Carlos Sainz revels in tricky COTA as he takes pole for 2022 US GP

F1

Ferrari once again showed its qualifying pace, as Carlos Sainz pipped Charles Leclerc to pole for the 2022 United States Grand Prix, but grid penalties will see Max Verstappen on the front row for the race

Carlos Sainz drives past COTA crowd and Texas flag at 2022 US GP qualifying

Sainz powers towards pole

Florent Gooden/DPPI

Carlos Sainz was the fastest F1 driver in Texas on Saturday by mere hundredths of a second, as he qualified on pole for the United States Grand Prix.

It was a session that rewarded instinct and quick reactions, as tailwinds, a bumpy surface and highly-strung slicks added to the pitfalls of the challenging Circuit of the Americas.

“It was fun, a lot of fun,” said Sainz. “Very tricky. It’s so gusty that every corner is an adventure with these cars: you don’t know how much grip you’re going to get.”

Qualifying ended in frustration for team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was disappointed with his final run through the last corner and missed out on pole by eight-hundredths of a second.

Charles Leclerc waves to the crowd at the 2022 US GP

Leclerc was disappointed to miss out on pole despite ten-place grid penalty

Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

A ten-place grid penalty for taking new engine parts will mean that he starts in the midfield tomorrow, which puts Max Verstappen on the front row alongside Sainz.

The newly-crowned champion said it had been a tough day after learning of the death of Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and paid tribute to his resolve in setting up the team and supporting Verstappen’s career.

Verstappen complained of losing grip towards the end of his flying lap, despite a careful two-lap warm-up procedure, and finished a tenth of a second down.

“The car will be quick tomorrow,” radioed Verstappen as he returned to the pits. “That’s what’s important”

Sergio Perez was another two-tenths down in fourth, but a five-place engine grid penalty for him puts both Mercedes drivers on the second row.

Lewis Hamilton locks up in qualifying at the 2022 US GP

Improved Mercedes wasn’t behaving for Hamilton during qualifying

Patrick T Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell had high hopes for qualifying after responding enthusiastically to an upgrade package, which included a new front wing and tweaked floor.

In the end, Hamilton was six-tenths off the pole time with Russell close behind.

“It was a really, really difficult qualifying session,” said Hamilton. “I was really hopeful we were going to be much, much closer than we were. The car was such a handful all of a sudden and not like any other time we had driven it.”

Hamilton suggested that track conditions in the evening qualifying session could have been a factor, so the race — which starts three hours earlier in the day — could see improved competitiveness, although the seven-time champion thinks Red Bull’s straightline speed advantage will prove decisive.

Lance Stroll will start on the third row, having capped a strong qualifying session to finish seventh, which converts to a fifth-place starting position.

Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu in qualifying for the 2022 US GP

Zhou Guanyu missed out on Q3 after track limit infraction

Florent Gooden / DPPI

Valtteri Bottas is also in the top ten after an encouraging performance by Alfa Romeo. Zhou Guanyu only missed out on joining him after having a lap time deleted for the narrowest of track limit breaches.

That stewards’ decision eliminated Zhou in Q2 and offered a reprieve for Lando Norris who had, until then, been in the drop zone. The McLaren driver qualified eighth, more than 1.3sec off the pole time. Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo starts 17th. He was unhappy with rear stability and had to correct a slide on his last flying lap, which saw him eliminated in Q1.

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However, McLaren is still in better shape than championship rival Alpine, after Esteban Ocon was also knocked out in Q1, while Fernando Alonso qualified ninth, but has a five-place grid penalty.

Alex Albon will start in the top ten, having qualified 11th, ahead of both AlphaTauris; Pierre Gasly complaining loudly about the same front brake problems that dogged the cars in Japan.

Sunday brings every chance of recovery, however, thanks to the grid penalties that will bring a refreshingly varied line-up on the front rows.

There’s a familiar question hanging over the frontrunners though, as Red Bull looks for a win to confirm the 2022 constructors’ title: can Ferrari convert its qualifying performance into race pace?

“Tomorrow I think Red Bull are still the favourites,” said a pessimistic Sainz. They normally get us in the race because Max does a very good job and Red Bull has a very good car in race trim.”

 

2022 United States Grand Prix qualifying results

Position Driver Team Time
1 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1min 34.356sec
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1min 34.421sec
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1min 34.448sec
4 Sergio Perez Red Bull 1min 34.645sec
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1min 34.947sec
6 George Russell Mercedes 1min 34.988sec
7 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1min 35.598sec
8 Lando Norris McLaren 1min 35.690sec
9 Fernando Alonso Alpine 1min 35.876sec
10 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1min 36.319sec
Q2 times
11 Alex Albon Williams 1min 36.368sec
12 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 1min 36.398sec
13 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 1min 36.740sec
14 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1min 36.970sec
15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1min 37.147sec
Q1 times
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1min 36.949sec
17 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1min 37.046sec
18 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1min 37.068sec
19 Mick Schumacher Haas 1min 37.111sec
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams 1min 37.244sec

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