F1 United States GP: Leclerc Claims Pole as Verstappen's Fastest Lap Deleted

Charles Leclerc claims pole position for the 2023 United States Grand Prix after Max Verstappen's time is deleted due to a track limits violation.

Charles Leclerc secured pole position for the 2023 United States Grand Prix in Formula 1 after Max Verstappen's last-minute violation of track limits cost him a time that was 0.005s faster.

In a surprising turn of events, Red Bull and its usual trailing rivals had a closely contested session. Leclerc led the way for Ferrari in Q2 and maintained his lead in the first runs of Q3.

Throughout the one-hour knockout session, track limits were a major concern. Turns 19 and 20, the penultimate and final corners, proved challenging for drivers to stay within the white lines. The rough, high-energy surface and track temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius made it difficult, especially as their soft tires wore out.

Leclerc set a time of 1m34.828 in the first Q3 run, with Lewis Hamilton in second and Verstappen in third, trailing by 0.252s and 0.056s respectively.

On the final runs, Leclerc improved his time to 1m34.723s, despite not setting any fastest sectors. Verstappen, however, had a chance to beat Leclerc's time. As his final lap progressed, he gained time but slid wide at Turn 19, resulting in his time of 1m34.718s being deleted.

Lando Norris secured second place after a strong performance in the second Q3 run, using used soft tires for the first attempts in the final segment.

Hamilton, who completed his run last among the front-runners, couldn't displace his fellow countryman from the front row for Sunday's race, despite setting a slightly faster time than his previous Q3 personal best.

Carlos Sainz took fourth place, followed by George Russell in fifth. Verstappen's initial Q3 time placed him in sixth, ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez, who finished in ninth.

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon claimed seventh and eighth place respectively, while Oscar Piastri rounded out the top 10.

In Q2, Leclerc continued his strong performance, and Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, and Daniel Ricciardo were eliminated. Ricciardo lost his final lap due to running too wide out of Turn 19, which would have been enough to advance to Q3.

In Q1, Hamilton topped the session, but Nico Hulkenberg was eliminated after also running too wide out of the penultimate turn on his final lap. Aston Martin faced a shocking elimination as both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll failed to advance due to front brake issues in FP1. They finished 17th and 19th respectively, with Williams drivers Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant in between.

Tsunoda, Ricciardo, and Stroll will undergo post-qualifying investigations for potentially not following the race director's instructions regarding maximum lap times for out and in laps, which aim to reduce traffic issues in qualifying. Similar investigations in Monza and Qatar did not result in any further action, as the drivers were found to have slowed down to avoid impeding others.

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