2022 United States Grand Prix – FP3 & Qualifying

On the Saturday before the 2022 United States Grand Prix, the Formula 1 team and drivers alike got their final chances to put the cars through their paces in the Texas heat. Who topped the charts on the final practice session? And most importantly, who secured the all-important pole position during qualifying? Keep reading until the end to find out!

Free Practice 3

1:35.825 was the time to beat in FP3, as the two-time World Champion, Max Verstappen topped the timing sheets with a blazing fast lap around the Circuit Of The Americas. Having secured the World Championship in Japan, the Dutchman would be trying all his might to secure a record-equalling 13th win in a season.

Following him was Charles Leclerc, who along with Perez, Zhou and Alonso would be starting the race from the back due to taking powertrain penalties. With some late-season upgrades, the Silver Arrows looked to be on the pace, as Lewis Hamilton secured P5 with Russell close behind. Aston Martin was also impressive, with both cars securing places in the top ten.

Mick Schumacher and Daniel Ricciardo faced issues during FP3, with the Haas driver losing engine power and the honey badger having problems with the MCL36’s brakes. Luckily, both cars were fixed, and the drivers got some track time before the session came to an end.

Max Verstappen 1:35.825
Charles Leclerc 1:36.145
Carlos Sainz 1:36.271

Qualifying

“I knew it was coming guys” were the words that left the mouth of Carlos Sainz, as he secured his second-ever pole position. The Spaniard put in a lightning-quick lap that was almost 0.5 of a second faster than his teammate.

The two Red Bulls followed the Ferrari pair, themselves followed by the two Mercedes. Lance Stroll put in a great lap, making the first Q3 appearance in a United States Grand Prix in his career. Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, and Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top ten, with Zhou Guanyu unluckily missing out due to having a lap time deleted as a result of exceeding track limits.

Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon had a qualifying session to forget. Both were eliminated in Q1 and were out-qualified by their teammates who made it to the top ten. Both of them have some fighting to do if they want to secure some points in the heat of Texas. Nicholas Latifi and Sebastian Vettel would be making their last United States Grand Prix appearances this weekend. Latifi qualified in P20, while the four-time World Champion would start the race from 12th on the grid. However, with impending grid penalties for several drivers, these positions are prone to change.

Carlos Sainz 1:35.297
Charles Leclerc 1:35.795
Max Verstappen 1:35.864

The last time we were at COTA, Max Verstappen started the race from P2 but went on to clench the victory. Who would be the first when the chequered flag falls this weekend? Come and join Supercars.GH tomorrow for our full race coverage. Do not forget to check out previous F1 coverage on our website and social media.