Max Verstappen will start on pole position for the 2025 US Grand Prix sprint race, as he relegated the two McLarens to second and third on the starting grid in the sprint shootout.

The trio will be followed by Nico Hülkenberg, who was fourth-fastest for Sauber, having looked rapid throughout the Friday qualifying session.

Verstappen said that he expected to have to “battle” for the sprint victory on Saturday, with less than a tenth of a second between him and second-placed Lando Norris. Piastri was three-tenths further back after what he described as a “scruffy lap”.

Scroll down or click to see how the grid will look when it lines up for the fourth sprint race of the season, which starts at 6pm BST (12pm local time). Qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix takes place on Saturday evening, at 10pm BST, 4pm local time.

“It’s been a nice qualifying,” said Verstappen. “It worked out well. I expect it to be a battle in the sprint.”

George Russell will start fifth in a Mercedes that looked less adept than it did when it carried Russell to victory in Singapore.

The Ferrari drivers were also struggling, and only just made it to the final-ten shootout after scraping through the second SQ2 stage. Lewis Hamilton will start eighth and Charles Leclerc tenth.

Hamilton said that the team had been expecting to perform better, and had felt competitive until the pace “dropped away” after SQ1.

Yuki Tsunoda was the biggest casualty of SQ1, when he was caught at the back of a pack on his way out of the pitlane to start his final flying lap.

Waiting in the pitlane queue meant he only had 1min 45sec to make it to the startline — just 10sec more than the qualifying times being set — and the Red Bull driver unsurprisingly failed to make it, not helped by a scrap for track position with Racing Bulls‘ Liam Lawson.

He did better than Gabriel Bortoleto, who didn’t set a time after having his attempt deleted for exceeding track limits. Esteban Ocon, Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman were the other eliminees at this stage.

Ferrari narrowly escaped from SQ2, with both cars getting out of the drop zone on their last flying laps. Hamilton, who ended the session tenth, had Kimi Antonelli to thank: the Mercedes driver made an error in Turn 11, which cost him time all the way down the back straight, and left him 11th. He exited sprint qualifying along with Isack Hadjar, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll and Lawson, who had his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.

Below is the provisional starting grid. This could change ahead of the race if further penalties are applied or a driver needs to start from the pitlane.

2025 US Grand Prix sprint race starting grid

1	Max Verstappen Red Bull 1min 32.143sec SQ3		2	Lando Norris McLaren 1min 32.214sec SQ3
3	Oscar Piastri McLaren 1min 32.523sec SQ3		4	Nico Hülkenberg Sauber 1min 32.645sec SQ3
5	George Russell Mercedes 1min 32.888sec SQ3		6	Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1min 32.910sec SQ3
7	Carlos Sainz Williams 1min 32.911sec SQ3		8	Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1min 33.035sec SQ3
9	Alex Albon Williams 1min 33.099sec SQ3		10	Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1min 33.104sec SQ3
11	Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1min 34.018sec SQ2		12	Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls 1min 34.241sec SQ2
13	Pierre Gasly Alpine 1min 34.258sec SQ2		14	Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1min 34.394sec SQ1
15	Liam Lawson Racing Bulls No SQ2 time set SQ2		16	Oliver Bearman Haas 1min 35.159sec SQ1
17	Franco Colapinto Alpine 1min 35.246sec SQ1		18	Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull 1min 35.259sec SQ1
19	Esteban Ocon Haas 1min 36.003sec SQ1		20	Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber No time set SQ1