F1: Verstappen plays his ace and takes on the McLarens

Max Verstappen will start ahead of the two McLarens in today’s F1 Austin GP Sprint Race. Yesterday’s outstanding performance, which once again highlights the Dutchman’s incredible technical skill, put the entire English squad in their place. Norris and Piastri were unable to find the decisive pace in Q3. They finished roughly a tenth and almost four-tenths of a second behind, respectively. This clearly shows how open the championship still is. If only Piastri didn’t have a roughly 60-point lead over the Red Bull driver Verstappen , currently third in the standings. A margin that could, however, shrink over the next two races: the Sprint and the main American race.

F1 Austin: Zak Brown, no Team orders between Oscar and Lando

McLaren CEO Zak Brown, in post-sprint qualifying interviews, emphasized that his drivers are still fully free to fight for the Drivers’ Championship. This battle gives hope to those chasing, who are looking for a twist of fate or perhaps a retirement from one of the front-runners. Verstappen’s ace in the hole for the Sprint is Pole Position: a spot that allows him to tackle Turn 1 with slightly fewer worries. A tight left-hand corner that has often been the scene of contact, bumps, and accidents over the years. Who knows what will happen tonight (7:00 PM GMT) further back in the field?

Read Also: F1 Austin 2025, can Ferrari replicate the 2024 performance?”

Sauber and Aston on top, Mercedes suffered the heat

Other key drivers starting near the front today are Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso. The German driver took his Sauber to P4. Just behind the “trinity” of 2025, an incredible performance considering last year’s struggles. The 2024 car often failed to reach Q2, but this year, on fast circuits like Silverstone, Monza, and Austin, it has delivered great results even for Bortoleto (P20 today). As for Fernando Alonso, his increasingly effective Aston AMR25 brought him to P6, about eight-tenths off the pole. A significant gap, but compared to the one-second gap of Charles Leclerc in P10 with his SF25, it reflects a more than positive performance for today’s Sprint.

Mercedes, on the other hand, struggled a bit through the Texas corners. After George Russell’s win in Singapore and Kimi Antonelli’s strong P4, difficulties have resurfaced. Russell will start P5, behind Nico Hulkenberg, while Antonelli will start P11. A curious note comes from the Italian driver regarding his cooling jacket: in interviews, he revealed that the suit didn’t work properly, creating the opposite effect and actually heating him up. This, combined with yesterday’s extremely high temperatures, made qualifying even more challenging, but we are confident Antonelli can improve his performance in today’s Sprint Race.

Austin Gp Shedule

Here are the Austin GP weekend schedules. The first event is today with the Sprint Race at 7:00 PM, followed by qualifying for tomorrow’s main race:

18 Oct – F1 Qualifying: 11:00 PM – 12:00 PM
19 Oct – F1 Race: 9:00 PM