less than 6 minutes remaining.

After going back to the pits, Max Verstappen quickly comes back out to improve his time, currently in 4th place. The Dutch driver takes advantage of the almost empty track to do a warm-up lap before pushing for a fast lap. On the other hand, Charles Leclerc is the fastest in the first sector, closely followed by his teammate and Verstappen. Finally, Carlos Sainz surprises everyone and smashes the Monégasque’s time, grabbing the pole position! The Spanish driver is 0.065 seconds faster than Charles Leclerc. The latter expresses his disappointment over the radio after his poor last lap. Due to his penalty, he should start in 12th position tomorrow, but the grid is still to be confirmed by the FIA. Max Verstappen will not be able to do better than third place.

“I knew it was coming guys. I knew it.”#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/RgWvedmcPS

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 22, 2022

In a post-qualifying interview, Carlos Sainz nevertheless expects good performances from Red Bull tomorrow. “I think Red Bull will be the favorites, they have a good race pace, but we will do everything we can to try to stay ahead and win,” said the weekend’s poleman.